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| India-Pakistan |
| Terror Sanctuary |
| 2006-10-04 |
| YOU COULD HEAR the tension over the radios. As the Afghan border guards helplessly listened to the crackle of gunfire and the sharp, frantic voices of there brethren under attack at another distant post, American troops made a call to their base for air support. After four bloody hours of fighting, the rebels loaded onto a truck and drove a few hundred yards over the unmarked border into the safety and sanctuary of Pakistan. In the end, two Afghan allies lay dead with two more badly wounded and an assault force of up to 100 Taliban-affiliated fighters slipped away to refit, rearm, and plan for more attacks unmolested in the lawless western border region of Pakistan. That was back in April of 2004, near a remote border checkpoint east of the Afghan city of Khost. This volatile area--which was a primary transit point for anti-Soviet mujihadeen fighters in the mid-1980s--flanks one of the most contentious enclaves in the region. The so-called tribal areas of North and South Waziristan, just over the mountainous border with Pakistan, have been the launching points for violent attacks against U.S. and Afghan forces for years, but have remained largely "no-go" zones for American--and Pakistani--forces. In that eastern frontier of Afghanistan, the bad guys come over the border, past seemingly oblivious Pakistani guards, ambush American forces and other Afghan or coalition troops, then run back over the border into the sanctuary of the tribal areas. Rumors of bin Laden and his chiefs' taking shelter there are commonplace, but few details have emerged from this Pashtun enclave closed to outsiders--until now. In the Frontline season premier airing this evening on PBS, award-winning documentary producer and journalist Martin Smith delivers an unprecedented view of a terrorist breeding ground that has apparently replaced Taliban-run Afghanistan. "Return of the Taliban" is a frightening look into the medieval madness and violence of the tribal areas--where disloyal elders are beheaded in the public square and thieves are hanged in the streets with money stuffed in their gaping mouths for all to see--should serve as a wakeup call to anyone who thinks America's enemies are in retreat. Ask any military commander in Afghanistan where he thinks the threats are coming from and he'll tell you they're from the tribal areas of Pakistan. Though the Pakistani government issues vociferous denials that it harbors al Qaeda on its soil--with Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf recently declaring that al Qaeda's leadership is hiding in Afghanistan (which has more than 20,000 U.S. troops) not in Pakistan's tribal areas (which now has zero Pakistani troops on patrol)--the Frontline documentary provides strong evidence that powerful terrorist leaders such as Jalaluddin Haqqani and Nek Mohammed have been allowed to thrive in the tribal areas. Incorporating vividly unsettling video footage and in-depth interviews with key players in the region, Smith paints a grim picture of a situation that seems to be slipping further from America's grasp. "Arresting him might be something we will have to do," says one Pakistani official interviewed in the Frontline documentary of Haqqani. "But I'm not sure whether we know where he is, or whether we are capable at this time." On at least one occasion in 2004, however, an American surveillance drone observed Haqqani enter a mosque in the tribal area, deliver a sermon, walk out with his entourage, and load into vehicles for the trip back to his compound. Despite the intelligence, U.S. forces were unable to secure permission to fire a precision missile or enter Pakistan to pursue the insurgent commander. The combination of strong ties with Pakistan's intelligence service, the political risk of an aggressive counter-terror campaign, and a sympathetic population help the growing Taliban and al Qaeda movement to thrive in the tribal areas, the Frontline program shows. Though it is a remarkably balanced portrayal of the situation over the Pakistan border, "Return of the Taliban" does lob a few cheap political shots. "But, by now the administration was preoccupied with Iraq. The hunt for al Qaeda was left to Pakistan," the Frontline narrator says. Never mind that Pakistan has forbidden U.S. troops from entering its territory and protested loudly when a missile strike from an unmanned drone killed more than a dozen civilians along with four al Qaeda operatives in early 2006. "We have a clear agreement that whatever happens on our side of the border, it is Pakistan's responsibility and our forces' responsibility," Musharraf tells Smith. "Nobody comes across the border. . . . Any action without our knowledge and without our clearance and approval and without our dictation is not acceptable to Pakistan." The hunt for al Qaeda was left to Pakistan because Pakistan wanted it that way. The question the Frontline episode leaves unanswered, however, is what America can or should do about a situation that seems to grow more dangerous by the day. If al Qaeda and the Taliban are safely regrouping in the border regions of Pakistan, doesn't this pose a threat to the United States? Musharraf recently concluded an agreement with elders in Waziristan who promised they would not harbor terrorists and would curtail cross-border incursions in exchange for a total exodus of Pakistani troops. America's top general in the region, Gen. John Abiziad has said he's skeptical such an agreement is realistic. But as the Frontline documentary shows, it may be all America can hope for in the near term. "He's the only ally you have in the region who is capable of delivering on his promises. You have no other ally," Pakistan's ambassador to the U.N., Munir Akram, tells Smith of Musharraf. "You pressurize Pakistan, you destabilize Pakistan, the most counterproductive thing you do is to press Pakistan more." As frustrating as it may be for Americans to watch a terrorist sanctuary take root just a few miles from U.S. and Afghan forces, "Return of the Taliban" shows Akram may well be right. Christian Lowe is a senior writer with Army Times Publishing Co. and has covered U.S. operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. |
