quote:

Obama has a chance on becoming President, which would be a total disaster and I don't have to list the dozen or so reasons,

Ehhh, feel free.

A-frickin-men!!

Karzai: I'll Send Troops to Pakistan

LINK

June 15, 2008
Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan President Hamid Karzai threatened Sunday to send Afghan troops across the border to fight militants in Pakistan, a forceful warning to insurgents and the Pakistani government that his country is fed up with cross-border attacks.

Karzai said Afghanistan has the right to self defense, and because militants cross over from Pakistan "to come and kill Afghan and kill coalition troops, it exactly gives us the right to do the same."

All this jawing sounds very familiar . . . Bush says, etc., etc., Bush said the same things when we went into Iraq looking for WOMD and never found a single one or evidence of them. Yet we've poured billions of dollars into pounding that country into the worlds largest cat box and now we are pouring more billions to rebuild it ten times better than it was . . . . for what sensible reason ???

Sorry but I can't buy that American and Afgan intelligence cannot get a fix on Bin Laden. Sure the terrain is tricky but our survelience technology is the best in the world from on the ground to the eye in the sky. If the US can find out where all the dope is being grown, processed and transported then stop telling us you can't find BinLaden. He has to many people working with him and the word is bound to leak after all these years.

Looking for a terrorist somewhere in a few square miles of rocks is a great excuse to keep pumping money into a project that financially benefits only a select few Political millionaires right here in the USA, starting with Cheny and Bush.

We should pull out of those areas totally and let them continue doing what they have been doing for centuries. Doing so we save American lives and American money. Concentrate on repairing and rebuilding AMERICA. Schools, roads, agriculture, housing and health insurance and pay back the billions stolen from our Social Secuirty fund.

The stronger we are at home the less likely some little pissant country will try putting a stick in our cage.

I wish for a massive airstrike that will scatter those vermin and having Karzai say wat he said is setting the groundwork. As far as Obama goes, didn't he say he would send US troops across the border? I don't know whether he's lying or not, but we will see his true colors soon enough.

quote:

The stronger we are at home the less likely some little pissant country will try putting a stick in our cage.

Fortress America?

GAO Questions $2Bn in US Aid to Pakistan

(Source: US Government Accountability Office; issued June 24, 2008)

The United States has reimbursed Pakistan, a key ally in the global war on terror, about $5.56 billion in Coalition Support Funds (CSF) for its efforts to combat terrorism along its border with Afghanistan. The Department of Defense (Defense) provides CSF to 27 coalition partners for costs incurred in direct support of U.S. military operations. Pakistan is the largest recipient of CSF, receiving 81 percent of CSF reimbursements as of May 2008.

(…/…)

…for a large number of reimbursement claims Defense did not obtain detailed documentation to verify that claimed costs were valid, actually incurred, or correctly calculated.

GAO found that Defense did not consistently apply its existing CSF oversight guidance. For example, as of May 2008, Defense paid over $2 billion in Pakistani reimbursement claims for military activities covering January 2004 through June 2007 without obtaining sufficient information that would enable a third party to recalculate these costs.

Furthermore, Defense may have reimbursed costs that (1) were not incremental, (2) were not based on actual activity, or (3) were potentially duplicative. GAO also found that additional oversight controls were needed. For example, there is no guidance for Defense to verify currency conversion rates used by Pakistan, which if performed would enhance Defense’s ability to monitor for potential overbillings.

GAO recognizes that Defense may not be able to fully verify every Pakistani claim without the ability to access Pakistani records or do onsite monitoring. However, such ability would enhance CSF oversight. (end of excerpt)


Click here for the full report (46 pages in PDF format) on the GAO website.

-ends-

After reading this painful summary a few thoughts come to mind.

1) if this is public knowledge why does it continue ?
2) if the leaders from the Pentagon on up or down are aware of these oversights and waste why doesn't it get stopped ?
3) it doesn't take a military genius or expert to see that typically the US Government is not only lax but frightfully stupd when it comes to matters such as this.
4) if at sometime the GAO or some other interested organization, lets say for instance Congress, the President, the Public, etc., etc., and actually acts to correct the errors and protect the American tax dollar, just maybe it will stop.

