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U.S. Raids in Pakistan: A Rethink?
September 29, 2008 1:03 PM
By NICK SCHIFRIN, ABC News Islamabad, Pakistan
There is a must-read story in today’s Army Times about Pakistan and Afghanistan and the U.S. approach to the problem here. It goes much deeper into the psyche of the United States here than we’ve seen anyone else do.
The United States decided to let its special forces go into Pakistan because it was frustrated by the level of attacks in eastern Afghanistan. But now it’s realized the one major ground attack in Pakistan has backfired, and has decided – once again -- to let the Pakistan military handle the ground offensives.
The article says the special forces raid into Pakistan Sept. 3 came about after a “watershed moment” in Afghanistan – the attack on a base near the Kunar-Bajaur border that killed nine troops July 13. Special operations forces had been itching to go into Pakistan for years, the article says, and “in the wake of the increased Taliban attacks we’ve seen over the last several months and the sense of frustration that we haven’t been more successful, their point of view has finally gained traction,” an unnamed government official told the Army Times’ senior writer Sean Naylor.
But the military didn’t realize the backlash that raid would cause in Pakistan, the article says, and has since once again restrained its special forces from going into Pakistan on foot.
The mission “was meant to be the beginning of a campaign,” the government official says. “We miscalculated, and now we’re trying to figure out how to walk the dog back. … Once the Pakistanis started talking about closing down our supply routes, and actually demonstrated they could do it, once they started talking about shooting American helicopters, we obviously had to take seriously that maybe this [approach] was not going to be good enough,” the government official said. “We can’t sustain ourselves in Afghanistan without the Pakistani supply routes. At the end of the day, we had to not let our tactics get in the way of our strategy. … As much as it may be good to get some of these bad guys, we can’t do it at the expense of being able to sustain ourselves in Afghanistan, obviously.”
I think that quotation goes to the heart of the issue here:
1. What U.S. diplomats and Pakistani military/government officials have been calling long-term vs. short-term goals. In the short term you might get more bad guys if you launch raids in Pakistan, but in the long term you need to win over the Pakistani people in order to defeat the militancy in the tribal areas. And there is nothing that will turn Pakistanis – even anti-Taliban Pakistanis – toward the bad guys faster than multiple U.S. raids in Pakistan.
2. The United States does not like to talk about the supply lines, but they are vitally important. More than 80 percent of the gear being used in Afghanistan goes on an 1,100-mile journey through each of Pakistan’s four provinces. In the last few months the supply line has been attacked repeatedly, and was even temporarily shut down by the Pakistani government as a political protest to the Sept. 3 raid. That was a big deal.
Add the importance of that supply line to the vulnerability of U.S. troops in eastern Afghanistan and no wonder the United States is chomping at the bit to fix the tribal areas. But never before have we heard anyone in the United States publicly admit the recent decision to give ground forces free reign in Pakistan had backfired.
“We are now working with the Pakistanis to make sure that those type of ground-type insertions do not happen, at least for a period of time to give them an opportunity to do what they claim they are desiring to do.”
Anyway, it’s worth a read... Click here to read the article
Read more from Nick Schifrin:
- Insecurity and Foreign Policy Affect Ordinary Lives in Pakistan
- U.S., Pakistan Disagree on Downed Drone
- Pakistan Feels More Volatile Than Ever
- Pakistan: A Search for Bodies, Clues
September 29, 2008 in Nick Schifrin | Permalink | User Comments (19)
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It is high time to establish
alternate supply lines through
Kazakastan/former soviet union.
pakistan is a failed state and
US must dismantle it.
the islamists are far worse
foes than soviets or the current
russians. so swallow the vain pride
and call putin for help let him
clean the house and take over
all areas upto and including
pakistan (use nukes if needed).
if this is not done i see a
protracted clash of cultures,
i dont want to be harmed by
some chimp brained islamist
because other liberals
in the US dont want to nuke
middle east and conservatives
dont want to admit that
we cannot fight all enemies at
once. first eliminate islam.
russia is far less a threat than
islam....
Posted by: dan | Sep 29, 2008 3:27:51 PM
Just more of the same ridiculous Liberal BS that is losing us this war. The military knew exactly what the response might be - if the Pakistanis (like all Muslims) keep trying to work both sides rather than standing up against terrorism.
Posted by: John Kantor | Sep 29, 2008 4:07:58 PM
We need to declare that it is our right to invade any nation at any time no matter what. We need to keep borrowing money from oversees to build bombs so that we can drop them on Persians who haven't invaded anyone in God knows how long.
