Pakistan At A Tricky Crossroads

[jeypore]

Of all the problems confronting the Obama administration, none is trickier than Pakistan — a nuclear power that has a war in Afghanistan on its western border, a tense confrontation with India on its eastern border and a deadly insurgency at home from Muslim militants who want to topple the pro-American government.

At the crux of all three conflicts are the Pakistani army and its intelligence service, known as the ISI. The army's pervasive power is summed up in a Pakistani joke: "All countries have armies, but here, an army has a country."

The challenge for Pakistan and its neighbors was dramatized by the Nov. 26 terrorist attack on the Indian metropolis of Mumbai. The assault on two luxury hotels, a train station and a Jewish cultural center left 165 dead and 304 injured, according to the official Indian count. The attackers were highly trained and used sophisticated GPS navigation devices to find their targets.

"This was a conspiracy launched from Pakistan," argues a detailed dossier prepared by the Indian government and distributed to officials in Washington and other capitals. It makes chilling reading — page after page of communications intercepts, interrogation records and forensic evidence. The dossier argues that the 10 terrorists were trained in Pakistan by a militant group, Lashkar-i-Taiba, that Indian officials believe was originally created by the ISI.

Between the lines of the dossier, but not stated explicitly, is the Indian government's belief that some officers of the Pakistani army and the ISI were aware of the Mumbai attacks. Try to get your mind around that one — the Pakistani army, with its stockpile of nuclear weapons, may include officers linked to a terrorist attack on the country's neighbor.

The American official who monitors Pakistan most closely is Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He has formed a close working relationship with Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani, the chief of staff of the Pakistani army, and has traveled seven times to Pakistan over the past year to meet with him and Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, whom Kiyani installed last year to head the ISI.

I talked this week with Mullen about the situation in Pakistan. I began by asking about Indian suspicions that elements of the Pakistani army were involved in the Mumbai attacks.

"I've tried ... really hard to understand Pakistan over the last year-plus, and it's much more opaque than it is transparent," Mullen answered. Part of that opacity, Pentagon sources explain, results from the Pakistani military's culture of delegating authority, so that top commanders don't always know about contacts by lower-ranking officers. As one official puts it, "it can sometimes be difficult to figure out who did what to whom."

Mullen said that Kiyani and his intelligence chief, Pasha, "have committed very specifically to change the culture in ISI. ... They recognize that they've got to get out of where they've been, which is in support of these ... militants, to try to make deals, and that they've got to move beyond that. But that's not going to happen overnight."

The U.S. commander said he measures Kiyani by his actions. Mullen noted, for example, that Kiyani has ordered Pakistani troops to combat Taliban insurgents in the western frontier region of Bajaur, where they had been reluctant to fight before. Kiyani also has doubled the pay of the Frontier Corps, the constabulary force that operates along the Afghanistan border. And he has picked a charismatic Pashtun officer as the new commander for the Frontier Corps.

"All of those things ... are very positive," Mullen said. "And the Frontier Corps has had what I would argue is incredible success in a very short period of time."

"In my ideal world," said Mullen, India and Pakistan would work together to fight terrorists and "figure out a way to solve Kashmir," a Himalayan region claimed by both countries. But Kashmir, he cautioned, would be "a pretty big bite in the apple right now."

Mullen said he wouldn't discuss Afghanistan in detail until President Barack Obama has made decisions about strategy there. Although more U.S. troops may be needed in the short run, he said, the key to lasting security will be better governance and economic development.

"I don't have enough troops in the United States military to make the difference that needs to be made" in Afghanistan, Mullen warned. "Afghans have got to lead this. It has got to have an Afghan face."• David Ignatius is a syndicated writer in Washington.

Pakistan At A Tricky Crossroads -- Courant.com

[jeypore]

Mullen startegy is sounding same as the iraqi strategy, where the number of iraq enforcement would increase to lesson the violence. It has worked in Iraq, but i doubt it will work here, only the future will tell.

[Omar1984]

Indian crap

[jeypore]

Originally Posted by Omar1984

Indian crap

You mean more like MULLAN the American Crap

[orion]

At the crux of all three conflicts are the Pakistani army and its intelligence service, known as the ISI. The army's pervasive power is summed up in a Pakistani joke: "All countries have armies, but here, an army has a country."

