Posted on 07/13/2008 12:29:48 PM PDT by mojito
ISLAMABAD: Speculation over possible U.S. hot pursuit of Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants hiding in Pakistan rose after an unannounced visit by a top U.S. military official to Islamabad on Saturday for a meeting with the Pakistan Army chief.
Admiral Mike Mullen, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, is said to have urged the Pakistani military to act decisively against terrorist safe havens in the tribal areas, the Dawn reported. Admiral Mullen is said to have conveyed Washington’s frustration at the Pakistan government’s apparent unwillingness or inability to end cross-border infiltration by the Taliban into Afghanistan.
He met Pakistan Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Pakistan’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and General Tariq Majeed.
He is reported to have told them the government’s peace deals in the tribal areas had aggravated problems for NATO troops in Afghanistan.
The News said he was accompanied by CIA officials. The U.S. Embassy confirmed the brief visit of Admiral Mullen from Afghanistan but did not provide details. The government was quiet for a whole day on the visit, but Interior Adviser Rehman Malik told journalists on Sunday it was a “routine visit.”
Fears are rising in Pakistan that the U.S. is slowly positioning itself to carry out strikes inside the country. The Dawn said Pakistan’s “security officials” were worried about the U.S. military build-up on the Afghan side of the border and the movement of the American aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln from the Gulf to the Arabian Sea.
A spate of articles in the American media justifying the need for unilateral action by the military in the tribal areas has only fuelled fears.
The fears have prompted repeated assertions by the Pakistani leadership that it would not allow such strikes. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told journalists in Peshawar on Sunday that no country would be allowed to launch strikes in Pakistan, but he also said the activities of a “handful” of people were bringing the country a bad name.
“This is a sovereign country and no can cast a malign eye on it. When I am reassuring you that no one will be allowed to carry out attacks in Pakistan, why are you apprehensive about this? You should focus instead on telling those people who are creating unrest within Pakistan that they are bringing a bad name to the country,” said Mr. Gilani.
NATO missile strikes in the tribal areas between the NWFP and Pakistan-Afghanistan border have become more frequent. According to reports in Pakistani media, NATO forces in Afghanistan are no longer consulting the Pakistan Army before launching such strikes. A Reuters report from the tribal areas said the region was under constant surveillance by unmanned drones.
In response to a protest by the Pakistan Army against an incident in Angoor Ada, South Waziristan, on Friday, in which six troops were wounded by mortar shells fired from the Afghanistan side of the border, NATO said the attack came from militants who were “trying to create a border incident.” On Sunday, Taliban militants handed over the bodies of 17 Frontier Corps personnel they killed in an ambush on a security convoy in Hangu in NWFP.
Admiral Mullen told journalists in Kabul earlier this month the U.S. was prepared to take unilateral military action inside Pakistan on specific intelligence.
Reports in the U.S. media have suggested the action could range from air strikes to landing commandos.
It’s Pakistan, and its ISI. Doublespeak is their essence.
No sanctuary like Vietnam. We arent going to lose this war to politics.........I hope.
Except up near the borders where it's all local control and the central gov't fears to go.
The NYT is responsible for making this an issue by leaking the story that the US has a top secret plan to go after these guys.
Perhaps the good Admiral Mullen will pay a visit to some of America’s sanctuary cities, and deliver the same pronouncement, when he gets the chance.
I agree.
9 of our brave soldiers died today and EVEN if those rags are hiding in Antartica, they simply have to die.
It’s past time to go after them wherever they try to hide. I personally would like to see a policy of unloading a few B-52s anywhere on earth that terrorists are located. If the various “sovereign nations” don’t want this to happen, they need to take care of the problem themselves first, otherwise shut up.
Then you had better "hope" that Mr. Hope and Change doesn't win the election becasue we will lose not only this battle but the WOT overall.
As far as the Kunar Province and adjoining NW Pakistani territory. Nuke it as a demonstration of strength and determination to defeat Islamic fundamentalism worldwide. Nothing there worth letting live.
I don’t think it’s bad enough for doing a nuclear demonstration of our capabilities yet but this is really getting old. That region is Mos Eisley. It not worth a dime. Wretched hive of villainy and scum.
With this political crap going on, the Taliban have it good. I would hate to be stuck in the middle, ie at a NATO/US command outpost. Guess I don’t understand why overwhelming close air support wasn’t able to get there in time. Makes you wonder if it really was a long engagement.
TOUGH!
You pukes let the taliban have free reign on and cross border to kill our troops and they aren't supposed to put up a defense?
And after today's attack in the Kunar - reports not settled yet, giving 9 to 14 KIA and many more wounded - the deadliest day yet - ALL BETS AND PLAYINTG TIDDLY WINKS WITH YOU T*RDS is over - I pray!
Time to go after them in their nests and take their aiders and abettors with them. That would be the Paki military, half of whom are taliban, the other half relatives or sympathizers.
Pakistan repeatedly refuses to help stop the free flow of the taliban through the countless mt. passes into the Kunar and Patika...to strike our troops and then back to the safe arms of the Pakis with cover from the Paki military.
Time to shut them down...HOWEVER - and the devil take the hindmost.
Prayers for our troops - and bombs for the taliban and their friends, the Pakis.
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/07/taliban_launch_deadl.php
This has been a problem up there - one that Adm. Mullen went up there late year to take a look at...he was not happy with what he saw...and he ordered that to change .... I wouldn't want to be in the boots of someone whose job it was to get that air support their quickly - if it didn't
"Guess I don’t understand why overwhelming close air support wasn’t able to get there in time. Makes you wonder if it really was a long engagement."
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So that Editorial was Friday......that is a heck of a list of reasons as to why we have decided Pakistan is not Helping at All!!!
Here is the FR Thread:
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7/11/2008 6:09:28 PM PDT · by Kaslin · 9 replies · 478+ views
IBD Editorials ^ | July 11, 2008
And there is this thread:
Fears rise over U.S. “hot pursuit” into Pakistan (Mullen delivers an ultimatum)
AND regarding Pakistan's possible involvement on the Kabul assassination attempt:
These two latest attacks should be all the green light we need for Kazai to call it war on his country from Pakistan (he has pretty good evidence that the Paki Intelligence was involved) and we finally say, "That's It!" and in we all go...clean out the nests.
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