Comments on: Afghanistan mission getting even more precarious?

By: fnord

fnord — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:51:55 +0000

Mullen visited Pakistan today. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/world/asia/17pstan.html?hp )

Wonder if it had anything to do with this?

“Alarm bells suddenly went off in government offices from Washington to Ottawa to London to The Hague when Pakistan’s newly minted democratic government, after almost nine years of military rule, suddenly closed the border to all NATO resupply traffic to Afghanistan. ”

http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/sep/15/an-existential-crisis/

By: Guy de Loimbard

Guy de Loimbard — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 07:31:15 +0000

I think fnord’s point is crucial: you may walk on someone’s head, but just don’t tell to everyone around that you’re doing so. It just helps to make the whole thing counter-productive.

By: fnord

fnord — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:34:46 +0000

I think the fact that the US chose to make a IO point out of it (“and we will NOT ask for permission” as the order from Bush himself) is more worrysome than the strikes themselves. It makes it formal, in many ways it could be interpreted as a revoking of the sovereignity of Pakistan and as such great stuff for legalists and arguers everywhere. Of wich Pakistan has many.

Also, remember that Pakistan is a young nation, and fiercly prideful. This is shaming them in many peoples eyes, no matter the rational arguments. Mexican forces in Texas, anyone?

Oh, and what Faceless Buerocrat said.

By: The Faceless Bureaucrat

The Faceless Bureaucrat — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:32:36 +0000

The issue is not only ‘can’t’ but more to the point ‘won’t’. The weak and factional central government coalition in Pakistan has had to make a deal with the devils in the tribal area in order to protect themselves.

This is indeed similar to the way in which several other states (in areas such as SE Asia) have chosen (surprise, surprise) to take care of their own national security interests. There is no single Global War on Terror/ism, but rather a myriad. Afghanistan ain’t a problem unless you think it is. From where other people sit, there is nothing there to be fixed. It’s all just fine as it is, thanks very much.

Thinking that there is a single, global interpretation of ‘terrorism’, or Afghanistan, or Iraq, with a viewpoint centred in Washington, London, Paris or Ottawa is to fall for the imperial conceit so lambasted by the Left.