| Posted by:john |
| #9 Heh, hutchrun - good idea. I always wonder how far back is OK to go - on all Int'l issues... Actually, all those lines on the maps are shit. Shit, I tells ya! It was all stolen. From ME! -Alley Oop |
| Posted by: .com 2006-10-04 23:55 |
| #8 SOLUTION Afghanistan and Balochistan should form a legal team to challenge the illegal occupation of Afghan territories and Balochistan by Pakistan in the International Court of Justice. Once the Durand Line Agreement is declared illegal, it will result in the return of Pakistan-occupied territories back to Afghanistan. Also, Balochistan will be declared a country that was forcibly invaded through use of force by the Pakistanis; and with international assistance, Balochistan can regain its independence. It is the right time to act now because the US and Allied forces in Afghanistan are positioned to facilitate the enforcement of the Court’s judgment. After Pakistan vacates territories belonging to Afghanistan and Balochistan, a new boarder should be demarked amicably to determine Baloch dominated areas to become the new Balochistan, and Pashtun dominated areas to be merged into Afghanistan. And, with the help of the US and Allied forces, the Afghans and the Baloch forces can flush out members of Al-Qaeda and Talebans from their respective countries. A wise observer once said, “Pakistan is a completely superfluous and artificially created spot on the world map that has become a breeding ground for extremism, and trouble that would be best done away with.” http://afghanland.com/history/durrand.html |
| Posted by: hutchrun 2006-10-04 23:52 |
| #7 Uh Zen, I can help you on the remote weapon part. Sure. Be happy to. |
| Posted by: remoteman 2006-10-04 19:50 |
| #6 trailing wife has the priorities straight. IRAN first. Their nuclear capability would be a complete wrench in the gears for everything else that's happening in the Middle East. Nothing even comes close to the importance of this single issue. Then PAKISTAN. It is the principal training and indoctrination center for the vast majortiy of existing terrorists. Masharraf has outlived his usefulness and has had the temerity to thumb his nose at our need to intervene. The only delicate issue is confiscating Pakistan's nuclear arsenal in a timely and irreversible fashion when the moment arrives. Then SAUDI ARABIA. These over-monied royal fucks are the central clearinghouse for all terrorist funding and ideological programming. They must be deposed and all Saudi imams and mosque clerics must expelled around the globe and sent back to their Islamic As always, while we're in the process of dismantling Saudi Arabia, I'll certainly suggest we consider appropriating not only their oil production but also the holy shrines at Mecca and Medina. Make all access to the haj conditional on a fourteen month absence of Islamic terrorist atrocities, world-wide. A single bombing, or even a uncovered plot to bomb, closes the shrines for a solid year. Set up a no-man's land of automatic fire machine guns and minefields surrounding the shrines. Twenty-four hour surveillance by armed drones and night vision systems to trigger them. Let it become the ultimate flypaper. Read Islam the riot act that a NBC (Nuclear, Biological or Chemical) attack will see one of the shrines contaminated or demolished in a similar fashion. Biometrically identify all who are allowed to enter the shrines and back-trace their activities. No more Saudi funding of the haj, so that vulernable acolytes from developing countries can come and be indoctrinated by the royals' wahabbist minions. Installation of reformist clerics to oversee all haj activities at the shrines. I'm sure you get the picture. Then SYRIA. Then LEBANON. Then anyone else who we see farting sideways. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-10-04 16:06 |
| #5 India should be our primary ally in the flattening of Pakistan. This has been the heart of the islamonazi movement - Suadi is the soul and lifeblood(money). But it is in Pakiliand where the talk turns to action. It has to stop. The tribal areas need to be carpet bombed in a very big, very extended way. |
| Posted by: remoteman 2006-10-04 15:38 |
| #4 Hit pakistan, dismember it, and end its existence. That'll put an end to the cannon fodder. We entered Iraq to have a secure place to operate from against other arab nations. We need to destroy pakistan to put an end to the false document trade, the poppy trade, and the endless supply of splodeydopes. Once that task is done, THEN we can collapse from both sides against Iran. With Iraq and Iran, we will control enough oil to be able to put the Saudis in a world of hurt, and start dismantling their wahabbi infrastructure around the world. We should also have enough non-saudi, non-US troops to be able to crush the magic kingdom without using US soldiers, and thus not "sully" the "holy ground" of saudiland. We'll still have to crush Sudan and Somalia to keep the talibanazis from reforming, but it will be a lot easier. This is going to be a LONG war, with many stages. We should never forget that, nor what the main targets are, in order of importance. The donks are too stupid to figure that out, and most of the repuglycons are just as guilty. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2006-10-04 12:48 |
| #3 Saudi. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-10-04 11:21 |
| #2 Which should we hit first, Iran or Pakistan? |
| Posted by: Sleaper Thraviter2776 2006-10-04 10:52 |
| #1 "He's the only ally you have in the region who is capable of delivering on his promises. You have no other ally," Pakistan's ambassador to the U.N., Munir Akram, tells Smith of Musharraf. Please let us all know just what we DO have, if you would Ambassador Akram. The don't have's will sort themselves out accordingly. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-10-04 10:18 |