works for me. killed coule more terrorist leaders. now that is a good thing.
On Sep 10, 9:32 am, Frank <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Another criminal US missile strike inside Pakistan > By Peter Symonds > 10 September 2008 > > Use this version to print | Send this link by email | Email the author > > A third US missile strike in less than a week inside Pakistan again > underscores the danger that the escalating war in Afghanistan will > spread into its neighbour. At least 20 people died on Monday when up > to five missiles fired from US unmanned Predator drones hit a madrassa > or religious school and a compound in North Waziristan—part of > Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) along with > border with Afghanistan. > > The strike on the village of Daande Darpkhel targetted Jalaluddin > Haqqani, who established the school and backed the Taliban following > the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. His son Sirajuddin is now > reportedly leading the Haqqani militia and has been accused by the US > military of being behind a series of assaults inside Afghanistan, > including an attempt on the life of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and > a suicide bomb attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul. > > Pakistani intelligence officials told the Associated Press yesterday > that four foreign militants were among those killed but provided no > evidence. The dead included Jalaluddin Haqqani’s wife and sister, > several other women and at least four children. Some 15 to 20 people > were wounded, mostly women and children, and were taken to the > hospital in nearby Miram Shah. Another of Jalaluddin Haqqani’s sons, > Badruddin, told the Pakistani media that neither his father nor > Sirajuddin were in the compound at the time. > > The religious school known as “Madrassa Mumba-i-Uloom” was built in > the 1980s when Haqqani was involved in the Mujaheddin, the CIA-backed > jihad against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. According to the > Washington Post, Haqqani received millions of dollars in funding from > the US and Saudi Arabia, and personally trained thousands of religious > zealots to join the war in Afghanistan. > > The school, however, was closed after being raided by the Pakistani > military at least three times over the past several years. An article > on the Asia Times web site today described the raid on the Haqqanis as > “perplexing,” noting that the father and son were “known by people in > the area to have left the tribal region as they were on the US radar”. > > The targetting of the Haqqani compound was calculated to send a > message to new elected Pakistani President Asif Al Zardari that the US > would not tolerate any let up in the military crackdown on Islamist > militants in the FATA region. Washington has directly accused > Pakistani military intelligence—the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI)— > of maintaining links with various pro-Taliban militias, including > Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son. > > The missile strike itself was an act of sheer thuggery, designed to > intimidate and terrorise the local population, regardless of whether > it was successful in killing the Haqqanis. Two other missile strikes > took place last Thursday and Friday in North Waziristan, killing at > least four and five people respectively. In the raid on Friday, at > least three children died when a missile destroyed a house in the > village of Goorweck Baipali. > > The missile attacks follow the first confirmed ground assault by US > troops inside Pakistani territory last Wednesday. Helicopter-borne > Special Forces commandos landed in the village of Jalal Khei in South > Waziristan in the early hours of the morning and attacked three > compounds. At least 20 people, including women and children, died in > the attack, which provoked anger not only among local tribes but > across Pakistan. > > The US attacks signal a marked escalation of operations inside > Pakistan. As if to underscore the point, US President Bush told a > gathering at the US National Defence University yesterday that parts > of Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan were “all theatres in the same > overall struggle”. He reiterated the US demand that the Pakistan > government suppress Islamist groups, declaring: “Defeating these > terrorist and extremists is also Pakistan’s responsibility because > every nation has an obligation to govern its own territory and make > certain that it does not become a safe haven for terror.” > > The intensification of US strikes inside Pakistan threatens to further > destabilise the country. Pakistani President Zardari has pledged his > full support for the bogus “war against terrorism” but confronts > growing demands for action to prevent US attacks. Last week, the > Pakistani parliament passed a resolution condemning the US raid in > South Waziristan and warning of “retaliation with full force”. The > overwhelming majority of the Pakistani population is opposed to the US > occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. > > On Saturday, NATO military supplies being transported through Pakistan > to Afghanistan were held up for several hours. Despite later official > denials, Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar told the press that the halt > had been in response to US attacks on Pakistani territory. Whether > deliberate or not, the delay underscores the dependence of the US and > NATO military in landlocked Afghanistan on supply lines through > Pakistan. The only existing alternative route is via air through > Russia and Central Asia, which is currently restricted to non-lethal > supplies and reliant on Washington’s increasingly fraught relations > with Moscow. > > France issued a statement yesterday warning that US strikes were > generating hostility inside Pakistan and undermining NATO operations > inside Afghanistan. Foreign ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier told > the press: “Not only are these creating human tragedies but also > situations that have counterproductive effects on the political > dynamics that we would like to see, and that means a partnership > between Afghanistan, Pakistan and the international community.” > > Writing on the Asia Times web site today, analyst Gareth Porter > pointed out that the Bush administration had ignored warnings last > month by the US National Intelligence Council (NIC) that military > operations inside Pakistan carried a high risk of destabilising the > government and the military. Former defence intelligence officer > Patrick Lang said the US intelligence community had issued “a pretty > clear warning” against last week’s Special Forces raid. “They said, in > effect, if you want to see the Pakistani government collapse, go right > ahead,” he explained. > > Another unnamed source said that the White House was warned that if US > ground operations continued over a longer period of time, the NIC > believed they could threaten the unity of the Pakistani army. A large > proportion of the officers serving in the FATA region are Pashtun—the > same ethnicity as the local tribes and those over the border inside > Afghanistan. In previous battles between the Pakistani military and > local tribes since 2001, scattered reports have appeared of Pashtun > officers refusing to fight or threatening outright mutiny. > > The Bush administration’s reckless determination to proceed despite > the obvious political dangers highlights the desperate situation > confronting the US inside Afghanistan, where American and NATO > casualties are continuing to rise amid an escalating anti-occupation > insurgency and widespread local opposition to the continued presence > of foreign troops. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
