Pakistan rebuffs attempts by shutting down military supply route for US/NATO forces
Washington has been abuzz with speculations that the Pentagon is in no mood to wind down the war in Afghanistan according to President Obama’s plans and thus to be seen as a defeated army limping back home. Instead, it plans to broaden the theatre of war into Pakistan, citing the presence of Taliban and Al Qaeda in its tribal areas.
By doing so, the Pentagon will be able to prolong the war, putting off America’s Soviet-style humiliation for another day, and try to save America’s international image as a super power from being undermined.
One cannot ignore, also, the emerging belief that America’s military leadership is now motivated by the ‘Perpetual War’ doctrine, for the reason that President Eisenhower had pointed out: it is wars that feed the ‘American military industrial complex’.
If the Republicans gain control of the US Senate in mid-term elections, the Neocons, Tea Partiers, and conservatives can push for more attacks inside Pakistan on the plea that the Taliban cannot be defeated unless their sanctuaries in Pakistan are destroyed — the line that the Pentagon takes.
In such an eventuality, Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (or FATA) that border Afghanistan would likely become the war zone on the pattern of ‘mission creep’ of Vietnam. Just as the Americans blundered into Cambodia and Laos to destroy the communist camps and lost the war, they would be walking into a similar quagmire again. America doesn’t seem to learn its lessons. But this not surprising at all; all powers in the throes of decline fail to do so.
The danger of such an eventuality is real, despite President Obama’s assurances of a lasting friendly relationship with Pakistan, unless the Obama White House reigns in its military leadership, which has shown signs of defiance, and asserts civilian control over the nation’s war policies.
For the Pentagon to have its way would be an extremely dangerous development. Amounting to a declaration of war on Pakistan, there is no way the Pakistan Army could sit back and watch the “International Security Assistance Force” (ISAF, which amounts to NATO led by the U.S.) troops initiate action inside its borders. ISAF would then be pitched against a half-million strong, battle hardened, world class professional Pakistani army, in addition to the Taliban and same Pashtun tribes that straddle both sides of the Pak-Afghan border.
If ISAF has not been able to subdue a far lesser number of rag-tag Taliban fighters, how they would fare against such a force remains to be seen.
One thing is certain, though: This would give a new dimension to the American-led war in the so-called Af-Pak region, send South and South West Asia up in flames, and cause a huge setback to American regional interests.
For the last nine years, Pakistan’s forced involvement in the American war in Afghanistan, which the deranged Neocons called the ‘war on terror’, has brought nothing but death, destruction and suffering for the people of this country. It destroyed peace and stability and promoted a culture of violence and religious extremism. People are up to their necks with the consequences of this American adventure. Not content with what Pakistan has been through, the Americans continue to insist upon it to ‘do more’.
The recent threat by General Petraeus to undertake unilateral military operations inside Pakistan if the Pakistan Army failed to comply with the demand to eliminate the militant groups in North Waziristan, particularly the Haqqani Network, was followed through by NATO gunship helicopters, which violated Pakistan’s airspace in Waziristan’s Kurram Agency and attacked a border outpost on September 30, killing three Pakistani soldiers and injuring two.
Reportedly, Gen. Petraeus, supported by President Obama’s national security advisor James Jones, strongly pushed for these attacks and convinced the Obama administration to follow a “Get Tough Policy” towards Pakistan. This also resulted in an unusually high number of drone attacks recently.
These incursions and attack by gunship helicopters were interpreted by Islamabad as an attempt to test the waters and gauge the response of the Pakistan Army. The justification advanced for these violations, “hot pursuit” of insurgents, was rejected as a mere cover up. The Pakistan Army argues that ISAF commanders in Afghanistan know very well, and so should their pilots, that there is no agreement with Pakistan over the rules of “hot pursuit”, and this meant that pursuit, no matter how hot, ends where the ‘red line’ of Pakistan’s border begins.
To firmly nip in the bud any ISAF ambitions of building upon this little adventure, the Pakistan Army lodged a strong protest calling for an inquiry, and so did the pliant, US-installed, Zardari government in its own feeble way. ISAF blinked and the inquiry found the firing incident and earlier helicopter intrusions to be violations of Pakistan’s air space and deaths of Pakistani soldiers an avoidable mistake.
