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Pakistan- enemy of our enemy?

Already in Kandahar, Afghanistan this week there have been two more suicide bombings;

 

When police shouted for a man to stop, he blew himself up, causing no casualties. A few minutes later, a second attacker approached the same building sporting a police uniform. He also blew himself up, the blast wounded two and killed one officer.

 

Earlier this month in Kabul, the same thing killed 20 people. The Taliban has greatly increased its attacks over the last three years and now controls huge swaths of territory. President Obama announced the deployment of 17,000 additional U.S. forces to bolster the 38,000 existing American troops and 27,000 US allies already in country. The EU is planning to increase police training in Afghanistan from 180 to 400.

 

Afghanistan and Pakistan are narco-traffic Muslim nations from which large numbers of US flag-draped coffins can be expected to begin rolling off MAC flights at Andrews AFB. 

 

Just as WWII’s European war was not the Pacific war, Afghanistan/Pakistan is not the Iraq war. As yet another long, painful chapter in America’s D.o.D. begins anew; it is a good time to inform ourselves of the background and reality of this next unwinnable, but completely necessary hell-on-Earth for our fighting sons.

 

All roads in search of Ossama bin Ladin have led to the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. In fact, it has led to leaving Afghanistan and focusing upon Pakistan, the sixth most populous (and second highest Muslim citizenry) nation. Some 120 suicide bombings have rocked Pakistan over the last two years. Expect many more.

 

The Pakistani Government is and has been either a corrupt mess faking Democracy to dance to D.C.’s tune, or a repressive dictatorship. The Army is one thing, the political “leadership” trotted out by Washington, completely separate and not under control. The Pakistan Army is a failing, internally class-divided entity, even more rich-powerful-corrupt Officer vs. poor Enlisted than most Armies. Something to keep in mind: Communist infiltration has always manipulated the poor and so too in modern times, do radical Islamist entities seek that path for indoctrinates.    

 

The current leader of Pakistan, Asif Zardari is the known corrupt widower of Ms. Bhenazar Bhutto. Ms. Bhutto was ready to lock it up for D.C. We needed her and she was ready to play ball for the pentagon. As go all cloak and dagger things in foggy bottom, it could never be confirmed, but Washington was not the last to know prior to her father's hanging by a former puppet leader. Also, her brothers were murdered gangland style by yet another leader. Finally, she herself was murdered last year in the same city in which the military is headquartered and where her father was killed. That was not a good thing for America, whatever her PR had been. She was completely disrespected by Pakistan’s Army as it was, but had been pre-trumped up by D.C. as Democracy’s great hope and the poor-people’s spokesperson. That was a media myth for general public infotainment-news consumption. As it stands, her widower Zadari is just as unpopular with the people of Pakistan as the last D.C. puppet was. He fears assassination too. Over in Afghanistan, their leader has been targeted twice in two failed assassination attempts. That whole region of the world is a free-for-all sinking fast in a surging terrorist assault from the Taliban to their associated Islamist partners, al-Qaeda.

 

Now hold on…this review of current circumstances in “Play a double Game” Pakistan is not for the faint hearted, -especially if you have not been terribly impressed with George W. Bush’s Iraq war…

 

Today, Pakistan has found itself the recipient of a $7.6 billion IMF bailout and the US has provided their two-faced Army with $10 billion in aid. Running the Taliban-infested NW Frontier bordering Afghanistan is the ethnic Pushtun tribe composed of a nationalist people calling themselves the Awami National Party (ANP). These guys are pushing and forcing sharia law, beheading thousands as they go.

 

Moving South, and for about 70 miles still bordering Afghanistan’s West coast is the Waziristan area. It is completely Taliban run. The Pakistanis adjacent to this area on the other side (a little inland) are led by a Pushtan (Anwar Kamal), who, with other tribal chieftains and their 4000 bearded fighters, are using heavy weapons designed for a different type of war, (anti-aircraft and tank guns, mortars), to –uselessly- attempt to pound and harass the mountain-based guerilla fighting Taliban in Waziristan. Defections are rising and his fighters are joining the Taliban. It is a completely fluid and unstable situation.

 

Meanwhile, the top brass in Pakistan are still stuck on an anti-Hindu India fear. Over on the other side of the nation, they wage an on-again-off-again war going against India regarding a territorial dispute with a region known as Kashmir. Only D.C. pressure and $$$ has them reluctantly shifting troops from that ludicrous misadventure in the East to join in the US (and allied) effort to fight Islamic terrorism in Pakistan’s West.   

 

To make matters worse, evidently, the Taliban has been telling the Pakistani Brass that THEY will join them to fight the war the Generals really care about, -against India in the East! With this going on, D.C. has necessarily provided Pakistan's Army with $10 billion. The entire Pakistan Army is designed and set up to fight conventional tank battles against India…most of the low-morale, failing Pakistan Army is completely disinclined to kill fellow Muslim countrymen in the West, in deference to battling Indian Hindus in the East. Whenever American missile strikes in Pakistan kill, average Pakistanis become even more anti-American. Even IF D.C. can get Pakistan to honestly fight the anti-Taliban-al-Qaeda war, they will require $ billions more in the type of equipment to do it –helicopters, night vision gear, sniper equipment and training, etc. It is a Special Forces war, not a conventional war. Pakistan/Afghanistan is a  true Vietnam in the mountains that unlike Vietnam, must be prosecuted with fervor for as long as radical Islam poses a threat to Western interests.

 

Over in adjacent Afghanistan, it is an even weirder initial situation. The US is using refurbed old Soviet Antonov troop and equipment moving aircraft and Soviet MI-35 Hind helos to train and support Afghan crews who do rudimentary day-good-weather-only, non-instrument only flying (Visual Flight Rules VFR). They will require advanced Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) training to be truly mission combat effective. That takes sophistication as well as great time and energy.

 

As US involvement in Iraq lessons while increasing  in Afghanistan/Pakistan, this Examiner will provide more background, updates and observations. Stay tuned!