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India-Pakistan
Source: U.S. troops launch helicopter assault in Pakistan
2008-09-04
U.S. military forces landed at a compound in Pakistan to battle targets linked to recent attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, a senior U.S. official confirmed Wednesday.

The official declined to be identified, citing the extreme sensitivity of U.S. forces operating within Pakistan's borders.
So why did you say it?
He had to prove to the reporter how important he was ...
The action was an uncommon one for the U.S. military. Generally, NATO forces do not enter Pakistan except when pursuing insurgents in Afghanistan who slipped over the border or, in an extreme case, to pursue a high-value target.
Now, lemme see here: they weren't pursuing turbans that slipped across the border, so that leaves...?
The Pentagon has refused to comment officially on the attack, but several defense officials acknowledged that U.S. military activity had taken place inside Pakistan. The senior U.S. official said a small number of U.S. helicopters landed troops in the village near Angoor Adda in South Waziristan, where Taliban and al Qaeda fighters have hunkered down over the years.
Not any more.
Local media reports said the troops came out of a chopper and fired on civilians. The U.S. official said there may have been a small number of women and children in the immediate vicinity, but when the mission began "everybody came out firing" from the compound.
"Maw! You and the young 'uns get out there and fire at the infidels!"
"Sure, Paw. What'll you be doing?"
"Ummm... I'm gonna go get help!"
And hopefully US forces managed to kill every last innocent civilian who was shooting at them.
He said the U.S. troops specifically attacked three buildings in the compound. They were believed to contain individuals responsible for training and equipping insurgents who have been crossing the border into Afghanistan in increasing numbers in recent months and staging large-scale, high-profile attacks against U.S. and coalition forces.

The official could not say if the troops were going after a specific individual.
Nor should they ...
Officials told CNN there was no indication the target was Osama bin Laden or his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday lodged a protest against U.S.-led coalition and NATO forces for what it said was a "helicopter-borne ground attack" from Afghanistan into Pakistan, an uncommon tactic in the coalition's fight against militants along the violent border.

The coalition and NATO have been seeking a way to effectively battle militants launching attacks from Pakistan's swath of tribal areas along the border. They have become frustrated with Pakistan over the years, saying it is not being proactive enough against militants, a claim denied by Pakistan -- now in political flux after the resignation of President Pervez Musharraf.

Top U.S. and Pakistani military officials last week met on an aircraft carrier regarding American concerns that Pakistan hasn't been cracking down hard enough on the Taliban.
Just a reminder of who has muscle and who doesn't ...
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry described the strike as "a helicopter-borne ground attack supported by air assets based in Afghanistan" and called it a "gross violation of Pakistan territory."
Pakistan not killing these a-holes ends up in even grosser violations of Afghani territory and lives. Does this make Pakistan complicit? It does in my book.
Pakistani officials were still counting the casualties. One local official said the raid left 20 civilians dead. Pakistan military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said seven civilians died and others were critically injured.
Still counting? What's so hard? Can't find anyone who knows how to count higher than ten?
"It is, indeed, most unfortunate that coalition/ISAF in Afghanistan have resorted to cross-border use of force against civilians," the Pakistan Foreign Ministry said in a written statement. ISAF is NATO's International Security Assistance Force.
Yeah, the fact that you guys won't do your job is most unfortunate. On that we can all agree.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman said the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan was summoned to provide an explanation of the incident.
"It's basically because you guys won't do your job."
"Such actions are counterproductive and certainly do not help our joint efforts to fight terrorism," the ministry said. "On the contrary, they undermine the very basis of cooperation and may fuel the fire of hatred and violence that we are trying to extinguish. Moreover, any attack on Pakistani territory is unacceptable and constitutes a grave provocation."
Great! Then next time when we tell you where they eat, sleep, and $hit, then we can count on you to cooperate and bring us back their heads. Right?
Owais Ahmed Ghani, the administrative head of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, called the strike "a direct assault on the sovereignty of Pakistan. And the people of Pakistan expect that the Armed Forces of Pakistan would rise to defend the sovereignty of the country and give a befitting reply to all such attacks."
Like expressing thanks for the assist and going back to sleep? Like not stirring up nationalism? Cool. All people who live under the shadow of terrorism will appreciate it.
Posted by:gorb

#22  Once enemy forces are driven out of these sanctuaries and once their military supplies are destroyed, we will withdraw.....maybe.

You forgot the last bit, Besoeker:

and once responsible Pakistani authorities have established the rule of law and equal treatment under the law for the entire population, then we will happily withdraw.

Always happy to help, dear. ;-) You see how easy it is, Regional Peace? Since it was Russian troops and Russian weaponry in South Ossetia, and the Georgians were quite willing to treat the South Ossetians as equals under Georgian law, there was no reason for Russia to invade.
Posted by: trailing wife    2008-09-04 18:25  

#21  Preparted statement follows:

This is not an invasion of Pakistan Cambodia. The areas in which these attacks will be launched are completely occupied and controlled by Taliban North Vietnamese forces. Our purpose is not to occupy the areas. Once enemy forces are driven out of these sanctuaries and once their military supplies are destroyed, we will withdraw.....maybe.
Posted by: Besoeker   2008-09-04 18:10  

#20  That compound is only 300 meters away from a Pakistani military post.