Islamabad demanded a public apology, assurances that this would not happen again, and action against those responsible for the deaths of Pakistani troops. The Pakistan Army made it clear that these acts on the part of ISAF constituted a clear violation and breach of the UN mandate under which ISAF operates, and that this would not be acceptable in the future. Military sources also clarified that the said mandate “terminates” at the Afghanistan border and any impression being created by ISAF about the existence of an agreement over rules of “hot pursuit” is not factually correct.
Coming on the back of intensifying public criticism of drone attacks, the helicopter attack caused public anger to boil over. Both the army and the government had to act, and act they did. To calm public anger and as a retaliatory measure, one of the two supply route crossings at Pak-Afghan border at Torkham was shut down indefinitely, only to be opened ten days later after hectic efforts, apologies, and assurances by ISAF.
ISAF imports about 80% of its crucial supplies, from food to fuel, through the Karachi port. Supplies are trucked to Afghanistan after travelling over a thousand miles through Pakistan to two border crossings at Torkham and Chaman. At any given time, 3000-4000 ISAF containers and tankers, reportedly guarded by undercover Blackwater operatives, are on Pakistani roads, tearing up the roads and causing traffic jams.
The route closure caused a supply chain fiasco for ISAF. In no time, over 10,000 containers and fuel tankers were lined up on the Pakistani side of the border, while stocks ran low in Afghanistan. Pakistan was well within its rights to withhold a facility it provides to ISAF, not under any contractual obligation but as a gesture of support. During the 10-day wait, about 150 oil tankers and containers were torched by suspected Taliban and angry Pakistanis.
When launching their ‘get tough policy’, General Petraeus and the Pentagon underestimated the response of Pakistan Army, which came to them as a surprise. According to the Washington Post, they did not expect the border crossing to remain closed for more than three days. Although in his book “Obama’s war”, Bob Woodward says that US intelligence had “indicated the Pakistanis believed the US would not jeopardize their relationship” because of its dependence on Pakistan for its supply routes to Afghanistan, this was not taken into account.
LOL! The author refers to the Pak military as ‘ world class’. They fought 4 wars with India and lost badly,all of them. Currently, they are unable to fight Talibans. May be they are ‘world class’ in Islamabad.
Hello Andew,
1971 Pak army did surrendered. However credit goes to covert support of india to Mukti Bahani (trained and sent by India). However as far as Kargil (1999, 3 month conflict) is concerned, your knowledge is not based on facts. Indian General who led Kargil war is himself admitting that we lost it in Strategic terms. You can see his interview at the following link.
http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/not-convinced-if-we-won-kargil-lt-gen-kishan-pal-28718.php
Please also have a look Pakistan Airforce page in Wikipedia.
Regards,
Dilu.
Andrew; if Pakistan has lost all wars BADLY against India then can you tell me how much of the Pakistani territory is under indian possession now? Fact is that almost all wars ended up in stalemates and none of the side was having a decisive edge over the other. I do give much credit to Pakistan army because Pakistan is a poor country as compared to India, less resources, less military man power but still they after all these wars India was never allowed to dominate in any area. Liberation war of Bangladesh in which india was also involved can not be used to judge the level of an army as it was a poltical dispute and ppl of Bangladesh were not willing to live with pakistan.
This author has no ideal what he’s talking about. Iraq was also world class. We are not afraid of any Muslim country period. They wanted a war and pretty much they are going to get what they wanted. The trade center started this mess and we will finish this project.
Pakistan military strength:
http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=Pakistan
The only thing “world class” that I see here is James Smith’s startling ignorance and jingoism.
The “All Muslims = Terrorists” ideology is appalling and absurd. If you truly think “the trade center started this mess,” then you clearly have no sense of the real history of US imperialism and militarism in the Middle East, let alone the rest of the world.
It’s funny to me to read these things online. There is always the people that believe whole heartedly that America is a terrorist and fading world power who knows nothing but punishing other countries with war. Then there are the people that subscribe to the theory that every other country is wrong and you can’t beat America at anything. Here’s the point, Pakistan is hosting Al Qaeda and Bin Laden(the military’s number one priority), and they have been since very close to the beginning of this conflict. Unfortunately for the US(and Middle Eastern countries) it’s very difficult to not look like the bad guy during war. You need to see the mission for our government is to eliminate Al Qaeda and terrorist cells throughout our Area of Operation(a.k.a. Afghanistan and Pakistan). There is obviously more complex issues that the war is comprised of, but at the root of it all that is our objective. We’re not out to destroy alliances, we’re not looking for perenial war, and we’re certainly not fighting in Vietnam like the author suggests. This is it’s own beast, with a plethora of it’s own issues. Accept it or change it, otherwise please have respect for the less than 1% of your population that actually is wrapped up in the mess over there.
