Online Journal of Politics and Foreign Affairs
The BBC is reporting on a leaked NATO report claiming that elements of Pakistani intelligence are directly aiding the Taliban in Afghanistan even as the U.S.-led NATO forces are fighting them: The Taliban in Afghanistan are being directly assisted by Pakistani security services, according to a secret Nato report seen by the BBC. The leaked [...]
This shouldn’t be at all surprising: WASHINGTON — A nearly two-month lull in American drone strikes in Pakistan has helped embolden Al Qaeda and several Pakistani militant factions to regroup, increase attacks against Pakistani security forces and threaten intensified strikes against allied forces in Afghanistan, American and Pakistani officials say. The insurgents are increasingly taking [...]
As part of the blowback from the accidental deaths of two dozen Pakistani soldiers in a NATO helicopter raid, the U.S. is leaving a base in Pakistan used in drone operations: In another sign of deteriorating relations with Pakistan, the United States is vacating an air base used to launch American drones in response to [...]
The fallout from Saturday’s friendly fire incident, in which two dozen Pakistani soldiers were mistakenly killed by NATO helicopters, continues to widen. On the civilian side, American flags were burned in protests by members of the public no doubt riled up by extremist elements: Tensions between the United States and Pakistan boiled over as angry [...]
Tensions between Pakistan and the U.S.-led NATO force in Afghanistan are threatening to turn even more sour today after an apparent friendly fire incident: Pakistani officials on Saturday accused NATO of conducting a helicopter attack on two military checkpoints at the northwestern border with Afghanistan, in strikes that military officials said killed at least 25 [...]
The relationship between the United States and Pakistan seems destined to head into bad waters after yesterday’s accusation by outgoing Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen that the terrorist group that attacked the U.S. Embassy in Kabul was backed by elements of Pakistan’s intelligence service: WASHINGTON — The nation’s top military official said Thursday that [...]
One of the first things we learned about the raid that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden was that at least one of the helicopters used was a previously secret stealth helicopter. After delaying for several weeks, Pakistan finally turned over the wreckage of the copter in late May, but not before dropping [...]
As I noted yesterday the United States is withholding certain military aid to Pakistan over that countries actions in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden. Now, Pakistan is threatening to end its cooperation in the War On Terror if aid remains cut off: Pakistan could pull back troops fighting Islamist militants near [...]
Signs of tension between the United States and Pakistan are becoming more and more evident: WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is suspending and, in some cases, canceling hundreds of millions of dollars of aid to the Pakistani military, in a move to chasten Pakistan for expelling American military trainers and to press its army to [...]
The outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said yesterday that the Pakistani government had, at least, advance knowledge of the killing of an outspoken reporter: The Pakistani government “sanctioned” the killing of a journalist last month, the top U.S. military official said Thursday, but he said he could not tie the death to [...]
One of the main reasons why the United States has had to be continually careful about its response to the situation in Pakistan, and the policies of the Pakistani government, is because the land route through Pakistan has been our main supply route for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Now, after ten years, it looks like [...]
Our good ally Pakistan has publicly ordered us to leave a base used for “covert” CIA drone attacks.
A Pew Research Center poll released this week provides a stark reminder of just how bad the reputation is in what is arguably one of our most important strategic allies: Currently, just 12% express a positive view of the U.S. and only 8% have confidence in President Barack Obama to do the right thing in [...]
As James Joyner noted in the days after the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, the helicopter that was disabled and had to be destroyed in bin Laden’s compound was a previously secret stealth helicopter that the U.S. military had never revealed before. In the aftermath of the raid there was concern over what Pakistan [...]
Just in case you didn’t think there was already reason enough to be concerned about Pakistan, here’s about 50 more: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — China has agreed to immediately provide 50 JF-17 fighter jets to Pakistan, a major outcome of a visit by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to Beijing this week, Pakistani officials said Thursday. [...]
I think it’s safe to say that tensions between Pakistan and US/NATO forces in Afghanistan are on a bit of a hair trigger: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistani ground troops opened fire on two NATO helicopters that crossed into Pakistan’s airspace from Afghanistan early Tuesday morning, the Pakistani Army said in a statement. A firefight then [...]
Just a reminder of what else could go wrong: JAMMU, India (Reuters) – Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged sustained cross-border fire on Sunday, security officials said, a day after an Indian soldier was killed by Pakistani troops while patrolling one of the world’s most heavily guarded borders. The two sides exchanged small arms fire for [...]
The Pakistanis are apparently still a bit upset about that whole killing bin Laden thing: Pakistan’s parliament threatened Saturday to cut off access to a facility used by NATO forces to ferry troops into Afghanistan, signaling a growing rift that began when U.S. commandos killed Osama bin Laden during a raid on a Pakistani compound. [...]
I’ve begun to wonder about the future of U. S. security policy. This isn’t a serious analytical post; it’s just what I call “musing”—committing disorganized thoughts to writing.
Did a deal between the U.S. and Pakistan during the infancy of the war against al Qaeda play a role in the raid against Osama bin Laden?
Pakistan is trying to explain how the world’s most wanted man was able to hide in plain sight for six years, and failing badly.
In a move sure to satisfy Deathers as much as a contemporaneous newspaper story satisfied Birthers, al Qaeda has released a statement confirming that Osama bin Laden is dead.
