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<p>Former "Peace Candidate" John Kerry weighs in...<br>
</p>
<blockquote>
<p>U.S. officials said there is now less concern about upsetting the
Pakistanis than there was a few months ago, and that the U.S. is being
more aggressive in its response to immediate threats from across the
border.</p>
<p><i>"You have to deal with the sanctuaries," Senate Foreign
Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D., Mass.) said after meeting
with Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, in Washington
this week. "I've pushed very, very hard with the Pakistanis regarding
that."</i></p>
<p>Tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan have been exacerbated in
recent days by a series of cross-border attacks by North Atlantic
Treaty Organization helicopter gunships. Islamabad responded by
shutting a key border crossing used to supply Western troops in
Afghanistan and threatening to halt NATO container traffic altogether.
On Friday, militants in Pakistan attacked tankers carrying fuel toward
another border crossing, in another sign of the vulnerability of NATO
supply lines crossing Pakistani territory.</p>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
On 10/3/2010 5:06 AM, C. G. Estabrook wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:4CA79EDD.9000008@illinois.edu" type="cite"> [What
a load of codswallop - except for the accounts of the lethal US raids.
But the propaganda is wearing thin: "...Pakistan's military unable or
unwilling to do the job... [I.E., WHAT THEY'RE TOLD TO DO BY THE US]"
"...U.S. officials said Friday their working assumption is that Osama
bin Laden and other senior al Qaeda operatives are part of the
suspected terror plot—or plots—believed to target the U.K., France or
Germany..." [OR MAYBE THEY'RE GOING TO INVADE MIDDLE-EARTH - BUT THESE
KILLERS HAVE TO BE STOPPED BY KILLING MORE PEOPLE THERE!] "...They said
they are still working to understand the contours of the scheme..." [OR
IT MAY BECOME THE NEW JAMES BOND PICTURE - OR A SPY NOVEL!] ... "a
successful terrorist strike against the West emanating from Pakistan
could force the U.S. to take unilateral military action"... [UNILATERAL
- IMAGINE THAT] ..."an outcome all parties are eager to avoid..." [THE
US IS BEGGING NOT TO BE THROWN INTO THAT BRIER PATCH] ... "U.S.
officials said there is now less concern about upsetting the Pakistanis
than there was a few months ago..." [WE'RE GOING TO KILL THEM INSTEAD]
... [KERRY: WRITE HIM DOWN AN ASS!] ... and it just gets worse; will we
one day add Obama in Pakistan to the honor-roll of Nixon in Cambodia,
Hitler in Russia, etc.? --CGE]
<br>
<br>
* The Wall Street Journal
<br>
* OCTOBER 2, 2010
<br>
<br>
CIA Escalates in Pakistan
<br>
Pentagon Diverts Drones From Afghanistan to Bolster U.S. Campaign Next
Door
<br>
By ADAM ENTOUS, JULIAN E. BARNES And SIOBHAN GORMAN
<br>
<br>
WASHINGTON—The U.S. military is secretly diverting aerial drones and
weaponry from the Afghan battlefront to significantly expand the CIA's
campaign against militants in their Pakistani havens.
<br>
<br>
The shift in strategic focus reflects the U.S. view that, with
Pakistan's military unable or unwilling to do the job, more U.S. force
against terrorist sanctuaries in Pakistan is now needed to turn around
the struggling Afghan war effort across the border.
<br>
<br>
In recent months, the military has loaned Predator and Reaper drones to
the Central Intelligence Agency to give the agency more firepower to
target and bombard militants on the Afghan border.
<br>
<br>
The additional drones helped the CIA escalate the number of strikes in
Pakistan in September. The agency averaged five strikes a week in
September, up from an average of two to three per week. The Pentagon
and CIA have ramped up their purchases of drones, but they aren't being
built fast enough to meet the rapid rise in demand.
<br>
<br>
The escalated campaign in September was aimed, in part, at disrupting a
suspected terrorist plot to strike in Western Europe. U.S. officials
said Friday their working assumption is that Osama bin Laden and other
senior al Qaeda operatives are part of the suspected terror plot—or
plots—believed to target the U.K., France or Germany. They said they
are still working to understand the contours of the scheme.
<br>
<br>
U.S. officials say a successful terrorist strike against the West
emanating from Pakistan could force the U.S. to take unilateral
military action—an outcome all parties are eager to avoid.
<br>
<br>
Although the U.S. military flies surveillance drones in Pakistan and
shares intelligence with the Pakistani government, Pakistan has
prohibited U.S. military operations on its soil, arguing they would
impinge on the country's sovereignty. The CIA operations, while
well-known, are technically covert, allowing Islamabad to deny to its
unsupportive public its involvement with the strikes. The CIA doesn't
acknowledge the program, and the shift of Pentagon resources has been
kept under wraps.
