American forces gain access after Pakistan-Taliban ceasefire

IndiaDefense.com ^ | September 9, 2006 | Staff

[John Carey]

With the recent Pakistan-Taliban ceasefire along the Afghan border, General Abizaid seems to have gotten what he wanted from Musharraf - Pakistani withdrawal opening up the restive tribal regions to American forces.Sources in Rawalpindi - the Headquarters of the Pakistani Army - indicate that the plan was directly dictated by Abizaid during his recent visit to Pakistan, and is said to put both the Musharraf Regime and War Against Terror in more secure positions.

At face value, the Musharraf regime gains as the ceasefire between Taliban and Pakistan Army will ensure that Pakistan Army will not be internally seen responsible for 'Muslims killing Muslims'.It will also absolve Musharraf if and when U.S. forces, which have been granted "hot pursuit" rights, eventually capture Osama Bin Laden and Mullah Omar along the same border.

[endthematrix]

Duplicate thread

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1696907/posts

[adamsjas]

The next paragraph of the story says

"Troubles have risen for Musharraf regime in recent days with the Balochistan mess and the alliance of various opposition parties within Pakistan, and with this concession to the American forces in Afghanistan Musharraf may well and truly won himself more time in office.

But more careful reading seems to suggest the opposite. The implication is that we will be forced to prop him up, but since this move will be seen as unpopular, no amount of propping may work.

There is also this story on the same site which seems to suggest that Mushie may have sold his sole for peace with the Taliban. This essentially frees the Taliban of having to defend against government troops so that they can fight in Afghanistan.