Pakistan Denies U.S. Claim of Right To Enter While Pursuing al-Qaeda, Taliban

[sixgun_symphony]

*full story*

"Absolutely not. The Americans cannot cross the Pakistani border from Afghanistan to chase what they say are vestiges of Taliban and al-Qaida," Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told The Associated Press on Saturday


With "friends" like that...

 

[4v50 Gary]

Where we can't go, our snipers can reach into and yes, the Canadians will help too. After all, they're ours now and our girl scouts are selling cookies to keep them there.

 

[Schuey2002]

Yeah,Gary's scouts are funding those Canadian troops...

As far as the article goes, that's what our unmanned Predators are for.

 

[WilderBill]

It will be interesting to see where this will lead.
I expect that if someone were to fire on US or for that matter any troops, they would be hard pressed to outrun a swift a serious retaliation. You might see an "accidental" air strike inside of Pakistan. (Oops, a mile over the border?!! GPS must have malfunctioned!")

 

[Lord Grey Boots]

Of course, the border is NOT clearly defined. I suspect the border will be just a few hundred meters east of wherever the US/Brit/Canadian troops are.

 

[sasnofear]

think bush is goin a bit power crazy!

 

[islander-11]

Shades of Cambodia...

Pakistan worries me - nukes, terrorists, out of control warlords in the Afghanistan border region, a pissed-off neighbor - pretty scary situation.

I think we need to back up Musharoff (sp?), get a good set of GPS readings on their nuke locations and be ready for anything.

Lots of swampland that needs draining in that country.

 

[clem]

A lession to all?

Maybe what we need to do in front of the rest of the world is "SLAP" one of our so called friends.

 

[Greg L]

If you are not with us then you are against us. I seem to remember hearing that somewhere . Also any and all aid immediately cut off. You don't want us to play ball in your yard? Fine, however we aren't going to build that new stadium either.

Greg

 

[4v50 Gary]

Pakistan's control over that region is tenuous. In fact, I'm thinking that the entire notion of Pakistan supporting the U.S. is offensive in the minds of most Pakistanis. A lot of Pakistani joined the Taliban, only to be bombed to bits (saive la guerre) or buried beneath a mountain of rubble. If Pakistan were to allow our troops across her border, her own people may rise in revolt and the army swept along with it. India would love it if our people and the Pakistani were to fight. American technology and military prowess would be advantageous to them if the two were to go to war. I'm sure Bush doesn't want a regional war between the two as it would tie down much of our forces, put us literally between two foes (Iraq/Iran & Pakistan) and to Al Quaeda's advantage, bring more muslims into their war against us.

 

[NeverAgain26]

I remember in the early stages of the chase of the Taliban before our troops were so visible, they had pictures of the Northern Alliance guys on T.V. and in the magazines. These guys were supposed to be our allies.

Frankly, I couldn't tell the difference between the Northern Alliance Guys and the Taliban from looking at them. I dare anyone to pick them apart in a line up.

Do you think these guys and our Pakistani "allies' could not have located and directed us to all the Taliban guys running away from where they were holed up so we could catch/stop them? Did they assist them in their escape into Pakistan?

I don't know, but I doubt we have a very strong friend/ally in Pakistan. Too much sympathy for the devil there. I think our government knows this and is playing the game...

... for now.

NA26

 

[Bahadur]

4v50Gary:

Pakistan's control over that region is tenuous.

Actually, the government in Islamabad (any government, be it military or civilian) has NEVER been able to assert any semblance of control in the border areas like the Northwest Frontier Province. Basically, NWFP was ruled by tribes with nominal Pakistani suzerainty only.

NeverAgain26:

Frankly, I couldn't tell the difference between the Northern Alliance Guys and the Taliban from looking at them. I dare anyone to pick them apart in a line up.

They all look the same to you, huh?

Well, one can NEVER be completely EXACT, but the United/Northern Alliance was mainly made up of Uzbek and Tajik minorities (as well as a handful of Hazaras and Mogolis) while the Taliban was predominantly made up of Pashtuns.

Many Uzbekis and Tajiks do look different from Pashtuns. More importantly, they speak different and, in many ways, highly unrelated languages (Turko-Arabic, Farsi and Pashto, respectively). It is not very difficult to tell the tribes apart, particularly if one has some local knowledge. The locals certainly can tell each other (and tribal affiliations) apart with a great deal of ease.