thedrifter
07-22-09, 07:46 AM
Pakistan protests U.S. expansion in Afghanistan
By ERIC SCHMITT and JANE PERLEZ
NEW YORK TIMES
07/22/2009
Pakistan is objecting to expanded U.S. combat operations in neighboring Afghanistan, producing new fissures in the alliance with Washington at a critical juncture when thousands of new U.S. forces are arriving in the region.
Pakistani officials have told the administration of President Barack Obama that the Marines fighting the Taliban in southern Afghanistan will force militants across the border into Pakistan, with the potential to further inflame the troubled province of Baluchistan, according to Pakistani intelligence officials.
Pakistan does not have enough troops to deploy to Baluchistan to take on the Taliban without denuding its border with its archenemy, India, the officials said. Dialogue with the Taliban, not more fighting, is in Pakistan's national interest, they said.
The Pakistani account made clear that even as the United States recommits troops and resources to take on a growing Taliban threat, Pakistani officials still consider India their top priority and the Taliban a problem that can be negotiated. In the long term, the Taliban in Afghanistan may even remain potential allies for Pakistan, as they were in the
past, once the United States leaves.
The Pakistani officials gave views different from those of U.S. officials regarding the threat presented by top Taliban commanders, some of whom the Americans say have long taken refuge in Pakistan.
Recent Pakistani military operations against the Taliban in the Swat Valley and parts of the tribal areas have done little to close the gap in perceptions.
Even as Obama administration officials praise the operations, they express frustration that Pakistan is failing to act against the full array of Islamic militants using the country as a base.
Instead, they say, Pakistani authorities have chosen to fight Pakistani Taliban who threaten their government, while ignoring Taliban and other militants fighting Americans in Afghanistan or terrorizing India.
Pakistan's critical assessment was provided as the Obama administration's special envoy for the region, Richard Holbrooke, left Tuesday for his fourth visit to Pakistan since he was appointed in January.
The country's perspective was given in a nearly two-hour briefing on Friday for the New York Times by senior analysts and officials of Pakistan's main spy service. The main themes of the briefing were echoed in conversations with several military officers over the last few days.
Ellie
By ERIC SCHMITT and JANE PERLEZ
NEW YORK TIMES
07/22/2009
Pakistan is objecting to expanded U.S. combat operations in neighboring Afghanistan, producing new fissures in the alliance with Washington at a critical juncture when thousands of new U.S. forces are arriving in the region.
Pakistani officials have told the administration of President Barack Obama that the Marines fighting the Taliban in southern Afghanistan will force militants across the border into Pakistan, with the potential to further inflame the troubled province of Baluchistan, according to Pakistani intelligence officials.
Pakistan does not have enough troops to deploy to Baluchistan to take on the Taliban without denuding its border with its archenemy, India, the officials said. Dialogue with the Taliban, not more fighting, is in Pakistan's national interest, they said.
The Pakistani account made clear that even as the United States recommits troops and resources to take on a growing Taliban threat, Pakistani officials still consider India their top priority and the Taliban a problem that can be negotiated. In the long term, the Taliban in Afghanistan may even remain potential allies for Pakistan, as they were in the
past, once the United States leaves.
The Pakistani officials gave views different from those of U.S. officials regarding the threat presented by top Taliban commanders, some of whom the Americans say have long taken refuge in Pakistan.
Recent Pakistani military operations against the Taliban in the Swat Valley and parts of the tribal areas have done little to close the gap in perceptions.
Even as Obama administration officials praise the operations, they express frustration that Pakistan is failing to act against the full array of Islamic militants using the country as a base.
Instead, they say, Pakistani authorities have chosen to fight Pakistani Taliban who threaten their government, while ignoring Taliban and other militants fighting Americans in Afghanistan or terrorizing India.
Pakistan's critical assessment was provided as the Obama administration's special envoy for the region, Richard Holbrooke, left Tuesday for his fourth visit to Pakistan since he was appointed in January.
The country's perspective was given in a nearly two-hour briefing on Friday for the New York Times by senior analysts and officials of Pakistan's main spy service. The main themes of the briefing were echoed in conversations with several military officers over the last few days.
Ellie