Your taling BILLIONS of dollars here that there is no real proof that we (the USA) really owes such a debt. To get it straight they should turn this over to the IRS (the Gestapo arm of the American governtment) believe me they would have it squared away in a jiffy or have someones assets on the line for it.

America has great needs right here at home for the poor, the sick, the Veterans, education and other public needs; why are we sending BILLIONS to a country that could care less about the USA and our problems, and that includes IRAQ.

We need a ground swell movement to get those who vote for all this waste out of office and start looking to elect other than millionaire lawyers who are so busy slicking us we don't see it until it's to late. No man making millions a year with plenty of free time and all the toys he can buy would take the office p;f Congressman or President, unless of course he could see the unlimited power and potential that comes with the job.

We see it everyday more and more . . . politicians getting caught in some sort of crime and bingo it suddenly disappears . . along with our money.

We spend billions beating the crap out of some jerk off low life country and when we get thru using them as a test ground for new weapons we flip over and spend more billions rebuilding them better than they were. Now they have things like fresh water, indoor toilets, electric, schools and shopping malls, nice clothes, and medical facilities . . . . .

Thank You AMERICAN Taxpayer . . . .

Pakistan Bombards Taliban Hideouts

June 28, 2008
Associated Press
LINK

KHYBER AGENCY, Pakistan - Pakistani forces bombarded suspected militant hideouts with mortar shells Saturday as the government launched a major offensive against Taliban fighters threatening the main city in the country's volatile northwest, officials said.

The offensive in the Khyber tribal region marked the first major military action Pakistan's newly elected government has taken against the militants operating in the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan.

The government had said it preferred to try to defuse tension with the groups through negotiations, but with threats by Islamic militants to the city of Peshawar growing in recent weeks, the military decided to take action. Khyber also is a key route for moving U.S. military supplies into neighboring Afghanistan.

By Saturday afternoon, the paramilitary Frontier Corps began shelling suspected militant hideouts in the mountains in Khyber, said local official Muhammad Siddiq Khan.

Fasih Ullah, a police officer in Khyber, said 700 Frontier Corps. troops moved into Khyber late Friday for the operation.

A round-the-clock curfew was imposed in the Bara area bordering Peshawar, and heavy contingents of troops blocked the main road into Khyber, said Mujeeb Khan, a senior local official.

"All bazaars are shut and residents have been asked not to come out of their homes," he said.

Tauseef Haider, a top official with the Frontier Constabulary, said his forces had brought in reinforcements and heavy weapons to protect Peshawar and its more than 1 million residents from insurgents who might try a counterattack.

"Since the operation is going on in the tribal area, that is why we have to be extra cautious," he said from the constabulary's brick outpost in Shahkas, on the edge of the tribal area just outside of Peshawar. "We have increased our strength we will not let any militant come this way."

Across from the outpost was an expanse of flatland covered in bushes and foliage in front of undulating hills that turned into mountains.

In a sign of expected resistance, a Taliban-linked group said an offensive in the area will only create more problems.

"If the government thinks there is any issue to address, that should be resolved through talks, not by the use of force," said Munsif Khan, spokesman for the Vice and Virtue Movement. "We are ready for talks with the government."

Vice and Virtue, led by militant leader Haji Namdar, is suspected of carrying out operations against coalition soldiers across the border in Afghanistan. Namdar has sought to impose his own strict brand of Islamic law in the region. However, he is at odds with Baitullah Mehsud, who is seen as the leader of the Taliban in Pakistan.

Menghal Bagh's fighters have waged attacks in Peshawar in what provincial officials say was an attempt to intimidate the population and show the group's ability to wield influence outside the tribal regions. Bagh's followers have also been blamed for threatening convoys of supplies bound for coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Mahmood Shah, a former security chief in Pakistan's tribal regions, said the Taliban control the country's entire tribal belt and "everyone now is waiting for some action from the federal government."