And did it mention that we r actually proud of both?
[quoteBetween the lines of the dossier, but not stated explicitly, is the Indian government's belief that some officers of the Pakistani army and the ISI were aware of the Mumbai attacks. Try to get your mind around that one — the Pakistani army, with its stockpile of nuclear weapons, may include officers linked to a terrorist attack on the country's neighbor.[/quote]
:YAWN:
Do we look scary already?
Well on that pretext the FBI supposedly knew of the mumbai attacks and claim to have warned the GOI of it as well...hmmm so we say both them were also involved?that would even sound more believable,given their recorded statements rather than just 'between the lines' assumptions.What crap!

"I've tried ... really hard to understand Pakistan over the last year-plus, and it's much more opaque than it is transparent," Mullen answered. Part of that opacity, Pentagon sources explain, results from the Pakistani military's culture of delegating authority, so that top commanders don't always know about contacts by lower-ranking officers. As one official puts it, "it can sometimes be difficult to figure out who did what to whom."

That is good news!I'd be freaked if the Americans said,'Oh yes we know how things happen within..very transparent'!

"In my ideal world," said Mullen, India and Pakistan would work together to fight terrorists and "figure out a way to solve Kashmir," a Himalayan region claimed by both countries. But Kashmir, he cautioned, would be "a pretty big bite in the apple right now."

Kashmir!Indians may have liked it not mentioned by Mullen,but then how long can u avoid the inevitable!

Mullen said he wouldn't discuss Afghanistan in detail until President Barack Obama has made decisions about strategy there. Although more U.S. troops may be needed in the short run, he said, the key to lasting security will be better governance and economic development.
"I don't have enough troops in the United States military to make the difference that needs to be made" in Afghanistan, Mullen warned. "Afghans have got to lead this. It has got to have an Afghan face."

•
Must say they have smartened up.They just need to realise a way to hand it over to the Afghans in the best possible manner.War definately didnt get them anywhere,only made it more tough.Mayb the region would finally see some peace!(ofcourse if they go along with their peaceful plans!)

PAKISTAN AT TRICKY CROSSROADS,how so?Appears more like the USA is stuck in a rut regarding Afghanistan!

[jeypore]

Must say they have smartened up.They just need to realise a way to hand it over to the Afghans in the best possible manner.War definately didnt get them anywhere,only made it more tough.Mayb the region would finally see some peace!(

Yes, and make other throwback breading ground for taliban and al queda where the entertainment will be of beheading and shooting at the nearest colosseum.

Afganistan cannot go back to it's old ways, change has to me made for the betterment of human race or face the domesday from these hate mongaring people.

[ejaz007]

The title of the thread is misleading.

It is rather USA that is in a very auckward position. Even if they increase the number of troops it would only help Pakistan. By placing these troops on border with Pakistan USA shall loose the argument of fighters entering from Pakistan and might on the contrary help Pakistan who has repeatedly said that fighters are entering from Afghanistan to fight against PA in Tribal Areas and Swat.

As far as Indian bombings are concerned there is now evidence that Indians themselve knew in advance of the event. If any one who is to be blamed it is the Indian security agencies.

Perhaps the drama was staged to get rid of few honest officers who were investigating the involvement of Indian army officers in terrorist activities.

[muse]

Adm Mullen laments that the ISI is not transparent -- perhaps US intelligence services will hear Admiral Mullens lament and will be transparent and by doing so encourage others to be more transparent.

Transparency is a function of trust, trust is earned not commanded.

[jeypore]

US' Holbrooke to visit India to discuss Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke will travel to India this month as part of his mission to find a way to stabilize Afghanistan seven years after U.S.-backed forces ousted the Taliban, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

The officials, who spoke on condition that they not be named, stressed that Holbrooke was going to India to discuss Afghanistan and not to mediate the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars since 1947.

U.S. President Barack Obama has named Holbrooke to be his special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, handing one of the United States' most arduous challenges to the man who brokered the 1995 agreement that ended the Bosnian war.

Holbrooke is expected to leave on Wednesday for Europe, where he will attend a security conference in Munich, and then to travel to South Asia, with stops expected in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, the officials said.

U.S. officials said there has been some debate within the American government about whether, and how hard, Obama should press U.S. allies to send more troops to Afghanistan or remove restrictions on those already there.

One official suggested Holbrooke would test the waters for more assistance from U.S. allies on all fronts, including military operations as well as civilian development efforts.

But another said there was a stream of thinking within the U.S. goverment that it could be more productive for Obama to focus on asking for development assistance, given public resistance in Europe to sending more soldiers.

This official said many U.S. officials believe Obama "does come in with significant political capital and that it may be a mistake to focus on military enhancements ... in other words, it would be squandering that political capital."
US' Holbrooke to visit India to discuss Afghanistan | Reuters