Goading The Pakistanis
The headline reads Pakistan Fires On Nato Aircraft. Of course, that’s a bit of a stretch. The helicopters that were engaged by Pakistani forces today were American, and it’s not as if the United States hasn’t made its intentions clear with regards to conducting cross-border military incursions despite repeated warnings by the Pakistanis.
The incident occurred along what is known as the Durand line, a stretch of disputed territory that both Pakistan and Afghanistan claim as their own. Of course, that doesn’t alter the fact that the helicopters flew over a Pakistani military position – and given what has occurred over the last few weeks one has to seriously wonder why that was done?
The first word that pops into my head is ‘provocation’, and that’s precisely what this incident looks to be – an orchestrated attempt at provoking the Pakistanis in an area where the border is disputed. While the Pakistani military has claimed that warning shots were fired at the helicopters, President Asif Ali Zardari contradicted the statement, claiming that only flares were fired. The latter, in my opinion, is a political attempt to downplay the severity of the incident.
It should not be forgotten that the United States has denied that the Predator Drone that went down in South Waziristan yesterday was, in fact, a Predator Drone. Of course, the wreckage of the drone has been recovered and there’s no questioning what it is. US military officials did, however, claim that they had ‘lost’ a drone due to a malfunction, but that it was immediately recovered by the US military in Paktika Province and that it was nowhere near the Pakistani border.
This whole game of cat and mouse is becoming quite serious, and it looks as though American intentions are to goad the Pakistanis into helping create an international incident in which US lives are lost. Of course, the fact that Pakistan’s sovereignty will have been violated will be of little consequence by then. Were such an incident to occur, US domestic support for incursions into the region would gain traction, not to mention support for the 11th hour policy that Bush Administration has manufactured.
Want to bookmark or share this entry?
This entry was posted on Thursday, September 25th, 2008 at 12:42 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
September 25th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
This is so obviously pushing the fat kid till he snaps and throws a punch at which time the big kid gets carte blanche to beat the hell out of him with some so called “justification.”
I will admit to being a bit politically naive but I just don’t understand how this kind of shit is deemed acceptable if it’s even noticed at all. Didn’t the whole weapons of mass destruction fiasco teach them anything? Well, actually, scrap that, considering the liberties that are quietly taken away on a daily basis under the guise of “homeland security” and the almost nonexistent protest of it, they apparently learned that under the Bush administration, they are invincible.
September 25th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
I wonder if Georgia was a beta testing on the media and public’s short term memory and reaction?
September 25th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
It’s good to know Cheney is still working hard. He’s been so quietly lately, I know he’s spearheading the operations. He wants Osama’s head and he doesn’t care how this behavior affects relations with Pakistan. He has no respect for Pakistanis. He’s been really frustrated by their inaction. America military actions are throwing ethanol on a smothering fire. It’s all coming apart for this Administration. North Korea is coming back on line with nuclear power. Iran is gaining more influence in the region. Russia’s influence is growing as illustrated by their cozening up to Venezuela. Their will not be a peace deal for the Israel/Palestinian situation as Bush/Condi promised at the beginning of the year. Afghanistan is blowing up in their face. Iraq is becoming even more tenuous after we killed a major Sunni ally. And all this may be footnotes to the Administration’s reign if the economy implodes and they leave the country as it heads to the greatest depression Americans have ever faced.
And to think this all started with a Supreme Court ruling in 2000. Where would be if Gore had won?
September 26th, 2008 at 6:18 am
It is interesting how you seem to decree this incident as some form of intentional war baiting on the part of NATO or US. However, we know that the inverse, Pakistani incursions into Afghanistan are also occurring. Who is the provocateur in this case? It is not entirely clear to me.
September 26th, 2008 at 9:04 am
First, the US has to show leadership in not provoking Pakistan. My greatest concern, will the incidents of American troops crossing the border cause instability in a weak Pakistani government and give the radicals a chance of grabbing control? The situation is so complex that placing blame does not help find solutions. Unfortunately, both countries are performing poorly with the policies they are following.
September 26th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
[quote comment="66552"]Unfortunately, both countries are performing poorly with the policies they are following.[/quote]
The difference between the 2 being, one has to live there no matter what happens while the other can pack up and go home if all hell breaks lose. 9/11, the Iraq war, Valeri Plame … refusing to assign blame has not served us well but when Russia acts the blame seems to flow fairly easy, consistency is needed.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:35 am
K,
You’ve got an American destroyer at the scene of the pirates
holding a ship full of tanks which is goin to Somalia.
A Russian warship steaming to the scene as well.
Hmm,
I can see it now! hope i’m wrong…….think they’ll hug and make up while they’re so close!!??