tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17965291.post9201614603253478516..comments2023-10-10T10:10:07.592-05:00Comments on The Crescent Post: U.S. Troops to PakistanCarbonDatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17665340756103524646noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17965291.post-60757871459945547882008-01-25T20:11:00.000-06:002008-01-25T20:11:00.000-06:00Pandora, a favor, please? You're an author here, ...Pandora, a favor, please? You're an author here, and this is the kind of thing I'd like to see you posting on. Those quoted articles, along with some analysis of your own, out on the main page would be FANTASTIC. Thanks.CarbonDatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17665340756103524646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17965291.post-23588733578399047252008-01-25T08:34:00.000-06:002008-01-25T08:34:00.000-06:00Do they even know what they are doing in Pakistan?...Do they even know what they are doing in Pakistan?<BR/><BR/>We seem to be arming all sides.<BR/>....<BR/><B>U.S. Considers Enlisting Tribes in Pakistan to Fight Al Qaeda,</B><BR/><BR/>WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 - A new and classified American military proposal outlines an<BR/>intensified effort to enlist tribal leaders in the frontier areas of Pakistan in<BR/>the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, as part of a broader effort to bolster<BR/>Pakistani forces against an expanding militancy, American military officials said.<BR/><BR/>If adopted, the proposal would join elements of a shift in strategy that would also<BR/>be likely to expand the presence of American military trainers in Pakistan, directly<BR/>finance a separate tribal paramilitary force that until now has proved largely ineffective<BR/>and pay militias that agree to fight Al Qaeda and foreign extremists, officials <BR/>said. The United States now has only about 50 troops in Pakistan, a Pentagon spokesman<BR/>said, a force that could grow by dozens under the new approach.<BR/><BR/>....<BR/>The tribal proposal, a strategy paper prepared by staff members of the United States<BR/>Special Operations Command, has been circulated to counterterrorism experts but <BR/>has not yet been formally approved by the command's headquarters in Tampa, Fla.<BR/>Some other elements of the campaign have been approved in principle by the Americans<BR/>and Pakistanis and await financing, including $350 million over several years to<BR/>help train and equip the Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force that currently has<BR/>about 85,000 members and is recruited from border tribes.<BR/>......<BR/>http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/19/washington/19cnd-policy.html?<BR/><BR/><BR/>.....<BR/><B>US Deploys Pakistani Insurgents against Al-Qaeda</B><BR/><BR/>As insurgents in the Pakistani tribal areas increase their attacks on the Pakistani<BR/>government, there have been various discussions about the relations between the <BR/>White House and the extremist groups. In line with this, a number of experts believe<BR/>that the White House has been secretly provoking these groups to fight Al-Qa'idah.<BR/>This comes at a time when there have been close relations between Al-Qa'idah<BR/>and the insurgents in the tribal areas for some time... (ellipses as published)<BR/><BR/>Waziristan has become a base for the movements of the extremists. Actually, who <BR/>are these extremists? How are they explained? What are the agreements and disagreements<BR/>between the extremists and Al-Qa'idah and the Taleban? A more important issue<BR/>are the relations between the extremist groups and the United States of America.<BR/><BR/>When the White House attacked Afghanistan in 2001 and occupied this country, it <BR/>dispersed the Taleban and Al-Qa'idah in the Indian subcontinent and Central <BR/>Asia. In the second phase, it maintained direct contacts with the senior leaders<BR/>of this group. Therefore, America has been using Al-Qa'idah as a tool since <BR/>the symbolic and self-made event on 11 September 2001.<BR/><BR/>.....<BR/>A US newspaper has recently revealed a secret US army document, according to which<BR/><B>America has been cooperating fully with the leaders of the tribal insurgents in <BR/>Pakistan under the pretext of fighting Al-Qa'idah.</B><BR/><BR/>According to what the New York Times has claimed, America has relations with insurgent<BR/>groups located in the tribal areas in order to make them fight the Taleban and Al-Qa'idah<BR/>as part of its measures to improve security in Pakistan.<BR/><BR/>According to the officials of the Pentagon or the US Secretary of Defence, this <BR/>cooperation has not been just in the financial field, America is also giving military<BR/>training to the Pakistani tribes. In view of this, we will face a kind of double-standards<BR/>in the policies of America in Pakistan. However, America does not have a military<BR/>presence in Pakistan, but with the revelation of this document, it was specified<BR/>that a number of US militarists are present in that country to train the Pakistani<BR/>tribes.<BR/><BR/>This secret document was revealed at a time when, according to US officials, the<BR/>Pakistani tribal areas had become a safe haven for Al-Qa'idah and the Taleban,<BR/>and Al-Qa'idah has been organizing its troops in these regions to carry out <BR/>terrorist activities in different countries. On the other hand, the Pakistani tribal<BR/>areas cooperate with the Taleban and Al-Qa'idah. In view of this, what does <BR/>the financial and military assistance of the USA to the Pakistani tribal areas mean?<BR/><BR/>This issue becomes more important if we consider the growing tension between the<BR/>Musharraf administration and the Pakistani tribal areas. The Pakistani security <BR/>forces have always clashed with these tribes, and the military activities of the<BR/>Pakistani tribes have been counted as one of the current challenges facing security<BR/>in Pakistan.<BR/>....<BR/>http://www.juancole.com/2007/12/usg-open-source-center-translates.html<BR/><BR/><BR/>...<BR/>Beginning early next year, U.S. Special Forces are expected to vastly expand their<BR/>presence in Pakistan, as part of an effort to train and support indigenous counter-insurgency<BR/>forces and clandestine counterterrorism units, according to defense officials involved<BR/>with the planning.<BR/><BR/>....<BR/>Now, a new agreement, reported when it was still being negotiated last month, has<BR/>been finalized. And <B>the first U.S. personnel could be on the ground in Pakistan <BR/>by early in the new year,</B> according to Pentagon sources.<BR/><BR/>U.S. Central Command Commander Adm. William Fallon alluded to the agreement and <BR/>spoke approvingly of Pakistan's recent counterterrorism efforts in an interview<BR/>with Voice of America last week.<BR/><BR/>"What we've seen in the last several months is more of a willingness to<BR/>use their regular army units," along the Afghan border, Fallon said. "And<BR/>this is where, I think, we can help a lot from the U.S. in providing the kind of<BR/>training and assistance and mentoring based on our experience with insurgencies <BR/>recently and with the terrorist problem in Iraq and Afghanistan, I think we share<BR/>a lot with them, and we'll look forward to doing that."<BR/>....<BR/>http://blog.washingtonpost.com/earlywarning/2007/12/musharrafs_woes_have_opened_a.html?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com