When jihadists have gone over the border from Pakistan and attacked inside Afghanistan, it has never been that big a deal for Pakistan. When even Pakistan-based jihadists go back over the border from Afghanistan and attack Pakistan, it is an affront and a crisis.
An update on this story. "U.S. warns Pakistan after suspected Haqqani attack," by Phil Stewart for Reuters, September 14:
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Pakistan on Wednesday the United States would "do everything we can" to defend U.S. forces from Pakistan-based militants staging attacks in Afghanistan.
U.S. officials, including Panetta, suspect militants from the Haqqani network were behind Tuesday's rocket attack on the U.S. Embassy compound in Kabul, as well as a truck bomb last Saturday that wounded 77 American forces.
"Time and again we've urged the Pakistanis to exercise their influence over these kinds of attacks from the Haqqanis. And we have made very little progress in that area," Panetta told reporters flying with him to San Francisco.
He added, "I think the message they (the Pakistanis) need to know is: we're going to do everything we can to defend our forces."
Panetta, who was CIA director until July, has long pressed Islamabad to go after the Haqqanis, perhaps the most feared of the Taliban-allied insurgent factions fighting U.S.-led NATO and Afghan troops in Afghanistan.
He declined to answer questions about what steps the United States might take to defend U.S. forces. But Panetta said he was concerned about the Haqqanis' ability to attack American troops and then "escape back into what is a safe haven in Pakistan."
"And that's unacceptable," Panetta said.
The CIA has had success targeting militants in Pakistan using pilotless drones, and Navy SEALs killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in May during a covert raid in Pakistan.
Last month, Admiral Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military officer, cited progress curtailing Haqqani movements within Afghanistan.
"I'm not going to talk about how we're going to respond. I'll just let you know that we are not going to allow these kinds of attacks to go on," Panetta said....
i doubt so!
An attack on the U.S. embassy towards the end of a listless war... Sounds like the Tet Offensive. But this time instead of China backing the NVA & the Viet Cong, it's Pakistan supporting the Taliban & Haqqani network.
At least China never wanted to take over the whole world and impose a murderous ideology on the four corners of the earth. They want their own weird kingdom to themselves & "only" want to brutally oppress those within in it.
If Pakistan continues with this Obama will give them more money so BEWARE Pakistan.
Told ya so!!! few days ago, that foot prints are going to Pakistan when it came to 73 wounded US personnels in Kabul.
Illiterate Talibans do not know how to make such sophisticate bombs. Pentagon found it quickly, hence Pakistan is being pressurized rightly.
But, Pakistan is a country, that does not understand the English language used by Americans. They are fit to be bombarded by US forces to stone age....Pakistan would not comply with mere threats, action is need of the hour!
Must read Intelligence report by STRATFOR about Pakistan: http://turl.no/hu6
Dispatch: Tactical Look at the Embassy Attack in Kabul
Vice President of Tactical Intelligence Scott Stewart examines the Taliban attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul from a tactical perspective. Watch the Video ยป http://turl.no/hu8
Let's bomb Pukistan back into the stone age where their savage blood cult is more appropriate.
Thanks kesh,
The important aspect of any US incursion into Pakistan is that the objectives be limited to ONLY destroying the Haqqani facilities, and killing as many of the members as possible. There should not be any intention of regime change, nor support of "friendly" tribes. We need a quick in and out.
That would probably put Pakistan on a war footing against us, which is probably what the actual reality is anyway. We could stop giving military support to Pakistan, support which is totally insane under any rational view of the region. Our military hardware is obviously for use against India. I have no idea why we are supporting an Islamist country like Pakistan against a true multicultural, largely tolerant, dynamic country like India.
RonaldB: My freind I endorse yr views and hope that the state dept, POTUS, Pentagon come to realise this; that, the support to Pakistan is tantamount to Harakiri for Americans.
Pakistan has been fleecing Americans handsomely on many pretexts - most of them flimsy n frivelous.
