Indian Prime Minister Singh upped the ante with Pakistan on Tuesday when he hinted that official elements within Pakistan “must have been involved” in the November 26 – 29 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Up until Tuesday, New Delhi had carefully avoided blaming Pakistan directly for the attacks even as it demanded Islamabad take action against the Pakistan-based terrorist group responsible for the atrocities, the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LET). Singh’s new accusations demonstrate in part New Delhi’s mounting frustration over Islamabad’s refusal to even admit the attackers were Pakistani, despite overwhelming evidence pointing …
Americans would do well to ponder the unrelieved strains on the nation’s military readiness on this Veterans Day, one short week after the election of a new president and Congress. The Army’s readiness is particularly low. Seven years of combat overseas have exacted a grinding toll on all our military services, including the National Guard and Reserves. Among the symptoms: compromised training, shortfalls in deploying personnel and equipment, less maintenance for worn-out weapons, and truncated downtime at home before troops must redeploy. Despite the economy’s woes, President-elect Barack Obama and …
At the Presidential debate Friday in Oxford, Mississippi, John McCain emphasized “how tough that terrain is” on the Pakistan Afghan border, and that “we have to get the cooperation of the people in those areas.” An incident last week underscored how right he was on both counts. On Thursday two U.S. helicopters supporting a U.S.-Afghan ground patrol inside Afghanistan’s Khost Province were fired upon by Pakistani forces who believed they had crossed into Pakistan airspace. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he was …
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf announced today that he would resign Monday, ending his nearly nine years of rule. Musharraf’s exit from Pakistani politics is a an extremely positive development for the future of democracy in Pakistan and for U.S. security. Earlier this year, Heritage senior research fellow Lisa Curtis detailed the benefits of a Musharraf exit: Musharraf’s fate and the future direction of Pakistan is largely in the hands of the Chief of Army Staff General [Ashfaq] Kayan. Kiyani helped to ensure the February elections were successful and appears committed …
Earlier this week, the New York Daily News caught the Obama campaign purging their website of any evidence that Obama ever believed the surge in Iraq was not working. Obama’s new position on the surge is that there is an “improved security situation” in Iraq due to “our military’s hard work, improved counterinsurgency tactics, and enormous sacrifice by our troops and military families.” Obama is right: the security situation in Iraq has improved. Unfortunately, the situation in Afghanistan has been deteriorating. Just this past week nine American soldiers were killed …
The Washington Times reports today: The United States has a standing agreement with Pakistan that CIA-operated Predator drones may strike Osama bin Laden’s hide-out without prior permission from Islamabad, according to people familiar with the arrangement. One source said the free hand — an exception in a country politically sensitive to U.S. counterterrorism operations — was granted by President Pervez Musharraf early in the war if the U.S. locates bin Laden in Pakistan’s rugged tribal areas, where he is thought to be hiding.
Reports out of Pakistan indicate that the government’s peace deals with pro-Taliban insurgents in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan are falling apart amidst a new military offensive designed to secure the city of Peshawar. The government’s near-term objective is to push back the militants of a group called the Army of Islam headed by Mangal Bagh. This pro-Taliban group had been asserting itself near Peshawar and there was increasing concern among the residents that Peshawar might even fall to the Taliban-backed forces. Pro-Taliban warlords like Mangal Bagh, Haji Namdar, and …
An editorial from major Pakistani English daily The Dawn demonstrates that the era of “peace deals” in Pakistan’s tribal belt and other parts of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) may be drawing to a close. Strong and decisive action is needed without delay for the situation is spiralling out of control. Baitullah Mehsud captured and then withdrew from Jandola at will, setting houses ablaze and killing pro-government tribal leaders by the dozen. After fresh clashes in Swat that left at least 10 dead on Tuesday, the peace deal struck …
Editor’s Note: Adapted from testimony delivered June 12 before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Despite a successful election four months ago, Pakistan’s political and security situation remains highly unstable and demands close attention from U.S. policymakers. A power struggle at the center among the three main political players — Asif Ali Zardari, leader of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party and widower of Benazir Bhutto; Nawaz Sharif, party leader of the junior coalition partner, the Pakistan Muslim League/Nawaz; and President Pervez Musharraf — is distracting the …
A highly unfortunate U.S. military incident on Afghanistan-Pakistan border this week may strain the U.S.-Pakistan relationship. More than a dozen bombs were dropped near Pakistan’s tribal areas, killed 11 Pakistani paramilitary troops, according to press reports. Confronting terrorists that have found safe haven along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border is complicated. The coalition forces in Afghanistan cooperate as best they can with their Pakistani counterparts on the Pakistan side of the border, but given the constant crossing back and forth by the terrorists between countries and the lack of government control of …