The question of how the world’s most wanted man could’ve hidden in plain sight in Pakistan continues to be asked.
Cartoonist John Cole of the Scranton Times-Tribune offers this take on yesterday’s big news: His blog commentary: Abottabad, the Pakistani city wherein justice finally caught up with Osama bin Laden, reportedly crawls with that country’s military. A major army base and military academy are located in the city of 100,000, which begs the question: How [...]
How exactly was the most wanted man in the world able to hide in this house without anyone in Pakistan knowing about it?
A Pakistani man named Sohaib Athar unwittingly became part of history in the early hours of Sunday morning when he started telling twitter about some odd events in Abbotabad, Pakistan
The Federal government is funding a Pakistan version of Sesame Street for $20 million.
The latest wrong of documents from Wikileaks show that American diplomats are as worried about Pakistan as the rest of us, and not quite sure how to deal with the situation.
While Americans concern themselves with domestic politics and mid-term elections, the situation in Pakistan seems to continue to get worse.
Pakistan yesterday blocked NATO’s primary supply line into Afghanistan in retaliation for an air strike that killed three Pakistani paramilitaries. Are the two countries truly allies?
While the floods in Pakistan have remained off the front page in the United States, they’re still having an impact on the daily lives of millions of people and now al Qaeda seems to be trying to exploit the crisis for their own purposes: DUBAI (Reuters) – Al Qaeda’s number two Ayman al-Zawahri released an [...]
The floodwaters are starting to recede, although the disaster is far from over.
Epic flooding in Pakistan is a humanitarian crisis which dwarfs the combined devastation of the 2004 Asian tsunami, the earthquake in Pakistan in 2005, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Why aren’t we paying attention?
The task of getting aid to the 20 million victims of Pakistan’s floods may have just gotten a lot more difficult
While American politics concerns itself with trivial issues, Pakistan finds itself dealing with a devastating natural disaster that could have real geo-political implications.
The United States has promised $150 million in aid to flood-ravaged Pakistan. Should we have?
Pakistan’s President threw a grenade into the ongoing debate over the War in Afghanistan: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said the U.S. and its allies are losing the war in Afghanistan because they failed to win local support and think too short term, drawing a rebuke from the U.S. “The international community, of which Pakistan [...]
The reports of a new study showing that “Pakistan’s military intelligence agency directly funds and trains the Afghan Taliban and is officially represented on its leadership council” are frustrating but, as Steve Hynd observes shocking “only if you hadn’t read about a Spanish report in October 2008, the WaPo’s report on what US officials knew in April [...]
A report to the U.N. by special rapporteur New York University law professor Philip Alston suggests that the Obama Administration’s program to have CIA agents remote pilot drone strikes in Pakistan should be disbanded in favor of putting the operation in the hands of the military. A soon-to-be-released United Nations report will call into question [...]
While a recent New America Foundation study found that 30 percent of those killed by drone strikes in Pakistan are civilians, a new study by Bryan Glyn Williams finds the real number is a tenth that. Spencer Ackerman, who has obtained an advanced copy, reports: Much like the New America Foundation study, Williams’ team relied [...]
Honestly, I don’t know what to add to Dave’s and James’ takes on the current situation in Afghanistan. Like James, I supported the initial invasion of Afghanistan and was also surprised at how quickly the Taliban fell and al-Qaeda dispersed. But now, eight and a half years later, I too have to question the wisdom [...]
If you live in Pakistan, you won’t be able to access Facebook for awhile: LAHORE, Pakistan – Pakistan’s government ordered Internet service providers to block Facebook on Wednesday amid anger over a page that encourages users to post images of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. The page on the social networking site has generated criticism in Pakistan [...]
The other day I noticed that novelist Brad Thor reported the one of the world’s most wanted men, Mullah Mohammed Omar had been captured. I ignored said news (as did, it seemed, most of the Blogosphere and all of the MSM). After all, he’s a novelist and he writes for Andrew Breitbart’s Big Government, which [...]
Faisal Shahzad apparently didn’t train with the Pakistani Taliban, Jonathan Landay and John Walcott report for McClatchy Newspapers. No credible evidence has been found so far that the Pakistani-American man accused in the Times Square bombing plot received any serious terrorist training from the Pakistani Taliban or another radical Islamic group, six U.S. officials said [...]
On last night’s edition of OTB Radio, “Times Square Terror, Gulf Oil Spill, and British Elections,” Dave Schuler wondered what it is that the Department of Homeland Security is doing with its time. After all, Faisal Shahzad fits the terrorist profile perfectly and yet they were apparently oblivious to him. Now, CBS reports, “would-be Times [...]
Two prominent Republican Congressmen have come out against reading Miranda rights to American citizens suspected of terrorism. Congressional Republicans want to know whether the Pakistani-born American arrested in the Times Square car bombing plot was read his Miranda rights, with Sen. John McCain saying it would be a “serious mistake” if the suspect was reminded [...]
As you’re all likely aware by now, the man believed to have driven the vehicle in the botched Times Square bomb plot was arrested last night. Thus far, three things interest me: emerging evidence that this was part of an organized, international, terrorist conspiracy; the sheer ineptitude of the plot; and the media coverage. This [...]
