FReepmail if you want on or off
That has left fighters with the paramilitary force, known as the Frontier Corps, equipped often with little more than "sandals and bolt-action rifles," said a senior Western military official in Islamabad, even as they face Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters equipped with assault rifles and grenade launchers.
"The view in Washington is that the Frontier Corps is the best way forward because they are locally recruited, speak the language, and understand the culture, terrain and local politics," said a senior Pentagon official
Plans to build up the Frontier Corps are not universally supported by U.S. military officials. Loyalties within the corps are thought by many observers to be divided. Members are recruited mainly from Pashtun tribes with long-standing mistrust of outsiders.
"The concern is that you give them additional training and equipment, and they could end up helping militants rather than taking action against them."
Perhaps as a hedge against those concerns, the U.S. Special Operations Command has recently begun exploring efforts to pay off tribal militias in the region that are not affiliated with the Pakistani government, and arm them to root out Al Qaeda
"You can't buy them, but you can rent them," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussions. "There is a very serious effort to look at this."
Unless Musharaff can continue to have the reliable backing of the Pakistan military, he hasn’t a chance of staying in power, or of assisting to suppress Al Qaida and Taliban formations in Pakistan. That means he will have to provide equipment to his armed forces that may not have direct application to the anti-Taliban mission, but which his military feel they need to carry our their overall mission.
We ought not to object too much to this or we will find ourselves worse off than we already are.
The failure of the Pakistan military to maintain cohesiveness would be disastrous, and could easily lead to civil war and regional breakup.
To be clear, the breakup of Pakistan would risk nuclear war between Pakistan and India in the immediacy of the breakup, and risk proliferation of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal to non-state actors in the longer term.
It is in the national interest of the United States to see Pakistan remain intact.
Personally, I want Musharaff to stay in power. It is to our benefit. Do what it takes. Or suffer the consequences.
The ME may not be ready for democracy. Maybe we need to get used to that fact. It’s no reflection on anybody..it is what it is.
“Most of Islamabad’s purchases have been big-ticket items that would be hard to deploy in counterinsurgency fights in the rugged tribal area where the Taliban and al-Qaida are holed up. They include: maritime surveillance aircraft; harpoon missiles designed to sink warships; large howitzers that have to be towed into position; and a fleet of F-16 fighter jets.”
Pakistan’s navy supports the coalition forces with supply ships and patrols in the Indian Ocean, plus F16s can be very useful in obliterating the enemy when you find them holed in groups. The author is clueless.
The money has been going to arm for conflict with India. Anybody who expected them to spend the money chasing Taliban and AQ around Waziristan is naive.