Posted by: Huh | Sep 29, 2008 5:03:26 PM
this is good
Posted by: bob | Sep 29, 2008 5:57:57 PM
THIS IS CRAZY...we give Afghanistan million probably billions and we have given them years to fix this problem once they can not (correction) WILL NOT then we take action into our own hands they cut our supply lines and we cave???????????? no wonder the US economy is in a crisis we are cowing down to third world countries THANKS BUSH
Posted by: steve | Sep 29, 2008 7:33:56 PM
THIS IS CRAZY...we give Afghanistan million probably billions and we have given them years to fix this problem once they can not (correction) WILL NOT then we take action into our own hands they cut our supply lines and we cave???????????? no wonder the US economy is in a crisis we are cowing down to third world countries THANKS BUSH
Posted by: steve | Sep 29, 2008 7:34:04 PM
How dare the pakistanis enforce their sovereignty! The world should follow U.S. policy and not respect anyone's sovereignty. In fact when China or Russa invades the U.S. a couple decades from now (and it will happen) the U.S. may as well hold out a "Welcome Occupation" sign. And to the idiot who wants to eliminate Islam. You can never elminate Islam. Islam is not a person, it is a faith, it is a way of life. And it is shared by over a billion people consisting of every ethnicity and nationality imaginable. Yes even some Russians and Americans share Islam. Perhaps you should join the KKK you racist S O B.
Posted by: Sherry Cooper | Sep 29, 2008 8:01:35 PM
fascist abc strike again...yes my comments are deleted. ABC, are you the new age nazis?
Posted by: Sherry Cooper | Sep 29, 2008 8:03:15 PM
Almost all nations have someone that is a threat to their government or their people. I suppose the US will not mind if those nations send assasin squads into the US to deal with those people.
Oh that is right! We would be outaged by that. Try to see how you would feel if you were put into other peoples' position.
Posted by: pubguy | Sep 29, 2008 8:34:53 PM
We need some alternate supply lines. The bad guys are based in Pakistan and the Pakistanis aren't getting the job done. If our troops can't attack the enemy what are they doing there? A country that shelters those who attack our troops is not a friend, no matter what they say.
Posted by: Ian | Sep 29, 2008 9:09:38 PM
I agree with you pubguy, but unfortunately we are an ignorant nation. We somehow believe that just because we think it is the right way, that it is. We don't realize that these are human beings over there and innocent people who don't want to be disrupted everyday by US military forces barging their doors down and shooting off guns and dropping bombs in the neighborhoods they live in, work in, and live peaceable lives. Once again we are chasing rabbits with bazookas and atom bombs. It's just senseless and somehow this karma comes back to get us. But until we are intelligent enough to understand what we are doing right and what we are doing wrong then we are doomed. Unfortunately this will lead to the demise of all of us. The decisions of the ignorant will bring us all down. It's very sad.
Posted by: lkinopfl | Sep 29, 2008 10:06:04 PM
What does the Bush Administration have to show for the $10 billion given to the Pakistanis since 9/11? They provide a haven for Bin Laden, recruits and training areas for the Taliban who cross the border to murder Afghan and Nato troops and now they want to cut off Nato troops' supply lines in Pakistan.
Posted by: Truesdell | Sep 29, 2008 10:57:29 PM
Going into Pakistan against Pakistan's wishes and causing ill will with the Pakistani people is a no brainer. Only Bush could have approved this strategy. What else can this guy possibly do before he leaves?
Posted by: Mike | Sep 30, 2008 12:00:10 AM
We're so screwed. That's my thought after every article I read. I wonder if there's an intent of negativity that the press wants to ingrain in us. What does the media want from us?
Keep tuning in because it only gets better after this...
Posted by: Todd | Sep 30, 2008 1:28:33 AM
Going into Pakistan without their approval. why does that sound familiar. Oh yeah, Obama said that if he was president that he would go into Pakistan and fight the Taliban there without Pakistan's approval. Well I guess his plan would have worked. Not.
Say what you may about McCain he is not stupid. He said that was a bad idea and this is proving him right.
Posted by: coolrepublica | Sep 30, 2008 1:29:56 AM
i have a solution for all worlds problems. wipe out the middle east
Posted by: mike | Sep 30, 2008 1:47:00 AM
War with Pakistan means war with a real military for first time in over 70 years. This will not be Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Korea kind of "war" we are used to "winning".
Posted by: FactCheck | Sep 30, 2008 4:16:17 AM
"War on Terror" is as idiotic a term as "War on drugs". A war is a military conflict, clearly this problem though is a much deeper one. Calling it a "war" might gain votes with simpletons stuck in a caveman mentality but it's never going to solve the problem (and as this article shows often just makes everything worse by creating new enemies).
Posted by: Marcus Jonas | Sep 30, 2008 7:31:39 AM
Despite all the tough talk the Rambos have blinked. The Jehadis have won.Talk about tactics versus strategy is just hogwash.
And that's not good news for the rest of the world.
I wonder if the Pakis choke the US army's supply lines,why don't the US turn off the financial aid to Pakistan? Pakistan needs the US aid more than the US needs supply lines going through Pakistan.
Posted by: Luminous | Oct 1, 2008 1:51:07 AM
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