Pakistan debates which war it wants to fight

Full Comment brings you a daily roundup  of international punditry on the issues of the moment. Today, in the wake of Saturday’s shocking bombing in Islamabad -- being dubbed Pakistan’s 9/11 --  advice is raining down on all sides on the country’s new president Ali Asif Zardari and his  government.

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Another U.S. Raid In Pakistan?

God it feels good to be back in D.C., where I don’t have to worry about getting shot in a Chinook or blown up by a cross-dressing Taliban. It appears, however, that U.S. forces in Pakistan aren’t so lucky. Yes, Pakistan.

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Pakistani security forces fire on U.S. helicopters

 ISLAMABAD, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's security forces and local trial people fired on two United States helicopters and forced them to fly back to Afghanistan, website of local newspaper Daily Jang reported on Monday.

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Options for Pakistan?

These are the most dangerous of times. The trajectory of events on the Pakistan-Afghan border has a shocking parallel to the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War had begun in 1959 and by 1966 -- seventh year of the war -- the Viet Cong had established safe sanctuaries across the border in eastern Cambodia. The Viet Cong crossed the border through the Sihanouk Trail; crossed the border to rest and to rearm.

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US GLOVES ARE OFF AGAINST PAKISTAN

So the US gloves are off against Pakistan. The battle zones in eastern Afghanistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan are merged into one. From September 3, American ground assault troops with helicopter gun ships providing aerial cover are targeting Taliban and al Qaeda militants who made America lose any hope of winning the unending war in Afghanistan. US air strikes on militant bases deep inside Pak territory are also not new.

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Uses of ambivalence [English]

AMBIGUOUS are words, phrases, or statements that are open to more than one interpretation. Ambivalence is a state of mind in which a person entertains at the same time two opposite inclinations towards the same object, person or situation (as a ‘love-hate’ relationship).

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Condemnation of US Aggression in Pakistan

As a result of the surge in military activity on its western border with Afghanistan, Pakistan is currently in deep waters politically. The present predicament is the direct result of continued subservience to the United States by the Pakistani civilian and military establishment.

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Pakistan on the brink

Zardari’s first tasks are to deal with the faltering economy and get a grip on the war against terrorism while satisfying international concerns. So far he has not much to show..

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Pakistan-US relations

Currently, Pakistan's sovereignty is under a serious threat because of aerial and ground incursions into FATA by the US and NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan. The PPP government is apparently confused as to how to deal with the situation. I fail to understand why the government does not discuss in parliament the issue of US aggression.

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Collective shame

The last four days have held our public enthralled with the political saga of near epic proportions unfold before us, and be examined and commented on by all the analysts. The intellectual level of the discussions were of a very high standard, with the Urdu leaving one lost at times..

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Try Not To Laugh! 'US Respects Pakistan's Sovereignty'

George Orwell would be shaking his head and saying I told you so if the author of the prescient dystopian novel '1984' was still with us. Doublethink and doublespeak are not only alive but thriving in most statements made by the White House, Pentagon and the US State Department. The latest example in an endless stream of examples is the ludicrous and blatant lie reported in the headline, above, which was being delivered simultaneously with wire stories in a variety of global publications of several more US military incursions into Pakistani sovereign territory.

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Pakistan's sovereignty

The U.S. wants to fight terrorism; most Pakistanis want America to stay away. Whose rights should prevail?


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Pakistanis Die. Pakistanis Cry. Yet Again.

This was another bad week for Pakistanis. Our closest international ally continued bombing our territory. The self-style custodians of our morality kept up the indiscriminate killing of our citizen. One of our most popular television show anchors incited murder in the name of religion through television.

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Musharraf - The Man with All the Answers…Shame

Whenever, there is a sucide attack in Pakistan, Musharaf blindly points his finger at the people of Waziristan or Baluchistan. When people in North West Frontier hold arms against his Un-Islamic idealogies, he calls them ‘terrorists’ and ‘extremists’ and seek the support of ‘Uncle Sam’. When thousands of lawyers and judges ask Musharaf to go and restore judges, he says the ‘majority’ wants him to stay.

http://www.naitazi.com/2008/04/06/musharraf-the-man-with-all-the-answersshame/

US attack inside Pakistan threatens dangerous new war

A ground assault by US Special Forces troops on a Pakistani village on Wednesday threatens to expand the escalating Afghanistan war into its neighbour. Pakistan is already confronting a virtual civil war in its tribal border regions as the country’s military, under pressure from Washington, seeks to crush Islamist militias supporting the anti-occupation insurgency inside Afghanistan.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10084

US attacks raise stakes in Pakistan

"I am not convinced we are winning in Afghanistan. I am convinced we can," the US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said at a Congressional briefing on 10 September.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7616005.stm

ISPR chief downplays report about orders given to forces

ISLAMABAD, Sept 16: The army has ordered its forces to fire on US troops if they carry out another raid from across the Afghan border.


An army spokesman said on Tuesday that field commanders had been asked to prevent any further raid after US helicopters recently ferried troops into the South Waziristan tribal region.
ISPR director-general Maj-Gen Athar Abbas was quoted by the Associated Press as saying: “The orders are clear.”


http://dawn.com/2008/09/17/top4.htm

US official makes public demand for reforming ISI

WASHINGTON, Sept 16: A proposal for reforming the ISI – now publicly articulated by a senior US official – was discussed thoroughly between Pakistani and American authorities during Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s visit to Washington in July.

