Pakistan appears to have finally overreached in its double game, and the tangled web it has woven is unraveling rather suddenly. Acting insulted just might not get Pakistan out of this one. "Pakistan 'backed Haqqani attack on Kabul' - Mike Mullen," from BBC News, September 23:
The most senior US military officer has accused Pakistan's spy agency of supporting the Haqqani group in last week's attack on the US Kabul embassy.
"The Haqqani network... acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Agency," Adm Mike Mullen told a Senate panel.
Some 25 people died in last Tuesday's 20-hour attack on Kabul's US embassy and other official buildings.
Pakistan's interior minister earlier denied links with the Haqqani group.
Rehman Malik told the BBC Pakistan was determined to fight all militants based on its border with Afghanistan.
Pakistani officials have consistently denied links with militant groups.
US-Pakistan ties deteriorated sharply after the killing of al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden on Pakistani soil by US commandos in May.
The relationship was already shot. The raid, kept secret from the Pakistanis for fear that they would tip bin Laden off, was a result of the inability to trust Islamabad. Going in after bin Laden and finding him where they did, hiding under the noses of the Pakistani military establishment, just brought that reality out into the open.
'Credible intelligence'
The Kabul attack on 13 September left 11 civilians dead, as well as at least four police and 10 insurgents.
"With ISI support, Haqqani operatives planned and conducted a truck bomb attack [on 11 September], as well as the assault on our embassy,"said Adm Mullen.
"We also have credible intelligence that they were behind the 28 June attack against the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul and a host of other smaller but effective operations."
In July Adm Mullen, who steps down this month as chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, accused Pakistan's government of sanctioning the killing of investigative journalist Saleem Shahzad.
Pakistan called that statement "irresponsible".
Correspondents say that during his tenure, Adm Mullen has been a forceful advocate for maintaining dialogue with Pakistan and with its military establishment.
He was said to be close to the Pakistani army's chief of staff, Gen Ashfaq Kayani. Indeed, Adm Mullen is thought to have made more visits to Pakistan than any other senior US official or chief of staff in recent times.
But, correspondents say, the latest comments are yet more evidence of his patience wearing thin, and suggest he is prepared to be more outspoken as his term in office draws to a close.
Strained ties
The Haqqani network, which is closely allied to the Taliban and reportedly based in Pakistan, has been blamed for several high-profile attacks against Western, Indian and government targets in Afghanistan.
It is often described by Pakistani officials as a predominantly Afghan group, but correspondents say its roots reach deep inside Pakistani territory, and speculation over its links to Pakistan's security establishment refuses to die down.
US officials have long been frustrated at what they perceive to be Pakistani inaction against the Haqqani network, and analysts say US concern about the group's capabilities is particularly acute as Nato begins withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.
Earlier this month, Washington said it could target the Haqqani network on Pakistani soil if the authorities there failed to take action against the militants.
But on Thursday, Mr Malik told the BBC that Pakistan's government had taken "very, very strict actions" whenever it had received information about militant groups.
"We will not allow any terrorist to operate from our area, from our side, irrespective of any country, including Afghanistan," he said. "I assure you that, if their presence is there and which is detrimental, action is going to be taken."...
America is learning the hard way what India has known all along, that Pakistan is a terrorist state and untrustworthy ally.
If the US was smart, they would've joined with India in the 'War on Terror' (Islam) to hunt down their common radical muslim enemy. Not only would they get financial support and Indian troops/military, but also the right intelligence since it's their language and region.
It is unfortunate that the recent wars that the US has engaged in have been ill-thought out, with no clear understanding of who we're fighting and what our goals are.
If it was to establish democracy, then it's been a miserable failure because they all re-established the same Islamic states they had before which lead to the anti-western hate and terrorism we've witnessed already.
While we deride the liberals for being blind to 'radical Islam,' those on the center/right also need to deal with their own biases and self-delusions about Islam.
Of course it doesn't help that our leftist and Islamic enemies are busy trying to prevent us from recognizing the truth also that we're in a global war against Islam and fundamentalist muslims.
Had we known better we could've avoided attacking our fellow non-muslim Serbs who were fighting back against the jihad waged by the Albanian Kosovars. We could've stopped the genocide of non-muslims in Sudan by the muslims and most importantly, we could've helped bring real freedom to the mideast.
Until our elites and populace figure this out, we'll just be chasing our own tails while the global Islamic movement will keep conquering us.
"US-Pakistan ties deteriorated sharply after the killing of al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden on Pakistani soil by US commandos in May"
That's because he was their boy.
The Pakistani government are Islamic fanatics and expect somebody to believe their lies. I believe that it is and has been Pakistan's ambitions all along to control Afganistan. It's Mo's way.