"The situation is such that (the Taliban) are all around Peshawar. They are on our doorstep," Shah said. "The situation is like water flowing into a field and until you have some obstruction to stop it you will drown. We are drowning."

Two weeks ago, a Taliban force from Khyber sent its militants into Peshawar and kidnapped 16 Christians who were later released.

Misrri Khan, who works for a tribal paramilitary force that patrols Khyber, said the militants kidnapped 16 of his fellow officers and threatened to behead them - and then take more captives - if they did not abandon their checkpoints in the area. Khan said the force refused.

February elections brought a new civilian government to power, eclipsing former army strongman and staunch U.S. ally President Pervez Musharraf. In a shift in policy, the new administration has supported peace efforts with Taliban militants to try to curb an explosion in violence in the northwest over the past year.

But Pakistan's Western allies are increasingly concerned that easing up military pressure on the militants has given them more space to operate - letting them strengthen their position in Pakistan's border regions and giving them more freedom to attack U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was in Peshawar on Saturday on a trip he said was unrelated to any impending operation.

In a brazen show of force Friday, a group of militants in the Bajur region executed two men accused of spying for U.S. forces in front of 5,000 residents.

The body of a third accused spy was discovered riddled with bullets at the side of a road in Bajur, said Fazal Rabbi, a security official in the area. A note attached to his body said anyone else involved in spying would meet the same fate, he said.

At meetings in Peshawar on Friday, federal and provincial representatives hammered out the details of the Khyber operation. They also discussed the situation in the restive Swat area, where the provincial government has signed a peace deal with a radical pro-Taliban cleric, provincial officials said.

Afrasiab Khattak, chief negotiator for the provincial government, told the AP that the province is considering a second military operation in Swat, where militants forced out by an army offensive last year are now regaining a foothold.

Pakistani forces take control of area in Khyber

LINK

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Paramilitary troops returned Sunday to posts they had been forced to abandon and Pakistani forces widened their offensive against militants operating in a volatile tribal area along the Afghan border, an official said.

The government launched the operation Saturday because the militants in the Khyber region presented an "immediate problem," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said.

The militants began threatening Peshawar and ambushing supply convoys bound for U.S.-led coalition troops in Afghanistan.

The military operation appears to be a shift in strategy by Pakistan's new government, backing its calls for peace deals in the tribal areas with the threat of forceful action against militants who get out of line.

The United States has criticized the move for peace deals, saying it gives militants the freedom to regroup for attacks on U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Speaking to reporters in Lahore, Gilani defended the peace deals, but warned that authorities will resort to force "if (the groups) backtrack from their agreements and damage state property."

Troops from the paramilitary Frontier Corps, backed by tanks and armored personnel carriers, quickly cleared militants out of the Bara region, said Muhammad Siddiq Khan, a local official.

A tribal paramilitary force that had been forced to abandon its posts in the region several months ago returned to the checkpoints Sunday, he said.

The Frontier Corps met no resistance as it moved into other areas outside Bara, destroying militant bases along the way, he said.

The forces also destroyed a radio station used by the militants to broadcast propaganda and uncovered a torture chamber, said Rehman Malik, head of the Interior Ministry.

He called the operation "very successful" and said the government's authority had been re-established and Peshawar was "totally safe." "Those who commit crimes and believe that they are safe, they will not be allowed to remain safe," he said.

On Saturday, authorities shelled militant hideouts and blew up the headquarters of militant leader Menghal Bagh, who had apparently fled. Another possible target was Haji Namdar's Vice and Virtue Movement, which is suspected of attacks against coalition soldiers in Afghanistan.

Officials in Kabul welcomed the operation in Khyber and reiterated their suspicion that a surge in violence in Afghanistan was partly due to the lack of pressure on militants in Pakistan's tribal areas.

"We endorse this operation, we want this operation to be continued and we want this operation to be successful," Afghanistan's Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi said.

NATO spokesman Brig. Gen. Carlos Branco said "everything that can minimize the threat in Afghanistan is good for us."

"We know that as long as insurgents can operate safely on the Pakistan side of the border, then there cannot be security in Afghanistan," said Mark Laity, another alliance spokesman.