Its time American officials put on thinking cap before amy such measure is to be executed towards Pakistan to benefit it.
Sounds like he is getting cross now. Maybe he is connecting the dots & is wondering if the USA's billions are being put to a good use. Hey Panetta don't be a dumb ass all your life. Pakistan = muslim nation = not the USA's friend. They don't really like you, it's not that hard.
........Swiss bank UBS said a trader who had lost it around $2 billion in unauthorized deals had been arrested in London, where police were holding 31-year-old Kweku Adoboli.........
Probably a MOSLEM!
There have been paras and paras of rhetoric used to justify and defend all the tarot games played by US agencies in training Mujahideens, rasing the Taliban in the decades earlier. The arguments made few months ago by some comments here on jihadwatch simply gave a distillation that in pursuit of domination, expansion and political hold, whoever partied to an alliance even for a very wrong purpose became a 'friend' and a 'partner' of US! And the ones who didn't, have to suffer the side effects of this 'friendship'! I would love to hear some more from these apologists who I reckon wouldn't mind defending a suicidal and horrbly wrong policy even while sitting on a pile of rubble and ash! But then, it's the soldiers who are dying and their families can be consoled with a patriotic delusional show... And the government ponders on it's repeated mistakes!
The Haqqanis and sadistic thug Gulbeddin Hekmatyar who is in the league of his own when it comes to cruelty even by Afghan standards, were the most favored by our CIA. They got many, many, many times more Stingers and other advanced weaponry than the 5 other "Mujaheddin" groups. This is despite the 2 being absolutely openly anti-Western and anti-American. I have noticed long ago that being more anti-American causes the CIA and the US State Dept. sociopaths to be more dhimmi-subservient to jihadis, not less. Through the Pakistani ISI who still aid them, the CIA also trained H & H in making malleable-explosive bombs of any shape, roadside bombs, IED's, and, yes, car and truck bombs. They are now using that trade on our American soldiers. Who is responsible for this travesty? None else that Robert Gates who was the CIA official, then director in charge of aiding the Afghan/Arab al-Qaida jihad against the Russians. It was Hekmatyar who had personally introduced bin Laden to Gates and other CIA. Gates is responsible for both the 9/11 and our losing war in Afghanistan, where our GI's are walking in the Russians' boots. But admitting responsibility is not a CIA sociopath's trait. Instead, Gates blames his own jihad masters' deeds ... on Israel! "Israel makes the Muslims angry, so what can I do". Such is the nature of a sociopath. There is a saying in my Old Country Russia: "Don't dig a pit for someone else lest you end up in it yourself".
Gates resigned earlier this year as the US Secretary Of Defense leaving the United States in the Afghan pit of his own digging. The hapless Panetta succeeded him at the bottom of the pit, stuck with the hopeless task of reparing Gates' damage. Lucky him!
This is why I keep saying here: He who aids jihad against ANYBODY (Russia, China, Serbia, Uzbekistan), aids it against EVERYBODY, including himself.
Read a great book "Ghost Wars" by Steve Call, a fascinating comprehensive, full and accurate account of the Reagan/Gates Afghan adventure. It had me nodding enthusiastically throughout reading, as it refreshed in my memory events that I already knew. I was going: "Yes, yes, this is exactly what happened". This book is a treasure of very valuable information. Other great books detailing US aiding jihad and appeasing the Muslims are "The Looming Towers" by Lawrence Wright and "The Cell" by John Miller.
Ruslan Tokhchukov, EnragedSince1999.
Finally a man with courage. Here is to you Leon. (long gulp) Ahhh!!!
It took the CIA and the Defense Department this long (a Decade!) and this many billions of dollars to find out that the nation formed exclusively for Mohammedans of India was always aiding the Haqqani Network against infidel crusaders?
Wow!!
The CIA and Defense Department folks are neither very productive with their budgets, nor very bright, are they?
If the CIA and state department were students, they would be put in special needs class. If they were corporations, they would be bankrupt by now.