* U.S. more willing to upset Pakistan as it pursues the Taliban
* Congress weighs new restrictions on aid to Pakistan military
The U.S. drone strike that killed the Taliban's top leader as he traveled through Pakistan reflects just how much the United States is willing to disregard an ally it increasingly sees as an obstacle to securing peace in Afghanistan.
The May 21 killing of Mullah Akhtar Mansour was an embarrassment to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government because it highlighted how -- five years after commandos killed Osama Bin Laden near an elite military academy -- a top threat to the U.S. was able to enter and leave the country with impunity. It was also a departure for U.S. strategy because it occurred in Baluchistan province, beyond the tribal areas where drones typically operate.
The strike, which both sides said was carried out without Pakistan's knowledge, was the latest signal by the U.S. of just how much mistrust has deepened as a result of Pakistan's continued, if tacit, support for the Taliban. It also shows how difficult it will be for the U.S. to reach a true end to its longest war.
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Update: US urges Pakistan to go after Afghan Taliban leaders (DAWN).
WNU Editor: I have been saying for years that Pakistan has been playing both sides of the fence .... but it looks like that policy is now catching up to them.
Stop ssucking to the suckered
ReplyDeleteStop ssucking to the suckered
ReplyDeleteAs a result of Pakistan's at least tacit support of the Afghan Taliban, it remains impotent fighting force in Afghanistan. Without Pakistan providing a generally safe zone in Northern Pakistan for the Afghan Taliban, we would probably not be talking about them today. One can't overestimate the value of a safe region where you can organize, refit, and train with almost impunity. Pakistan is concerned about Afghanistan, and would like to keep it weak, because of the support and closer ties it has with its rivals India and China. Without the support for the Afghan Taliban, Afghanistan would be a natural ally, for ethnic, religious and tribal reasons. However, Pakistan now has the Tiger, in the form of the Afghan Taliban, by the tail and can't let it go for fear it will bite them. Pakistan is playing both sides of the fence, they are concerned with the radical street and it's ties to its own Taliban problem. They can't realistically claim they are a full ally of the US when it is forced to kill top terrorist and Taliban leaders on Pakistani soil without telling them, for fear they will be tipped off prior to the strike. The US may need to close the spigot a little bit, and make the pakistanis military feel the pain or correspondingly increase ties with the Indian military who the pakistanis hate the most in order to get them to change. Pakistan is going to be left with a choice, and it will be a painful one.
ReplyDeletePoor relations is a step forward. Now we are almost dealing with reality. We should hate and despise them as much as they do us.
ReplyDeleteThey have been stabbing us in the back for 15 years.