Muslim Khan, a militant spokesman in Swat, suggested the government had launched the operation at the behest of the United States.

"On the one side they are holding peace talks and on the other side they are breaking peace agreements and then carrying out operations against tribesmen," he told Dawn television.

Baitullah Mehsud, the top Taliban leader in Pakistan, said he was suspending talks between his allies and the government in the wake of the offensive and implied his forces could cause trouble in Pakistan's main cities.

Maj. Gen. Alam Khattak, head of the Frontier Corps, hinted this would not be the only operation against militants and other officials said the volatile Swat region could be next.

On Sunday, a remote-controlled bomb blast killed two soldiers on a foot patrol in Swat's Matta area, a former militant stronghold, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said.

Pro-Taliban fighters have battled security forces in Swat in recent months, despite a peace deal between militants and the new provincial government.

Pakistan presses on with offensive vs. militants

LINK

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Pakistani paramilitary forces destroyed a handful of militant centers and uncovered alleged torture cells as they pressed ahead Sunday with an offensive against extremists near the Afghan border, officials said.

A spokesman for Pakistan's top Taliban commander promised Sunday that militants would retaliate against the government, and were suspending efforts to reach and implement peace deals.

The operation in the Khyber tribal area is a shift for Pakistan's new government, which has sought to reduce violence through the peace deals. But with extremists increasingly threatening Peshawar, a major northwest city, and ambushing supply convoys bound for U.S.-led coalition troops in Afghanistan, the government turned to its troops.

The paramilitary Frontier Corps killed one attacker but encountered relatively little resistance since launching the operation Saturday, officials said.

Troops, backed by tanks and armored personnel carriers, quickly cleared militants out of Khyber's Bara region, said Muhammad Siddiq Khan, a local official. They then moved into areas outside Bara.

The troops destroyed at least four militant centers and uncovered a privately run jail, said Habibullah Khan, additional chief secretary for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

"The criminals were running a parallel administration in the area," Khan said. "They were kidnapping the people, trying them and punishing them and the government is fully determined not to allow anyone to run a parallel administration."

Khan said the jail contained what he called "torture cells" with special equipment, but offered no details.

Rehman Malik, head of the Interior Ministry, said forces destroyed a radio station used by the militants to broadcast propaganda.

Khan said the operation would continue for several more days and insisted it was not aimed at any particular militant group.

The semi-autonomous tribal areas, where the federal government has long had limited authority, are home to many militant groups, some of whom are engaged in feuds.

On Saturday, authorities blew up the headquarters of militant leader Menghal Bagh, who had apparently fled. The operation was also expected to target Haji Namdar, whose Vice and Virtue Movement is suspected of attacks against coalition soldiers in Afghanistan.

Baitullah Mehsud, the top Taliban leader in Pakistan, said he was suspending talks between his allies and the government. His spokesman, Maulvi Umar, said the Taliban would avenge any government use of force in the tribal areas and other border regions. He said the government was not honoring its commitment to peace efforts.

"The government should not ruin the country just to please the Western world and should immediately halt the operation in Khyber agency," Umar told The Associated Press on Sunday. "If it is not stopped it will bear very grave results."

US to Supply Advanced EW Pods to Pakistan

(Source: US Defense Security Cooperation Agency; dated June 26, web-posted June 27, 2008)


WASHINGTON --- The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Pakistan of AN/ALQ-211(V)9 AIDEWS Pods as well as associated equipment and services.

The total value, if all options are exercised, could be as high as $75 million.

The Government of Pakistan has requested a possible sale of 21 AN/ALQ-211(V)9 Advanced Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare Suite (AIDEWS) Pods, software support, repair and return, spare and repair parts, support equipment, technical assistance, publications and technical do***entation, U.S. Government and contractor technical and logistics personnel services, and other related elements of program support. The estimated cost is $75 million.

Given its geo-strategic location and partnership in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), Pakistan is a vital ally of the United States, as reflected in the June 2004 designation of Pakistan as a Major Non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization Ally. This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping an ally meet its legitimate defense requirements.