This article comes across as very anti American. That being said I do think that the war is with Islam and Islam is an Arab concoction best being fought with Saudi Arabia. The Saudis fund this crappy version of Islam with oil money made from the 1970 boom of oil prices. The majority of terrorists from 9/11 are Saudis who their group is hiding in Afghanistan to draw attention to that area and not Saudi Arabia.
By going in to Saudi Arabia you can kill ties with an oppressive government and limit funding to terrorism that helps fund terrorist world wide. Islam is a fascist system and even more so under Saudi governess. We can learn from WWII, and strike early before this gets to far out of control.
The Pakistan Armed Forces lost no wars. They always thwarted and withheld Indian aggression. Bangladesh was a political problem and it remains a Muslim state, majority of the people hating India and its efforts to make it a client state in the pattern of Nepal and Bhutan. Sikkim has already been gulped. Pakistan remains a thorn in in the Indian efforts to prevail over its neighbors. Even today after the many wars imposed on Pakistan, its living standards are better than that of India where more than twice the population of Pakistan lives in abject poverty, hunger and malnutrition.
As far as the Armed Forces of Pakistan are concerned, the Pakistan Air Force has been recognized as one of the best. The army is battle hardened and let no one, particularly its enemies take it lightly. Please do not forget Pakistan is also a nuclear power and if and when the lines are drawn an appropriate and befitting response awaits the enemy.
Some of the readers comments are astonishing. They still profess they can brow beat the world into submission through force and coercion. Not so; your own downfall has already begun. Don’t hasten it by taking more suicidal actions. It is better to live in peace with the world than to be hated by practically the whole world. The American people don’t deserve such a fate as basically they are good human beings.
The issue under discussion here was not the professionalism of Pakistan’s military, but since the issue has been raised let me set the record straight. Pakistan’s army and the air force are much too small compared to India but in the three wars that were fought, the Indians were beaten back or held at bay in ground warfare. Pakistani soldiers recorded historical show of courage and professionalism.
As for the air force I will quote just one instance. Pakistan Air Force holds the world record of a single pilot (M.M. Alam) shooting down 5 Indian fighters in air combat in a matter of few seconds. The history of these three wars is replete with many such accounts of heroism and professionalism. I wish those who express doubts about Pakistan’s military being world class had the background knowledge of this military or its performance. They apparently speak just because they must object.
If you want the latest evidence, let me tell you that Pakistani soldiers won a gold medal in Cambrian patrol 2010 competition among 750 soldiers from different countries, held in Australia. Watch a clip on this video link…..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVh-EBUwlFo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVh-EBUwlFo
Attach a file
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVh-EBUwlFo
hif ch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVh-EBUwlFo
The article erroneously points out that the United States is testing waters for escalating the Afghan war into Pakistan. That is not the case. The cross border Khost incident was an honest mistake and a joint ISAF and Pakistan commission concluded that. The ISAF and The US officials apologized for the mistake and gave assurance that it will not be repeated. It is never our intention to violate Pakistan’s air space and kill innocents. It must be realized that Both Pakistan and the United States are fighting a common and ruthless enemy who kill and destroy without remorse. The incident happened while our forces were pursuing this same murderous group.
The notion of a “perpetual war” is likewise without basis. Readers will recall that the US signed a strategic framework agreement two years ago with the sovereign government of Iraq, which provided for the drawdown and eventual withdrawal of our forces from that country. The US has lived up to that agreement, meeting every milestone either on time or, in the case of withdrawing all of our combat brigades, before the deadlines. After training the Afghan security forces to take control of law and security situation in Afghanistan, we fully intend to do the same in that country. In the meanwhile both Pakistan and the United States will have to clear the region of any Taliban influence so people of both Afghanistan and Pakistan can live in peace along with the rest of the world.
