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Pakistan to launch another Potemkin offensive in North Waziristan

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Pakistan to launch another Potemkin offensive in North Waziristan

By BILL ROGGIO August 3, 2012 3:59 PM


According to The New York Times, Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff General Kayani claims his forces are preparing to launch a military operation against the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network in North Waziristan after the terror group's latest suicide assault on Forward Operating Base Salerno in Khost province. At least "most American officials" aren't buying it this time around (although it is pretty sad that at this point some American officials are waiting for said offensive):


But after the Salerno attack in June, the army chief, Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, privately told American officials he would launch a three-phase military operation against the Haqqanis over the coming 12 months.

Most American officials, however, say they are not counting on that promise. One remarked with a sardonic touch, "This is the most delayed campaign in the history of modern warfare."


As we've documented here at Threat Matrix, the Pakistanis have promised to launch offensives in North Waziristan, but never executed. Remember when Pakistan considered launching an offensive in the spring of 2010? And then it claimed it was conducting "surgical raids" and a "stealth operation" in North Waziristan back in October of 2010? But then in November of that year, Pakistani officials claimed the offensive was delayed, only to flip and say the offensive was underway in December? And then, again, in May 2011, the military said it agreed to launch "a careful and meticulous military offensive" in North Waziristan?

We do.

Keep in mind that as the Pakistanis made promises and excuses in the spring and fall of 2010, US military officials were flacking for the Pakistani military.

Here is an anonymous senior US military official providing cover for Pakistani inaction, and echoing the 'North Waziristan offensive is imminent' and 'Pakistan is sacrificing against terror groups' narratives, during a briefing to reporters in March 2010:


Roughly 40,000 Pakistani troops are conducting operations against militants in the country's North Waziristan region near the Afghan border, a senior U.S. military official said March 29.
Unlike a larger, "steamroller" offensive last year that uprooted enemy fighters in neighboring South Waziristan, the current engagement comprises smaller, piecemeal operations, the official told Pentagon reporters on background.

"We are seeing quite a bit of activity [in North Waziristan] that's going on that supports what General Kiyani's been telling in some of the strategic dialogues about his campaign plan," the official said, referring to Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the Pakistani army's chief of staff.


Except that "quite a bit of activity" never really happened, and Pakistan never launched the offensive.

Wind the clock forward about nine months to mid-December 2010, and anonymous US military officials were still pining for Pakistani action in North Waziristan. But not yet, this official said, not yet, as the Pakistanis are still gearing up. This briefing in December 2010, titled "Defense Official: Pakistan Deserves U.S. Respect, Support," by an anonymous Pentagon official, might as well have been written by Pakistan's notorious Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate. (Don't believe me? Read the briefing.) Here is a taste:



Pakistan deserves America's respect and support for its fight against extremists in the country, a defense official said here, Dec. 15.

The official, speaking to reporters on background, said the United States wants Pakistan to do more to eliminate terrorist sanctuaries in North Waziristan, where the Haqqani network and other extremist groups are using the tribal-area province to plan and launch attacks against NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Pakistani military leaders consistently say they will address North Waziristan, but not yet, the official said. In the meantime, Pakistan's military has been active elsewhere.

The Pakistani military has moved 140,000 troops to the border area with Afghanistan, the official said, suffering losses of between 1,500 and 2,000 killed in action and perhaps four times that many wounded in the past 19 months.

"Two years ago, this kind of effort, these kinds of sacrifices would be unthinkable," the official said. "There has been 19 months of sustained combat."


Note to the anonymous defense official (you know who you are): Two years after you provided political cover for Pakistan's inaction, there still hasn't been an operation against the Haqqanis in North Waziristan. Are you still convinced that "Pakistan deserves America's respect and support?"

Given the historic level of ignorance among US officials, it is no wonder that some US officials are still eagerly awaiting the next Potemkin military operation in North Waziristan. Maybe we just need to wait another two years for the real operation to begin? Please don't hold your breath.


Read more: Pakistan to launch another Potemkin offensive in North Waziristan - Threat Matrix


Posted by Devin Leonard at August 6, 2012 5:27 PM ET:

Pakistan deserves ZERO respect, ZERO money, ZERO of anything....Christ, I had more respect for the Taliban and Al Qaeda when I was fighting them...at least they are honest about hating our guts and what they stand for.

Read more: Pakistan to launch another Potemkin offensive in North Waziristan - Threat Matrix
 
this this kind of mutual mistrust and sarcasm, I doubt if the reaction will be any better even when the operation goes under way.
if the outcome is not as desired by USA then it will be a waste of many lives, time and resources.
 
I read the news that Pakistan denied any plans of military offensive in North Waziristan.
 
I read the news that Pakistan denied any plans of military offensive in North Waziristan.