Pakistan intends to purchase the AIDEWS pods to enhance its existing F-16 fighter aircraft.
This proposed sale will ensure Pakistan’s existing fleet is compatible with the new F-16 Block 50/52 aircraft.

Consistent with U.S. conventional arms transfer policy and arms control initiatives, this potential sale will allow the Pakistani Air Force to modernize its fighter inventory, thereby enabling Pakistan to support both its own air defense needs and coalition operations.

Release of the AIDEWS equipment to Pakistan will neither affect the regional balance of power nor introduce a new technology as this level of capability or higher already exists in other countries in the region.

The prin****l contractor will be ITT Corporation of Clifton, New Jersey. There are no known offset agreements in connection with this proposed sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will require multiple trips to Pakistan involving U.S. Government and contractor representatives for technical reviews, support, and program management over a period of up to 15 years.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law; it does not mean that the sale has been concluded.

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Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of supporting Taliban

LINK

KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan lashed out at neighboring Pakistan on Monday alleging that its intelligence service and army are behind the bloody Taliban-led insurgency, calling the security forces the "world's biggest producers of terrorism and extremism."

The statement will likely strain already difficult relations between the two neighbors, whose shared porous border has become a safe-heaven for Taliban, al-Qaida and other militant groups, whose attacks have killed thousands and are threatening the stability of both countries.

In protest of what it called "direct interference in its internal affairs," Afghanistan said it is suspending its participation in three upcoming meetings with Pakistani officials scheduled for the next few weeks.

The statement accused Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence of involvement in a number of recent attacks in the country — an attempted assassination of President Hamid Karzai in April, the July 7 suicide bomb attack outside Indian Embassy in Kabul that left over 60 people killed and a spate of suicide bombings and roadside bombs blamed on Taliban militants.

Pakistan's top military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, declined to comment, referring a request for reaction to the foreign ministry.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Sadiq, who was in London en route home from an official visit to the United States, was not immediately available for comment.

"Everyday and all over our country, children, women, clerics, teachers, as well as international workers in Afghanistan ... are killed and wounded and disabled," the statement said.

The intelligence service "and Pakistan's Army have become the world's biggest producers of terrorism and extremism," it said.

Afghanistan has often in the past accused Pakistani intelligence of supporting the Taliban insurgency, a charge repeatedly denied by Pakistan's leaders. Pakistan contends it is being blamed for the failings of Karzai's government, which is widely criticized by Afghans as ineffective and corrupt.

Pakistan was once a key backer of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, but formally abandoned its support after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. Still, Taliban leaders are suspected of receiving shelter in Pakistan's religiously conservative tribal region.

U.S. officials have blamed rising violence in Afghanistan on peace deals that Pakistan's new government has negotiated in its tribal regions along the border.

It's a well known fact that these two nations have been at each other for centuries, in fact most of the surrounding countries have also been involved in wars of one kind or another against one another. Which brings to mind WHY is America getting involved in conflicts of religion and politics in countries on the other side of the world ???

One of the worst military decisions was Condelezza Rice's recent statement to the world that we (the United States) will defend Israel no matter what. The middle east has been telling us (America) since 1947 to leave them alone and stop defending Israel and stop selling them our high tech weapons systems.

I for one agree, if the USA stopped meddeling and supporting Israel the middle east countries would settel their own problems like they have for centureis before we became the worlds big brother. The US has no real business there, we are wasting American Lives and Money.

America spends to much supporting (Foreign Aid) other countries with hard earned tax dollars that should be used to take care of those in need right here in the good ole USA.

The time will come when the US will have had enough of P-stans 2 faced p.o.s. "Gov" and bomb those camps to dust, put boots on the ground to eliminate the ones who survive the bombing. As long as they have a sanctuary in P-stan, this will drag on and on. The P-stanis gave half thier country to the islamic radicals, so they should f-off and stay outta the way.

I agree, if America is going to get in between these factions that don't understand the fine art of negotations then we should get in there and do what we do best, make it a very large cat box, perhaps then they will get the message and stop getting us and Israel involved in their centuries old squabbles..