CIA chief Michael V. Hayden had an exclusive meeting with the prime minister during his visit, presenting him with a “charge-sheet” on the spy agency’s alleged involvement in jihadi activities.Save Now

Later, in an interview to Washington Times, Mr Gilani said that CIA deputy director Stephen R. Kappes and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael G. Mullen visited Islamabad in mid-July with reports of some ISI officials’ alleged links with the militants.
And on Monday, US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Richard Boucher said at a private luncheon in Washington that the controversial spy agency needed reform but there’s no indication this was happening.

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The future divide

SOMEONE once asked his friend what he would do if a tiger entered his room. The friend replied that whatever had to be done would be done by the tiger, so why ask him.

This joke fits in well with the current state of US-Pakistan relations. The media was first excited by Gen Kayani’s statement about the army not tolerating American intrusions into Pakistan’s territory and then by President Zardari’s visit to the UK and his forthcoming one to the US.

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Is the US Preparing To Attack Pakistan?

The Bush Administration may be preparing to lash out at old ally Pakistan, which Washington now blames for its humiliating failures to crush al-Qaida, capture its elusive leaders, or defeat Taliban resistance forces in Afghanistan.
One is immediately reminded of the Vietnam War when the Pentagon, unable to defeat North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong forces, urged invasion of Cambodia.

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US pushes Pakistan towards the brink

The decision to make public a presidential order of July authorizing American strikes inside Pakistan without seeking the approval of the Pakistani government ends a long debate within, and on the periphery of, the George W Bush administration.


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Tomgram: Tariq Ali, Has the U.S. Invasion of Pakistan Begun?

As Andrew Bacevich tells us in the latest issue of the Atlantic, there's now a vigorous debate going on in the military about the nature of the "next" American wars and how to prepare for them. However, while military officers argue, that "next war" may already be creeping up on us.


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RAIDS INTO PAKISTAN: WHAT U.S. AUTHORITY?

Bush's orders to send special forces after Taliban militants have roots in previous presidencies.

WASHINGTON - Orders President Bush signed in July authorizing raids by special operations forces in the areas of Pakistan controlled by the Taliban and Al Qaeda and undertaking those raids without official Pakistani consent, have roots stretching back to the days following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0915/p02s01-uspo.html

Predator Drones vs. US Troops in Pakistan

A few days ago, I reviewed the positions of Barack Obama, John McCain, and George Bush on the question of whether or not US troops should cross the border into Pakistan -- against the wishes of the Pakistani government -- to pursue high-level al Qaeda operatives if intelligence reports indicated that such a raid might succeed. Obama clearly endorsed the idea, whereas McCain declared it to be naive. Bush once seemed to briefly endorse the idea as well, but his actual policy over the last few years has been to rely almost exclusively on attacks by pilotless drones (an approach that seems to have the tacit approval of Pakistan). The only exception that I am aware of is the recent special forces operation into Pakistan that has elicited loud objections from Pakistan, and that raid was not even designed to target al Qaeda leaders so far as I can tell:

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U.S.-Pakistani Relations in Crisis

The United States has been forced to take a harder line against the Taliban in Pakistan as the Taliban gains strength in Afghanistan. The Pakistani government is finding it difficult to stay on the tightrope between cooperating with the U.S. and maintaining public support. As a result, tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan are reaching a crisis point.


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View From Dubai: Attacking Pakistan? Don't Do It

Back home in the sub-continent, they say you should always stay away from the cops; their friendship as well as adversity is bad for one's health. I am reminded of the advice as the world's chief cop, the United States, bombs its allies and friends in Pakistan. With friends like these, do you really need enemies?


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Suspected US missiles hit Pakistani village

Wednesday, 17 Sep, PESHAWAR: A suspected US missile attack by drone aircraft on Wednesday hit a village in the Pakistani tribal region of South Waziristan where a militant camp was located, Pakistani intelligence officials said. The missiles targeted Baghar, a village in the mountains 55km west of Wana, the main town in the region, they said. Baghar is close to Angor Adda, the border village that was raided by US commandos on Sept. 3, and where another helicopter-borne raid was aborted on Monday after Pakistani troops and villagers opened fire. A Pakistani military spokesman said there had been explosions in the area, but could not confirm the cause. According to Dawn News, six people have been killed and seven injured in the attack. (Posted @ 21:00 PST)

Is Pakistan the next target?

Top military commander Admiral Mike Mullen met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani and Chief of the Staff Ashfaq Pervez Kayani with a view to easing tension in the wake of rising air strikes and at least one ground assault at Angoor Adda. This was his second meeting with General Kayani in less than three weeks as the two had met aboard USS Abraham Lincoln in the Indian Ocean on August 26. Mullen had perhaps misunderstood the gesture of Pakistan’s reiteration of cooperation in war on terror. Anyhow, both civil and military leaders have categorically stated that Pakistan would not allow any operation within its territory. A day earlier, Pakistan Army spokesperson Major General Ather Abbas had said: “Pakistan’s security forces have been ordered to open fire on the US troops if they launch another raid across the Afghan border and that no incursion is to be tolerated.”

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US confronts Pakistan once again

The US has taken its confrontation with Pakistan to a new level, reportedly firing missiles into the country despite warnings from Islamabad.

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'US drone' kills five in Pakistan

At least five people have been killed in a suspected missile attack by a US drone on a village in north-west Pakistan, local officials say.


The officials said missiles hit the village of Baghar in South Waziristan, close to the Afghan border.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7621616.stm

Clear order for Pak army to repel US raids

Pakistan army says its forces are given clear orders to open fire if US troops launch another cross border attack inside the country.

Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said Tuesday that "no incursion is to be tolerated".

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