U.S. to Expand Military Presence in Pakistan
On the day of Bhutto’s assassination, the Nation of Pakistan reports of the U.S.’ military expansion in Pakistan.
EARLY next year, US special forces are expected to vastly expand their presence in Pakistan, as part of an effort to train and support indigenous counter-insurgency forces and clandestine counter-terrorism units, according to American defence officials involved with the planning, reports Washington Post.
These Pakistan-centric operations will mark a shift for the US military and for US-Pakistan relations. In the aftermath of Sept 11, the US used Pakistani bases to stage movements into Afghanistan. Yet once the US deposed the Taliban government and established its main operating base at Bagram, north of Kabul, US forces left Pakistan almost entirely. Since then, Pakistan has restricted US involvement in cross-border military operations as well as paramilitary operations on its soil.
But the Pentagon has been frustrated by the inability of Pakistani forces to control the borders or the frontier area. And Pakistan’s political instability has heightened US concern about extremists there.
According to Pentagon sources, reaching a different agreement with Pakistan became a priority for the new head of the US Special Operations Command, Adm Eric T Olson.
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3 Responses to “U.S. to Expand Military Presence in Pakistan”
counter insurgency, or counter-revolutionary? Team America, F**k yeah!
How long before training the counterinsurgents turns into an advisory role for Pakistan’s army, which turns into direct military involvement?Bush’s overreaction to 9/11 will destabilize the entire Middle East. We need to decide if we want to democratize the region, and in all probability elect Islamic extremists or stabilize the region, which engenders creating banana republics that crush the will of the citizenry. Bhutto was killed because she was pro-US, and the majority in Pakistan hates our guts.
I doubt it would come to that. But what I fear is that the training (and with it, sources and methods of counter-insurgency) would find its way not only into Pakistan’s government, but to the terrorists there eventually. To me, why trust the Pakistanis?
Our presence there should be to use the kind of force in the frontier areas that we carelessly did not use in Iraq, or even in Afghanistan. I wouldn’t mind seeing the area subjected to much worse stuff but I don’t think that will ever happen. (Hint: They, the terrorists, and anyone else refusing orders to leave would not be leaving after that. They might never be able to be seen, much less identified, ever again.)