Pakistan Drives Militants Into Trap

U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visits U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpls. Steven Linsbe (right) and Amardeep Signh during a visit to Forward Operating Base Baqwah, Farah Province, Afghanistan, Dec. 21, 2008. DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

From Washington Times:

JALALABAD, Afghanistan | Pakistan's ongoing military offensive in its northwest tribal areas is chasing insurgents across the border, where they are being intercepted by a U.S.-Afghan security initiative, a U.S. commander says.

The level of violence over the past couple of months in the northeastern [Afghan] provinces of Kunar and Nuristan has risen significantly from the same period last year, and is expected to increase another 10 percent to 20 percent in the spring, largely because of the results of operations across the border in Pakistan´s Bajaur region, Army Col. John Spiszer told The Washington Times.

Although Pakistan's commitment to the campaign against militants has been questioned and some Pakistani troops are reported to have been redeployed to the country's eastern border with India, the Bajaur campaign was having an impact, Col. Spiszer said.

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