We can be cynical and scream conspiracy theory in everything that the United States does but the fact remains that we have amongst us enemies who have been killing innocents day in and day out. It is the US that is helping both Afghanistan and Pakistan to get rid of this menace.
LCDR Bill Speaks
DET- United States Central Command
http://www.centcom.mil
With all due respect, Bill Speaks, it is because of U.S. actions in Afghanistan and Pakistan that this ruthless enemy you rightly characterize as such exists in the first place.
Also, it can hardly be said that the illegal drone strikes in Pakistan are “honest mistakes”. When you say “It is never our intention to violate Pakistan’s air space”, you speak for the military. But what about CIA drone strikes? It cannot be said that this is not an intentional violation of Pakistan’s air space on the part of the U.S. How can the U.S.-led NATO/ISAF forces on one hand claim a right of “hot pursuit” and on the other deny intending to violate Pakistan’s air space? Need I remind you NATO initially defended the attack, and the apology you refer to only followed Pakistan’s decision to respond by halting the supply line via Pakistan?
Pakistan Ledership Military and Civilian are a complete joke, on one hand they take begged money and weapons and the other hand they are playing tough with ISAF. If i was the Leader of Pakistan i would NOT allow drones in any circumstances, the US say they are fighting a WOT which ultimately means NOT killing innocent people but they have killed and maimed many thousands of innocent people in Iraq/Afghanistan/Pakistan, so Al-Qaeda and US Military are 2 sides of the same coin.
@ – LCDR Bill Speaks – I sympathize with you for having taken upon yourself the task of defending American actions, which is truly an impossibility. Here are some flaws in your reasoning.
1. The above article makes no erroneous an accusations at all… for starters look at the disguised presence of Xe Corp. (formerly known as Black Water) in Pakistan against the wishes of the people.
2. The increased drone attacks which are a violation Pakistan’s sovereignty.
3. It is naive to expect any one to believe that violation of Pakistan’s air space was a mistake and that with the most advanced navigation technology at their disposal the American pilots could not tell where Pakistan’s border was? Even much inferior air forces possess the instruments and the capability to define international boundaries. If it was an error, why did ISAF initially defend this as hot pursuit?
4. If the American pilot opened fire at the Pakistani check post without even first doing a recce and determining his target, this speaks volumes about the quality of training of USAF pilots. If on the other hand, this was the result of reckless abandon on his part, with which some of his colleagues in US ground forces hunted down innocent Afghans just for pleasure as if they were on a duck shooting expedition, that only shows the disdain they have for the local people and the respect they have for human lives.
5. The reason why the US is associated with conspiracy theories is simply because the US has lost its credibility internationally as it is known to manipulate everything to its advantage. It is because the world knows that it has been involved in committing murders of political leaders of other countries (and its own too) whom it does not like, pulling down governments that are not to its taste and waging unjustified wars and killing thousands only to promote its imperialistic designs and perpetuate its power.
6. The US holds all countries to a higher standards than it holds itself to, when it comes to human rights. It lectures every one on moral values when it shows none in terms of its own international conduct. It wants other countries to adhere to democratic values when it has turned itself into a Soviet style police state having taken away the fundamental rights of its own people. It overlooked the death of a US citizen in the flotilla incident because it occurred at the hands of Israel, who it is mortally afraid of. Had a similar incident occurred elsewhere it would have turned the world upside down.
7. How can you defend your country in the face of its behavior as a bully and a reckless adventurer? If you want the truth, stop watching Fox News and go out to listen to people around the world. America today has been voted as the most hated country in the world. Go out and see how the humanity suffers because of its actions. Visit the women and children who have been widowed and orphaned as a result drone attacks and their lives destroyed, because it treats them like trash. Do you realize how many 9/11s your country has inflicted around the world.
6. Go to thse links to get the real picture:
– http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-224605-101-us-understates-civilian-casualties-in-pakistan-makes-no-amends.html
– http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26607.htm
It is interestnig to read about china and pakistan as allies.
The chinese hate the japanese, they hate the tibetans, and also some of the chinese who are not han.
But they really love pakistanis don’t they?
They probably only hold onto pakistan because they need it, also when or if china goes into afghanistan, will pakistan support this, or will they keep the taliban to fight chinese in afghanistan?
the idea that china likes pakistanis a joke, they would wipe out the pakistanis as they consider them to be dirty pakis to be suffered until they are no longer needed.