Posted on 05/16/2009 3:18:39 PM PDT by MyTwoCopperCoins
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. is sending Special Forces teams into one of Pakistan's most violent regions as part of a push to accelerate the training of the Pakistani military and make it a more effective ally in the fight against insurgents there.
Senior U.S. officials said 25 to 50 Special Forces personnel are deploying to two new training camps in Baluchistan, a Taliban stronghold on the porous Afghan-Pakistani border. The deployment brings U.S. personnel deeper than before into tribal regions of Pakistan, which the Obama administration views as among the world's most-dangerous flashpoints.
The Special Forces personnel will focus on training Pakistan's Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force responsible for battling the Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, who cross freely between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the officials said. The U.S. trainers aren't meant to fight alongside the Pakistanis or accompany them into battle, in part because there will be so few Special Forces personnel in the two training camps.
A senior American military officer said he hoped Islamabad would gradually allow the U.S. to expand its training footprint inside Pakistan's borders. A former U.S. official familiar with the plans said the deployments would "get more American eyes and ears" into the strategically important region.
The project, which draws on proposals first discussed under the Bush administration, is a joint effort with the U.K., senior U.S. officials said. The U.K. plans to help fund the training, although it is unclear if British military personnel would take part in the initiative. British officials have been pushing for such an effort for several years. It builds on small-scale, U.S. training efforts already under way in the northern part of Pakistan.
The Pakistani and British embassies in Washington declined to comment. The U.S. military's Central Command, which oversees operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, also declined to
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
So, let me get this straight: the Democrats are widening, expanding the war?
Vietnam under Kennedy?
Isn’t it a little late to start trsining?
“WASHINGTON — The U.S. is sending Special Forces teams into one of Pakistan’s most violent regions as part of a push to accelerate the training of the Pakistani military and make it a more effective ally in the fight against insurgents there.”
Think training Pakis is a good idea, there, Bammy?
Swarthyguy’s comment on another thread:
This should be evaluated in conjunction with a story in the WSJ yesterday that two SF teams, size undetermined had been sent to the unnamed frontier and tribal areas, to help train the FrontierCorps, a Sisyphusian exercise in futility if there ever was one, but probably a figleaf for their true purpose, which would be nuclear related.
The Paki military is probably highly split among the upper ranks as well, with pro and anti US camps doing a deadly shadow dance for now.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2251810/posts
We’re training them to kill us.
Obama Express approaching on track 6..please clear track 6!
we’ve had Spec Ops guys in Pershawar since the late 70s...
weird isn’t it to think of that?
Couple of U2 missions used to be flown out of Pakistan.
What could possibly go wrong?
The USAFSS had a detachment there from about the mid 50s to the mid 60s when the Pakis booted us.
So, the next decade’s Zetas will be from Pakistan?
During last 24 hours Security Forces have achieved success in various areas of Swat. We request the civil population of Swat to come forward and help security forces in identifying the Taliban terrorists. We have confirmed reports that these Taliban terrorists after shaving off their beards and cutting hair are fleeing from the area. We request the people of Swat to identify them by pointing out at a check post where security forces are present. You may dial the cell number 0333-5239938 which we are publicizing through media, or send sms which may help the arrest of these Taliban Terrorists.
An important Terrorist commander, Dawa Noor has also been apprehended by security forces. Dawa Noor is known Terrorist Taliban Commander who was also member of TNSM shoora and was grossly involved in terrorist activities in Sultanwas and Daggar. Before security forces launched operation in Buner, Dawa Noor was instigating civil population of the area against security forces on FM Radio and with the help of a Loud Speaker on a Jeep. He played crucial role in facilitating taking over of Buner by Taliban Terrorists.
http://www.ispr.gov.pk/front/main.asp?o=t-press_release&id=642
To a question about FM Radios being run by militants, Abbas said that militants were using 36 FM radio transmitters in Swat, however, they are able to continue their transmission only for 2-3 minutes as the military is capable to locate and jam their transmission.
http://www.aaj.tv/news/Latest/167_detail.html
One female student in the town of Saidu Sharif has managed to send e-mails to the BBC News website describing the struggle to survive:
I am still in Swat and I will die here. I will not leave my homeland because of the Taleban and I’ll fight against them with every possible means.
Our communication system is not working. My phone hasn’t been working for many days, it only gets a signal occasionally, especially when the curfew is removed.
There is no electricity and we are using a generator but we have a limited supply of oil to run it. We are only using it for half an hour every 24 hours to charge the laptop and the phones. I am writing this in a hurry.
Most of the people in our town and surrounding villages have left. The ones who have remained want to leave, but most have no money for transport.
Pregnant women and sick people, who can’t walk, have been left behind. In the whole of Swat there is not a single lady doctor. Even a male doctor is hard to find, as they have left.
I know that people in refugee camps in Pakistan live in bad conditions, but the government and international donors are ignoring those remaining in Swat.
Food shortages
People are hungry. Because of the curfew there is a shortage of food. We are running out of stored food items. But we are at risk every time we go out as we might be targeted by the Taleban or the army.
There are many Taleban commanders in my village. Their intelligence is so good, they know what we discuss in our homes.
Six days ago one of my relatives was slaughtered in Mingora city. His dead body was left on the road for four days and nobody handed it over to his parents.
A militant group from a nearby village, all of them young boys, used to come to our girls’ college to intimidate the girls. They were checking the faces of girls and were saying things like “I love you” and similar nonsense. One day this group tortured a female school teacher.
I wanted to complete an MBA course. Now the colleges are closed, schools are destroyed, education is impossible. Women can’t even go out on the streets any more.
I know who the local Taleban are. I know them personally. Some of them are my distant relatives. A friend of mine works for the police here and he knows them too, but he can’t do anything. The ISI [Inter-Services Intelligence] targeted and destroyed the police force structure, clearing ground for Taleban activities.
In the past, when people have come forward with the details of Taleban they know, they have been betrayed.
So I don’t know who we can trust with that information now.
Everybody here is against the Taleban. But for me there is a big question mark over the dedication of the Pakistani army.
The Taleban have their own FM radio station. How come they can be traced by foreign media to give interviews, but they can’t be traced and killed by the Pakistani army?
Mingora city is under Taleban control. What is the army doing about it?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8054143.stm
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