Comments on: He Said, She Said

By: malluwarrior85

malluwarrior85 — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:36:40 +0000

So, why were the soldiers there in the first place? I mean there were Taliban insurgents firing at the US helicopter. The DOD (Department of Defense) has a video of the encounter. So many media reports have shown that the Taliban attack NATO troops in Afghanistan and then slip back across the Pakistan border. But as Vyasa mentioned, this could be the attempt of Bush to secure McCain’s nomination. Towards the end of Bush’s campaign, all of a sudden Osama is caught, and the current administration will insure it has another 4-8 years more of wars and not caring for people at its helm.

By: Vyasa

Vyasa — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 06:55:57 +0000

You would think that Bush would have waited for the capture of Bin Laden before declaring “Mission Accomplished” years ago and making an utter fool of himself. What is being done now is what Obama said he would have done from the beginning if he had been the President. Except that Obama would have gone into the Pakistani badlands with full force right after the routing of the Taliban in Afghanistan, ignoring all the manipulative whining by pakistani generals who dont have full control of that region in any case.

By: Vyasa

Vyasa — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 06:42:33 +0000

The reason things are heating up in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article4138791.ece

“Defence and intelligence sources in Washington and London confirmed that a renewed hunt was on for the leader of the September 11 attacks. â€œIf he [Bush] can say he has killed Saddam Hussein and captured Bin Laden, he can claim to have left the world a safer place,â€ said a US intelligence source.”

“Intelligence on the whereabouts of Bin Laden is sketchy, but some analysts believe he is in the Bajaur tribal zone in northwest Pakistan. He has evaded capture for nearly seven years. â€œBush is swinging for the fences in the hope of scoring a home run,â€ said an intelligence source, using a baseball metaphor.

A Pentagon source said US forces were rolling up Al-Qaedaâ€™s network in Pakistan in the hope of pushing Bin Laden towards the Afghan border, where the US military and bombers with guided missiles were lying in wait. â€œThey are prepping for a major battle,â€ he said.”

“The step-up in military activity has increased tensions between Pakistan and the US. A senior Pakistani government source said President Pervez Musharraf had given tacit support to Predator attacks on Al-Qaeda.”

By: central texas

central texas — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 23:34:10 +0000

It seems a bit curious that when there is a controversy over the US attacking Pakistani troops, we show a home movie of bombing someone else, admit that there were other bombs dropped, but do not show that film. Maybe there is some reason for not showing Pakistani troops firing on “US-led” forces but that could either be because we are apprehensive about stirring up the situation or that the Pakistanis, in fact, did not do so. We are never likely to know which it is and therefore have to rely on the long history of accuracy, candor, and truthfulness displayed by the US and allies (including Pakistan) in both Iraq and Afghanistan to form our opinions.

By: Achintya

Achintya — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 22:56:08 +0000

Rules of Engagement 101.

The Pakistani Regulars were more than likely providing support fire that got them engaged.

Although it never goes hot, India is routinely humiliated by PRC troops along the LoAC and sometimes killed by Bangladeshi troops. Nation's will some modicum of self respect retaliate to deter. The Pakistani's won't be firing on I-For troops if they know whats best for them, even if they're hiding couple meters into their own territory.

By: Vikram

Vikram — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 16:23:11 +0000

Interestingly there was this news item just a couple of days before this US strike:

US think tank: Pakistan helped Taliban insurgents Mon Jun 9, 4:39 PM ET KABUL, Afghanistan - Pakistani intelligence agents and paramilitary forces have helped train Taliban insurgents and have given them information about American troop movements in Afghanistan, said a report published Monday by a U.S. think tank. The study, "Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan," found some active and former officials in Pakistan's intelligence service and the Frontier Corps â€” a Pakistani paramilitary force deployed along the Afghan border â€” provided direct assistance to Taliban militants and helped secure medical care for wounded fighters. It said NATO officials have uncovered several instances of Pakistani intelligence agents providing information to Taliban fighters, even "tipping off Taliban forces about the location and movement of Afghan and coalition forces, which undermined several U.S. and NATO anti-Taliban military operations." No timeframes were given.link

Perhaps this was to send a message to the Pakistani military's Taliban collaborators ?

By: redr

redr — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 09:30:28 +0000

What this all boils down to for me is one question: why would US forces launch an unprovoked attack on Pakistani territory?

By: Inv

Inv — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 02:57:32 +0000

Taking into account Pakistan's record of sponsoring cross border terrorism in India, I find it difficult to believe that the soldiers killed were innocent of any wrong doing.

Furthermore the missiles employed in the video don't seem to have a massive destructive radius, as witnessed by the initial strike that killed only two Afghani fighters. I would figure the Pakistani soldiers would have had to be practically holding hands with the Afghani fighters to be killed in this manner.

By: area 51

area 51 — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:55:16 +0000

Belmont Club goes the next step and outlines the new catch-22 in this only partially Westphalian corner of the world -

For a moment, I thought you were talking about Gitmo in light of the new Supreme Court decision. And then the words "Belmont Club" registered...