[Peace] The new Nixon

Sat Nov 20 11:15:29 CST 2010

[This condign juxtaposition appeared on Louis Proyect's mailing list. It will be 
discussed on News From Neptune, cable channel 6 at 7pm on Friday - along with 
related topics. --CGE]

     Address to the Nation on the Situation in Southeast Asia
     President Richard M. Nixon
     April 30, 1970

Good evening my fellow Americans:

Ten days ago, in my report to the Nation on Vietnam, I announced a
decision to withdraw an additional 150,000 Americans from Vietnam over
the next year. I said then that I was making that decision despite our
concern over increased enemy activity in Laos, in Cambodia, and in South
Vietnam.

At that time, I warned that if I concluded that increased enemy activity
in any of these areas endangered the lives of Americans remaining in
Vietnam, I would not hesitate to take strong and effective measures to
deal with that situation.

Despite that warning, North Vietnam has increased its military
aggression in all these areas, and particularly in Cambodia.

After full consultation with the National Security Council, Ambassador
Bunker, General Abrams, and my other advisers, I have concluded that the
actions of the enemy in the last 10 days clearly endanger the lives of
Americans who are in Vietnam now and would constitute an unacceptable
risk to those who will be there after withdrawal of another 150,000.

To protect our men who are in Vietnam and to guarantee the continued
success of our withdrawal and Vietnamization programs, I have concluded
that the time has come for action.

full: http://www.mekong.net/cambodia/nixon430.htm

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     U.S. wants to widen area in Pakistan where it can operate drones
     By Greg Miller
     Washington Post Staff Writer
     Saturday, November 20, 2010; 12:25 AM

ISLAMABAD - The United States has renewed pressure on Pakistan to expand
the areas where CIA drones can operate inside the country, reflecting
concern that the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan is being undermined by
insurgents' continued ability to take sanctuary across the border, U.S.
and Pakistani officials said.

The U.S. appeal has focused on the area surrounding the Pakistani city
of Quetta, where the Afghan Taliban leadership is thought to be based.
But the request also seeks to expand the boundaries for drone strikes in
the tribal areas, which have been targeted in 101 attacks this year, the
officials said.

Pakistan has rejected the request, officials said. Instead, the country
has agreed to more modest measures, including an expanded CIA presence
in Quetta, where the agency and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence
(ISI) directorate have established teams seeking to locate and capture
senior members of the Taliban.

The disagreement over the scope of the drone program underscores broader
tensions between the United States and Pakistan, wary allies that are
increasingly pointing fingers at one another over the rising levels of
insurgent violence on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border.

Senior Pakistani officials expressed resentment over what they described
as misplaced U.S. pressure to do more, saying the United States has not
controlled the Afghan side of the border, is preoccupied by arbitrary
military deadlines and has little regard for Pakistan's internal
security problems.

"You expect us to open the skies for anything that you can fly," said a
high-ranking Pakistani intelligence official, who described the Quetta
request as an affront to Pakistani sovereignty. "In which country can
you do that?"

U.S. officials confirmed the request for expanded drone flights. They
cited concern that Quetta functions not only as a sanctuary for Taliban
leaders but also as a base for sending money, recruits and explosives to
Taliban forces inside Afghanistan.

"If they understand our side, they know the patience is running out," a
senior NATO military official said.

The CIA's drone campaign in Pakistan has accelerated dramatically in
recent months, with 47 attacks recorded since the beginning of
September, according to The Long War Journal, a Web site that tracks the
strikes. By contrast, there were 45 strikes in the first five years of
the drone program.

But Pakistan places strict boundaries on where CIA drones can fly. The
unmanned aircraft may patrol designated flight "boxes" over the
country's tribal belt but not other provinces, including Baluchistan,
which encompasses Quetta.

"They want to increase the size of the boxes, they want to relocate the
boxes," a second Pakistani intelligence official said of the latest U.S.
requests. "I don't think we are going to go any further."

He and others spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the clandestine
nature of a program that neither government will publicly acknowledge.