No need for joint North Waziristan operation, says Pakistani military, as it is underway

By BILL ROGGIO August 8, 2012 10:21 PM


Yesterday Pakistan's Daily Times issued this report refuting a Wall Street Journal article that claimed the US and Pakistan were planning a joint military offensive against the Haqqani Network:


A military official on Tuesday rejected a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report about a Pakistan-US agreement for a joint operation in North Waziristan.

Coordinated actions on respective sides of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, being part of routine, should not be mistaken for "joint operations", the official said.

He further stated that targeted action in operation "Tight Screw" by Pakistan Army against terrorists in the North Waziristan was an ongoing process. This was being undertaken for some months now to squeeze terrorists and there was no new operation as claimed in the report, he added.

When, where and how to carry out operations within our territory is up to Pakistan alone to decide, the official concluded.​


Yes, you read that correctly, the Pakistani operation "Tight Screw" is already putting the "squeeze" on the Haqqani Network and other terror groups in North Waziristan, and no US assistance is needed. So we can just relax and assume they are getting the job done, right?

Just five days ago, I wrote about the years of farcical pronouncements by Pakistani officials claiming their military has operations "underway" against terror groups in North Waziristan, and the senior US military officials who blindly pushed Pakistani propaganda about these phantom operations in press conferences. You can read about that here.
 
Pakistan deserves ZERO respect, ZERO money, ZERO of anything

Yup Pakistan don't deserve anything.

It don't deserve that NATO containers pass from its soil into afghanistan.

NATO should find any other supply route because if NATO keeps on using this route then people will call them hypocrites because they say we don't deserve anything and then they eat the food coming through Pakistan.
 
this this kind of mutual mistrust and sarcasm, I doubt if the reaction will be any better even when the operation goes under way.
if the outcome is not as desired by USA then it will be a waste of many lives, time and resources.
The simple fact that terrorists have successfully based in and terrorized Pakistan for over a decade implies that Pakistani generals aren't the sharpest pencils in the box when it comes to lives, time, and resources, yes?
 
Yup Pakistan don't deserve anything.

It don't deserve that NATO containers pass from its soil into afghanistan.

NATO should find any other supply route because if NATO keeps on using this route then people will call them hypocrites because
they say we don't deserve anything and then they eat the food coming through Pakistan.

Some news channel mentioned resumption of supply route as a face saving for Pakistan as America kept on getting supplies from the North for six months and Pakistan lost the bargaining power.
 
Yup Pakistan don't deserve anything.

It don't deserve that NATO containers pass from its soil into afghanistan.

NATO should find any other supply route because if NATO keeps on using this route then people will call them hypocrites because they say we don't deserve anything and then they eat the food coming through Pakistan.

Its a business transaction.. They get their stuff through your roads and pay you for that.. its their food.. their money... Pakistan is just a transit route..

Some news channel mentioned resumption of supply route as a face saving for Pakistan as America kept on getting supplies from the North for six months and Pakistan lost the bargaining power.

and hence the operation in NW as well.. Pakistan played for high stakes by shutting the routes, but lost
 
Some news channel mentioned resumption of supply route as a face saving for Pakistan as America kept on getting supplies from the North for six months and Pakistan lost the bargaining power.

Lol, they were paying 20,000 USD per container for northern supply routes :D

Here its 250 USD.
 
"POTEMKIN"

that's a good one!!!

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:


only difference is -- we didn't do Swat or other campaign to 'impress' any imperial power. We did it because it aligned with our interests.

blindly bombing people into oblivion and destroying entire villages and turning people against us was never our strategy..that's why we arent encountering "green on blues" the way NATO is as of late
 
Its a business transaction.. They get their stuff through your roads and pay you for that.. its their food.. their money... Pakistan is just a transit route.

Don't call it just a route it is a big trouble if it is closed. :D
 
Posted by Devin Leonard at August 6, 2012 5:27 PM ET:

Pakistan deserves ZERO respect, ZERO money, ZERO of anything....Christ, I had more respect for the Taliban and Al Qaeda when I was fighting them...at least they are honest about hating our guts and what they stand for.


Guess what?


feeling is mutual :coffee:
 
and hence the operation in NW as well.. Pakistan played for high stakes by shutting the routes, but lost

Now that was really cute

death of soldiers was no play. and its Americans who paid up to their nose for alternate routes.
money is not the main objective otherwise the route would still have been closed as it was just recently again get it?

Pakistan wants closure to this unpopular war. it is not business its people our citizens.

you tried that for 7 months.. nothing changed ;)

what were you expecting?
teleportation devices?

a lot changed... fortunes of the Western route holders and conversely the misfortunes of the Yanks. since you see this was as a business transaction so you will understand what I mean.



we didnt try.. we just closed the route for 7 months.. it was never meant to be permanent anyway otherwise we would have disassociated from WoT.
 
Some news channel mentioned resumption of supply route as a face saving for Pakistan as America kept on getting supplies from the North for six months and Pakistan lost the bargaining power.

Had Pakistan not Opened The Nato Supply Routes, they would have been officially declared Terrorist Country...
 
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