Before very long the whole middle east will boil over taking us down with it. Democracy will not survive in Middle East culture as it is now. They don't want it and they wont adhere to it very long. It's to complicated and extremely difficult to administer . . . . look at us with our election problems, after 400 years we still don't have it down pat and annualy make it more complicated.

Pakistani PM to Defend Strategy

July 26, 2008
Associated Press

LINK

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani left Saturday on a three-day visit to Washington to defend his government's reluctance to use force against Islamic militants blamed by U.S. officials for soaring violence in neighboring Afghanistan.

The trip comes amid intensifying U.S. pressure for Pakistan, a vital ally in its war on terrorism, to move against strongholds that Taliban and al-Qaida militants have established in its border regions.

It will be the first visit by Gilani since he came to power following Feb. 18 elections.

Before his departure, Gilani told reporters that Pakistan was fighting the war on terror in its own interests.

"This is our own fight. This is our own cause," he said, noting that his ruling party's leader, Benazir Bhutto, had died in a terrorist attack on Dec. 27.

Gilani's three-month-old government is persevering with efforts to negotiate peace deals along the wild frontier and stabilize a country roiled by Islamist suicide attacks. Force will be used only as a last resort, he reiterated this past week.

"Pakistan's national security and internal stability is paramount," Information Minister Sherry Rehman said. "Pakistan is making its own policy for its own problems."

Gilani's first plunge into the center of American power begins with separate meetings Monday with President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Secretary of State Rice.

His hectic, three-day schedule also includes appointments with lawmakers, academics and journalists. Officials say he may meet with the contenders in November's presidential election, Barack Obama and John McCain.

Gilani, whose government is wrestling with daunting economic problems exacerbated by skyrocketing oil prices, also is to meet with members of Bush's economic team and address business leaders.

But the sharpest questions are likely to address the growing disagreement between Islamabad and Washington over how to counter violent Islamic extremists. Al-Qaida leaders are believed to find sanctuary in Pakistan, while American troops in eastern Afghanistan are facing a spike in cross-border attacks by Taliban insurgents.

On Saturday, local newspapers quoted Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik as saying security forces had arrested between 35 and 40 militants, including an al-Qaida commander, during a recent operation in the northwestern town of Hangu.

Since taking over from an administration dominated by U.S.-backed President Pervez Musharraf, the new government has sought peace pacts with Taliban militants.

U.S. officials have voiced support for efforts to woo moderate tribal elders and isolate hard-liners.

Washington also has pledged hundreds of millions of dollars for a drive to bring economic development to the border region that Pakistan hopes will dry up support for extremism. It has funneled more than $10 billion in mostly military aid to Pakistan in the past six years.

But U.S. civilian and military leaders - and the presidential hopefuls - frown on the government's decision to strike cease-fires with militants. They also fear that any agreements - especially clauses on expelling foreign militants and preventing cross-border attacks - will not be enforced.

"We understand that it's difficult, we understand that the northwest frontier area is difficult, but militants cannot be allowed to organize there and to plan there and to engage across the border," Rice told reporters in Australia on Friday. "So yes, more needs to be done."

Musharraf, the former army strongman who sided with the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, launched repeated military operations against militants in Pakistan's tribal belt.

However, the new coalition government argues that Musharraf's reliance on the erratic and heavy-handed use of force ended up strengthening militants and turning their wrath against the Pakistani state.

Well, I guess the P-stani's finally figured out that the militants are not going to stop the bombings, the attacks, and are looking to overthrow the P-stan gov. Thier army is finally fighting back. Problem is, there is still 150+ camps in Waziristan, and those camps need to be hit. It would help the security situation in A-stan, where we cannot afford to lose. Lets see how long this "offensive" lasts.

A confrontation with the Pak military may be unavoidable. If the P-stanis fire on helo's, or use warplanes to shoot one down, there will be blood. Hopefully thiers.

B-52 the whole region not once but several times.

quote:

Originally posted by coh75inf:
B-52 the whole region not once but several times.

I second that...BOOM!!