Pakistani officials stressed that Quetta is a densely populated city
where an errant strike is more likely to kill innocent civilians,
potentially provoking a backlash. Unlike the semi-autonomous tribal
territories, Baluchistan is considered a core part of Pakistan.

U.S. officials have long suspected there are other reasons for
Islamabad's aversion, including concern that the drones might be used to
conduct surveillance of Pakistani nuclear weapons facilities in Baluchistan.

In interviews in Islamabad, senior Pakistani officials voiced a mix of
appreciation and apprehension over the U.S. role in the region.

The high-ranking Pakistani intelligence official said the CIA-ISI
relationship is stronger than at any times since the Sept. 11, 2001,
attacks, and that the two spy services carry out joint operations
"almost on a daily basis."

"I wish [our] countries understood each other the way the CIA and ISI
understand each other," the official said. But he also traced Pakistan's
most acute problems, including an epidemic of militant violence, to two
decisions by the government to collaborate with the United States.

Using the ISI to funnel CIA money and arms to mujaheddin fighters in the
1980s helped oust the Soviets from Afghanistan, the official said, but
also made Pakistan a breeding ground for militant groups.

Similarly, Pakistan's cooperation since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks has
been key to the capture of al-Qaeda operatives and the success of the
drone campaign. But it has inflamed radical elements in the country and
made Islamabad a target of terrorrist attacks.

"We'd not have been here if we had not supported the Afghan jihad, if we
had not supported [the response to] 9/11," the official said, adding
that it was "our fault. We should have stood up."

Barring the CIA from flying drones over Quetta, the official said, is
one area in which Pakistan is now taking a stand.

In other areas, CIA-ISI cooperation has deepened. The agencies have
carried out more than 100 joint operations in the past 18 months,
including raids that have led to the capture of high-ranking figures
including Mullah Barader, the Taliban's former military chief.

The Pakistani intelligence official said the operations have been
"mainly focused on Quetta." Teams based there rely on sophisticated
surveillance technology and eavesdropping equipment provided by the CIA.
When a raid or capture is attempted, the ISI is in the lead.

The aim is "to capture or arrest people based on intel primarily
provided by Americans," the Pakistani intelligence official said. The
effort has been underway for a year, the official said, but "now the
intensity is much higher."

Nevertheless, U.S. and Pakistani officials acknowledged that they have
no high-profile arrests or other successes to show for their efforts.
The NATO military official said there had been "intelligence-led"
operations against Taliban targets in Quetta in recent months but
described them as "small scale" in nature.

The two sides disagree sharply over the importance of the Quetta Shura,
the leadership council led by Mullah Mohammed Omar that presides over
the Afghan Taliban. Some senior Pakistani officials refuse to use the
term "Quetta shura," calling it a U.S. construct designed to embarrass
Pakistan.

"I'm not denying the individual presence of members" of the Taliban in
or near Quetta, a senior Pakistani military official said. "But to
create the impression there is a body micromanaging the affairs of the
Afghan Taliban . . . is very far-fetched."

The push to expand the drone strikes has come up repeatedly in recent
months, Pakistani officials said. The United States has also urged
Pakistan to launch a military offensive in North Waziristan, a redoubt
for militant groups including al-Qaeda, the Pakistani Taliban and the
Haqqani network, considered the most lethal foe of U.S. forces in
Afghanistan.

Pakistani officials ruled out a sweep anytime soon, saying the country's
military is still consolidating its hold on territory in Swat and South
Waziristan, where tens of thousands of residents were displaced during
operations to oust militants last year.

The senior Pakistani military official said U.S. expectations have
little to do with Islamabad's own national security calculations.

"You have timelines of November elections and July x'11 drawdowns -
you're looking for short-term gains," the official said, referring to
President Obama's pledge to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from
Afghanistan in July. "Your short-term gains should not be our long-term
pain."

Correspondents Karin Brulliard in Islamabad and Joshua Partlow in Kabul
contributed to this report.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/19/AR2010111906268.html