Posted by: john frum   2008-09-04 17:42  

#19  Hey, someone has to do the God's work!
Posted by: JohnQC   2008-09-04 16:36  

#18  Okay, Russia, you can stay in Georgia.
Posted by: Regional Peace   2008-09-04 16:12  

#17  #16
Posted by: Red Dawg   2008-09-04 15:27  

#16  OP: Nah, not even by half. This was just a polite call, to make sure everyone was cognisant of a change in policy.

Damn Old Patriot if only we could do a Half Dozen ARC LIGHT Strikes on NPR & PBS this year using Pure GBU Bull Shit from 30,000 feet we have the War Won in half the time. >:)
Posted by: Beavis   2008-09-04 15:26  

#15  Those were not NATO forces crossing the Pak border, they were undocumented workers just trying to earn a living cleaning up the trash that the locals refuse to clean up.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC   2008-09-04 15:19  

#14  "Denial", dammit
Posted by: Hupise the Fumblefingered   2008-09-04 14:49  

#13  Actually, the denail/admission thing is pretty common. Oficially, "nope, twasn't us". Unofficially, a message - "Yeah, nice little country you got here, Ahmed....."
Posted by: Hupise Wittlesbach4293   2008-09-04 14:48  

#12  "Top U.S. and Pakistani military officials last week met on an aircraft carrier..."

Comment overheard during a tour of the boat to one of the Pakis: " See how many toys we have out here on JUST THIS ONE? And we have 12 more JUST LIKE IT!" How long you wanna protest about a little helicopter excursion, punk?"
Posted by: USN, Ret.   2008-09-04 14:04  

#11  Hot double damn, OP.

Keep trying to find that video - you know it's out there someplace. (Or can be put out there by the right people.) :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2008-09-04 13:48  

#10  #8 So is this what McCain would call the "Gates of Hell"? Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305

Nah, not even by half. This was just a polite call, to make sure everyone was cognisant of a change in policy. If we were to open the "Gates of Hell", there wouldn't even be grass left in the Tribal areas. The military created a film of an ARCLIGHT strike in Nevada, at a firepower demonstration. I wish there was an uploaded version that I could link to. Half the people in the viewing stand reported temporary hearing loss, and they were 20 miles from the impact area.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2008-09-04 13:43  

#9  Did Obama order this? And what would NPR say if he did?
Posted by: Jack is Back!   2008-09-04 13:30  

#8  So is this what McCain would call the "Gates of Hell"?
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2008-09-04 12:01  

#7  When in doubt - take 'em out. If they won't give up - light 'em up.
Posted by: Legolas   2008-09-04 11:36  

#6  Killing terrorists that other people won't kill.
Posted by: DarthVader   2008-09-04 11:29  

#5  So why did you say it?

I think the rest of the article makes it clear, no? 1. To counter the accusations about civilian casualties 2. To add to the pressure on Paki to do more, if they dont want to be embarassed by the US doing this

Its too sensitive for a formal admission we did it, but not too sensitive for a deliberate leak.
Posted by: liberalhawk   2008-09-04 10:36  

#4  Pentagon officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the raid by special operations forces targeted suspected al Qaeda operatives and signaled a possible intensification of American efforts to disrupt militant safe havens in Pakistan.

The United States says al Qaeda and Taliban safe havens in Pakistan are fueling an increasingly sophisticated and deadly insurgency against U.S., NATO and Afghan forces across the border in eastern Afghanistan.

Wednesday's raid has been described publicly as the first known incursion into Pakistan by U.S.-led troops since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. But Pentagon officials said privately the presence of U.S. troops in Pakistan marked a return to tactics the American military has not used since soon after the Afghanistan invasion.

U.S. concerns about the growing threat of militant attacks from bases inside Pakistan prompted top U.S. military officials including Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen to meet secretly with Pakistan's military chief last week aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean. "The safe havens in the border regions provide launching pads for these sorts of attacks, and they need to be shut down," Mullen later told reporters at the Pentagon.
Posted by: tu3031   2008-09-04 10:04  

#3  "a neutral country has the obligation not to allow its territory to be used by a belligerent. If the neutral country is unwilling or unable to prevent this, the other belligerent has the right to take appropriate action." - Hague Convention of 1907
Posted by: Procopius2k   2008-09-04 09:10  

#2  NPR did a story on this last night. Of course it was very slanted with US soldiers taking people out of their houses and shooting them execution-style in the head. Women, children, cows, you name it, the Americans killed it. Then the British reporter went into a bit of background about the US and Pakistani Military Higher-ups meeting on a US "Battleship" to discuss things. Disgusting piece by NPR.
Posted by: Deacon Blues   2008-09-04 07:34  

#1  So we were over the border illegally? That makes us illegals in Pakistan?

I guess we were.. umm...

Just doing the work the Pakistani's won't do.
Posted by: OldSpook   2008-09-04 04:50  

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