02-01-2007, 15:01 PM
|
#12 (permalink)
|
|
Postmaster General
Military Professional
Join Date: 08-20-03
Country: 
|
Quote:
US victory linked to Pakistan
WASHINGTON: The US administration has been advised to put “pressure” on Pakistan to ensure that the Taliban find “no safe haven within its borders”, otherwise American plans to stem the growing Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan will have only limited impact.
According to Lisa Curtis of the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, the effectiveness of US policy towards Pakistan over the next few years will largely determine whether the US prevails in the global war on terror. The Pakistan-Afghanistan border area is one of the “most dangerous terrorist safe havens in the world”. She said although Musharraf deserved credit for apprehend hundreds of Qaeda operatives, the continued presence of the Taliban and Qaeda terrorists along the border posed a threat to American interests and the US relations with Pakistan.
“It would be politically risky for Musharraf to crack down on the Taliban as they were assisted by Pakistan security services in the 1990s, and still has close ties to some intelligence officers and religious parties. Musharraf has to contend with a growing perception that he is doing US bidding in the war on terror at the expenseof his country’s interests. US officials understand Musharraf’s constraints, but they are increasingly frustrated by the continued cross-border movement of Taliban forces.”
He said a recent bill wanted the US to condition military aid to Pakistan was unlikely to advance its objectives and could well backfire. She wrote, “Public debate on limiting US assistance to Pakistan could actually weaken Musharraf’s hand in convincing his military commanders that the US is a reliable partner. Islamabad has been most responsive in the past to targeted, hard-headed diplomacy. Only this type of tough diplomacy will persuade Islamabad that the US will remain in Afghanistan until the Taliban are defeated.”
She believes US officials should take a more direct role in mediating differences between Kabul and Islamabad. Part of this effort involves encouraging both sides to pursue the development of cross-border tribal jirgas. Failure to fully confront Pakistan’s reluctance to crack down on the Taliban would have disastrous implications for the war on terror, she added. khalid hasan
|
Do you subscribe to that?
__________________
"Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."
I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.
HAKUNA MATATA
|
|
|