We have to tread carefully with Pakistan - Edit 1
Before modification by Libby at 06/10/2009 06:04:07 AM
One must either drastically increase troops in Afghanistan or completely withdraw from the nation. While Pakistan is such a porous border with Afghanistan and until that border is completely secure, there is no point in continuing in Afghanistan.
The border with Pakistan is never going to be secure, no matter how many troops we have there.
Furthermore, Pakistan is one of the main problems and should be a greater focal point for pressure/troops/bombings if the goal is to stabilize the region. But Pakistan is our "ally". With allies like that, who needs enemies?
It's not that simple, the civilian government in Pakistan is very weak. The military is by far the strongest and most stable institution in Pakistan. And god knows what the motivation or where the loyalties of ISI belongs to. Pakistan is an islamic state with nuclear weapons with a civilian government that's struggling. I believe we need to be very, very wary when we're talking about further bombings/pressure/troops in their territory. When it comes to geo-politics, especially in central asia, I'd rather have Pakistan as an ambiguous ally than a full-blown enemy.
Obama is proving seriously "wimpy" on the international stage. All words and no actions. His goal to close Guantanamo Bay within 1 year is going how? All words, no actions. His goals in Afghanistan? Where are the additional troops. Poor Gates. He is quite effective. Unfortunately for him Obama, his boss, is not.
People here seem to forget there has been a significant development since then: an election in which President Hamid Karzai's partisans committed blatant fraud, stuffing ballot boxes and intimidating the opposition. Though Karzai is likely to remain as president, many of his constituents will view him as illegitimate. That would make our task of nation-building, which includes shoring up the karzai regime, even more difficult than it was already. We need to at least see how this political situation shapes up, and adapt our strategy from there. Any decision about going to war or changing strategy needs to be carefully thought through. If that is what the president is attempting to do, I commend him for that. I'm personally sick of knee-jerk decisions, especially when it comes to putting men and women in harms way.