Posted by
Cary Wesberry on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 9:34:28 PM
It appears we are finally going to commit large amounts of soldiers to end the constant incursions of Taliban and al-Qaeda from Pakistan's lawless regions into Afghanistan. I could not be more pleased with this news. The Taliban has for much too long freely crossed the Afghan-Pakistan border to cause death and destruction in Afghanistan, severely setting-back reconstruction efforts along with killing our soldiers and many innocent Afghanis in the process. The news broke early today:
President Bush vowed to investigate the accusations from the Afghan government. The President was also quoted saying, "I certainly hope that the [Pakistani] Government understands the dangers of extremists moving in their country." I'm fairly certain the Pakistani government will not do much of anything to destroy the Taliban and al-Qaeda. We have been shown time and again that Pakistan has little power in the Waziristan region, and they order their military into retreat frequently when confronted by the Taliban. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs made a trip to Islamabad this weekend ahead of U.S. operations:
US Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made an announced visit to Islamabad at the weekend and held a series of meetings with Pakistan's top civil and military leadership.
According to well-placed sources, Admiral Mullen warned Pakistan that the US could take unilateral military action if the cross-border attacks in Afghanistan were not stopped. The US official said that some elements within Pakistani security agencies could be helping the insurgents operate from their bases in the border region.
Evidently we are taking the accusations from the Afghan government concerning the Pakistanis aiding Taliban and al-Qaeda forces along the border region. Another report from earlier today discussed Afghan President Karzai's disgust with Pakistan, and some direct warnings as well:
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN -- The president of Afghanistan threatened Sunday to send troops into Pakistan if Taliban fighters holed up there continue to cross the border and attack his country.
"Afghanistan has the right of self-defense," President Hamid Karzai told journalists at his presidential palace here. He specifically threatened to target Baitullah Mahsud, the self-declared commander of Pakistan's Taliban movement, who has boasted of sending fighters into Afghanistan.
The comments were the Afghan leader's sharpest warning yet to Pakistan's new leadership, which has been conducting negotiations with Islamic militants, including Mahsud, based in the tribal areas adjoining the border.
In response to the warning, Pakistan said it would consider any such strike by foreign forces inside its territory a violation of its sovereignty. "We hope that it is not the reinitiation of the blame game by Afghanistan," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Sadiq said in a statement.
Pakistan can "consider" whatever it wants as far as I'm concerned. Credible accusations of their aid to the Taliban are now being leveled, and at the least they are doing nothing to stop the attacks ocurring constantly from Waziristan. Afghanistan is not playing "the blame game". What both the U.S. and Afghanistan demand is that Pakistan actually enforce its own sovereignty starting with the Taliban and al-Qaeda. If the Pakistanis were doing their jobs we would not have to mass soldiers along the border to do it for them.
Karzai has been correct from the beginning. Pakistan is playing political games while U.S. and Afghan soldiers are fighting and dying to defeat the enemy. The Pakistan government is in desperate need of being shown what happens to its so-called sovereignty when it provides safe haven to the Taliban and al-Qaeda against their promises of cooperation.
We need to move more soldiers into Afghanistan and attack Waziristan with overwhelming force, ending any serious involvement in Afghanistan affairs from the Taliban and al-Qaeda once and for all. I have prayed for U.S. soldiers to be ordered to secure the Afghan-Pakistan border and now those prayers have been answered. Now our leadership needs to follow through and do what Pakistan has shown no ability to do for the past six years. A safe and secure Afghanistan is imperative to our victory against the Taliban and is even more so for the fledgling Afghanistan government. The sooner we defeat the Taliban and al-Qaeda in that region, the sooner we can finish training the Afghan military, and the sooner we can turn operations over to the Afghan government and have the majority of our soldiers either come home or be transferred to other areas of the world where they are needed.