It seems like a logical progression to take the fight against the Taliban and al Qaeda leadership in Pakistan to their newest hideouts and safe havens in Quetta. Once it became apparent that hanging out in the tribal areas could catch you a Hellfire rain, the bad guys started migrating to more populated areas. This LA Times report says that we are putting the screws to the Pakistanis for permission to start targeting them in Quetta, where many believe Mullah Omar and many others are now located. The report quotes the Long War Journal, so at least they are working with good people on this. The proposal has opened a contentious new front in the clandestine war. The prospect of Predator aircraft strikes in Quetta, a sprawling city, signals a new U.S. resolve to decapitate the Taliban. But it also risks rupturing Washington's relationship with Islamabad. The concern has created tension among Obama administration officials over whether unmanned aircraft strikes in a city of 850,000 are a realistic option. Proponents, including some military leaders, argue that attacking the Taliban in Quetta -- or at least threatening to do so -- is crucial to the success of the revised war strategy President Obama unveiled last week. "If we don't do this -- at least have a real discussion of it -- Pakistan might not think we are serious," said a senior U.S. official involved in war planning. "What the Pakistanis have to do is tell the Taliban that there is too much pressure from the U.S.; we can't allow you to have sanctuary inside Pakistan anymore." But others, including high-ranking U.S. intelligence officials, have been more skeptical of employing drone attacks in a place that Pakistanis see as part of their country's core. Pakistani officials have warned that the fallout would be severe. I don't doubt that the fallout would be severe and it demonstrates the tightrope we are walking in these efforts. What this really needs is more human input on the ground. Hey maybe we could ask some Navy SEALs to go in on a raid and grab some of these guys? The problem with this is that the Pakistani Intel folks (ISI) are half in the bag for the Taliban and they are the ones we have to rely on to find them. They have a long history of playing both ends against the middle and so any targeting info we get from them is necessarily suspect. The safe havens cannot be allowed to move out of the tribal areas and into major cities or the problem in Pakistan will get exponentially worse. The problem is that the possible solutions all suck. Welcome to the Af/Pak theater.
Read the complete post at http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Blackfive/~3/zeZ4kK0rKEQ/going-after-taliban-in-quetta-pakistan.html
Posted
Dec 14 2009, 12:08 AM
by
BLACKFIVE