US Raid on Pakistan leaves 30 Dead;
Pakistan Government Protests;
3 Canadian Troops killed in Afghanistan
US ground troops conducted a raid into Pakistan's tribal areas leaving an estimated 20 dead. The governor of the North-West Frontier Province, Owais Ahmed Ghani, said that the raid was 'outrageous," and the government charged that women and children were among the dead. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry called US ambassador Ann Patterson in for an explanation.
The US was already in trouble with people in this region because of an air raid in Afghanistan that killed civilians. Bush apologized expressed 'regret' to President Hamid Karzai for the deaths of the innocents. Afghans maintain that some 90 people were killed in the air strike. The US military insists that the toll was 30 dead Taliban and 7 dead civilians.
Also, on Wednesday, Pakistani prime minister Yousef Raza Gilani's car was fired on, presumably by the Tehrik-i Taliban; he was not in it at the time.
Despite a cease-fire for the fasting month of Ramadan, Pakistani security forces fought tribal militants in Swat on Tuesday and Wednesday, leaving 30 Taliban dead and several Pakistani troops, as well.
Aljazeera English on the struggle in the North-West Frontier Province between Pushtun nationalists and the fundamentalist vigilantes:
Since the province voted the secular nationalists into power last February, I conclude that the fundamentalists aren't all that popular.
On the situation inside Afghanistan: Aljazeera English reports that the neo-Taliban believe they could take the city of Ghazni at any time:
Pushtun guerrillas killed 3 Canadian / NATO troops on Wednesday in southern Afghanistan.
posted by Juan Cole @ 9/04/2008 01:06:00 AM
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7 Comments:
A big part of Pakistan's destabilization is electrical load shedding, which has greatly damaged the economy and thus created even more strife. Here is a report of the mindless thinking causing such strife. Note that when the power was curtailed was during the non-fasting hours during Ramadan. And this is only one incident among many that occur daily. And it is just this sort of power shedding the UK is now experiencing on an increasing basis.
For Pakistan to have any chance at becoming stable, it must have a stable energy delivery system so the masses can work instead of protest or join the Taliban. The US has worked very hard to deter Pakistan's involvement with the Peace Pipeline between Iran and India that would supply it with the gas it needs to power its electricity generators. Not a very wise policy, huh?
The controversey over the number killed in Afghanistan and the identity - 90 or 40, civilian or Taliban - is nothing new. What it points up is not so much that we should believe either reckoning, but that it's difficult to take any numbers seriously coming out of military occupations where serious reporting by disinterested parties seems to be close to nonexistant.
This article could be very helpful to a lot of people because of the informations in it. Everybody should be aware of what's happening.
US to step up raids in Pakistan - Pentagon war makers favor more aggressive approach
Pakistanis had better wake the funk up otherwise they will all be kilt or will become a suburb of Kabul, which is now a suburb of the Pentagon.
this is your choice Pakistan - step up or become subjugated once again.
We are in a very unfortunate position with Pakistan. we are already in Afghanistan like it or not. So, we can't allow the Taliban to have safe havens in Pakistan. But, by the same token we cannot alienate Pakistan by continuing cross border raids.
It is a horrible catch 22 position to be in.
I wonder when is this goin to stop. They have been fighting for decades and still no peace. What a sad example of how people misuse their free will.
This is a great website, which brings up numerous good points.
The sad fact is that America is in a tough spot. We have to attack the militants while trying to keep peace with Pakistan.
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