<br>
<br>
Pakistan has quietly cooperated with the CIA drone program which
started under President George W. Bush. But the program is intensely
unpopular in the country because of concerns about sovereignty and
regular reports of civilian casualties. U.S. officials say the CIA's
targeting of militants is precise, and that there have been a limited
number of civilian casualties.
<br>
<br>
U.S. officials said there is now less concern about upsetting the
Pakistanis than there was a few months ago, and that the U.S. is being
more aggressive in its response to immediate threats from across the
border.
<br>
<br>
"You have to deal with the sanctuaries," Senate Foreign Relations
Committee Chairman John Kerry (D., Mass.) said after meeting with
Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, in Washington this
week. "I've pushed very, very hard with the Pakistanis regarding that."
<br>
<br>
Tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan have been exacerbated in recent
days by a series of cross-border attacks by North Atlantic Treaty
Organization helicopter gunships. Islamabad responded by shutting a key
border crossing used to supply Western troops in Afghanistan and
threatening to halt NATO container traffic altogether. On Friday,
militants in Pakistan attacked tankers carrying fuel toward another
border crossing, in another sign of the vulnerability of NATO supply
lines crossing Pakistani territory.
<br>
<br>
Because U.S. military officials say success in Afghanistan hinges, in
large part, on shutting down the militant havens in Pakistan, the surge
in drone strikes could also have far-reaching implications for the
Obama administration, which is under political pressure to show results
in the nine-year Afghan war and has set a goal of beginning to withdraw
troops in July.
<br>
<br>
The secret deal to beef up the CIA's campaign inside Pakistan shows the
extent to which military officials see the havens there, used by
militants to plan and launch attacks on U.S. and NATO troops in
Afghanistan, as the primary obstacle to the Afghan war effort.
<br>
<br>
"When it comes to drones, there's no mission more important right now
than hitting targets in the tribal areas, and that's where additional
equipment's gone," a U.S. official said. "It's not the only answer, but
it's critical to both homeland security and force protection in
Afghanistan."
<br>
<br>
The idea of funneling military resources through the CIA was broached
during last year's Afghanistan-Pakistan policy review, officials say.
The shift in military resources was spearheaded by CIA Director Leon
Panetta and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a former CIA director
himself. It also has the backing of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, and the new commander of allied forces in
Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus.
<br>
<br>
Mr. Gates helped smooth over initial dissent among some at the Pentagon
who argued that the drones were needed in Afghanistan to attack the
Taliban.
<br>
<br>
Since taking command in Afghanistan in July, Gen. Petraeus has placed
greater focus on the tribal areas of Pakistan, according to military
and other government officials.
<br>
<br>
The U.S. military has been focused on trying to persuade the Pakistan
army to step up its actions against militants in the tribal areas. That
effort led to operations in some areas, but not North Waziristan, which
is used by the Haqqani militant network to mount cross-border attacks
and is believed by U.S. officials to be the hiding place of senior al
Qaeda leaders.
<br>
<br>
Pakistan says its army has been spread thin, limiting its ability to
carry out additional large-scale operations. Its resources have also
been diverted to responding to the worst flooding in the country's
history.
<br>
<br>
The U.S. now sees the need for a stronger American push in Pakistan
because of the growing belief that Pakistan isn't going to commit any
more resources to fighting militants within its borders, said a former
senior intelligence official. The Pakistani military is tapped out, the
former official said. "They've gone as far as they can go."
<br>
<br>
U.S. officials are also increasingly frustrated by what they see as
Islamabad's double-dealing. Some elements of the country's powerful
Inter-Services Intelligence agency continue to support the Haqqanis as
a hedge against India's regional influence, and the government has
rebuffed U.S. calls for a crackdown on the group.
<br>
<br>
Pakistani government officials have repeatedly denied that they provide
any support to the Haqqanis and said their military is too
overstretched to take them on directly in their North Waziristan base.
<br>
<br>
Gen. Petraeus has taken a hard line on the Haqqani network, calling
them irreconcilable. He has also met with top Pakistani military
leaders and presented intelligence tying the Haqqanis operating out of
North Waziristan havens to attacks on U.S. and Afghan troops, according
to a military official.
<br>
<br>
The Pentagon has allowed loaned equipment and personnel to the CIA
several times since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to former
intelligence officials.
<br>
<br>
In addition to drone aircraft, officials said the military was sharing
targeting information with the CIA from surveillance over-flights.
<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704029304575526270751096984.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704029304575526270751096984.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond</a>
<br>
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</blockquote>
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