The US & others working with Pakistan

[SWJED]

24 December Washington Post - Taliban Figure Killed in Airstrike by Pamela Constable.

A top Taliban leader and close associate of Osama bin Laden has been killed in a U.S. airstrike in southern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, the U.S. military said in a statement Saturday...

"Osmani was in the top ring of the Taliban leadership, and he was also a close associate of Osama bin Laden," said Col. Tom Collins, a U.S. military spokesman. Collins said Osmani also had close ties to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Afghan militia leader once allied with the United States who is now an anti-American fugitive.

[Jedburgh]

CSIS, 1 Feb 07: The Afghan-Pakistan War: Threat Developments

This briefing provides a broad view of the rising level of violence in the country based on a visit to Afghanistan in late January 2008, and unclassified data from the UN, NATO/ISAF, and US sources in Afghanistan. It provides an analytic overview of threat developments that map and chart a growing overall threat in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

It shows that the more traditional Taliban structure under the Mullah Omar in the south remains a major problem, and that the mix of Taliban and other Islamist elements in the East has become far more sophisticated and cooperative during the course of 2007. Al Qa'ida influence over the Afghan groups has increased, and the combined role of Al Qa'ida and the emerging Pakistani Taliban has sharply increased in influence and in the territory over which it has de facto control.

Taliban support areas inside both Afghanistan and Pakistan have increased during 2007, and the Taliban has expanded its control over political and economic space in the south, far northeast, the area around Kabul, and in the central, western, and northwestern areas of Afghanistan. As the briefing shows, US experts in Afghanistan believe that the Taliban has set very clear objectives to expand its activity throughout the country in 2008, and into previously secure provinces and districts.

The situation in Pakistan is shown as critical, and few in Afghanistan or Pakistan believe the situation will not deteriorate even further in 2008 unless the Pakistani government takes far more decisive action than it has to date. Experts do, however, question Pakistan's willingness to act, the role of the ISI in supporting the Taliban and other threat elements, and whether the Pakistani Army and government are acting with anything like their claimed firmness.....

Complete 65 slide brief in pdf available at the link.

[davidbfpo]

This CSIS powerpoint is useful, particularly the details on drug production.

davidbfpo

[Norfolk]

MISNA is reporting today that the Pakistani government is seeking a ceasefire with the Taleban and the local tribes in South Waziristan prior to elections:

The Pakistani government has begun negotiations with the Taliban and allied tribal elders ahead of the crucial February 28 legislative elections, drawing criticism from both the opposition and United States.

A little more at the link.

[davidbfpo]

Under the headline 'Tensions rise....' the UK Daily Telegraph reports: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...bing-raid.html

I know other websites have commented upon events in Pakistan recently, I cannot recall much on SWC.

davidbfpo

[Jedburgh]

Under the headline 'Tensions rise....' the UK Daily Telegraph reports: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...bing-raid.html

I know other websites have commented upon events in Pakistan recently, I cannot recall much on SWC.

davidbfpo

There has been some very interesting reporting in regards to the incident reported in linked article, which is very different from the statement, The Afghans were persuaded to return "amicably"..... I'm looking forward to hearing the rest of the story.

[davidbfpo]

A different account, with more details after what appears to be a press briefing by the US command: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080611/...tMb9NlKkys0NUE

I draw attention to this part of the story and my italics: 'The Pentagon did not rule out the possibility that friendly forces were killed, but officials did not discount the idea that paramilitary fighters may have attacked coalition troops. The Pakistani army said the coalition strike hit a post of the paramilitary Frontier Corps and was a "completely unprovoked and cowardly act."

Note it was suggested in '07 that the USA provide training and support to the Frontier Corps, a locally recruited para-military force.

Different sources and background: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archiv...oops_clash.php

davidbfpo