Your are right sir. I do believe we have a window available to execute an operation to get rid of Fazlullah. As long as Americans are there, I believe we can get away with it. As I mentioned earlier, Afghanistan has often hosted separatists and miscreants that caused trouble in Pakistan. We only started doing the same in mid 70s. It must not be assumed that we would never do anything about it.
in 70s (and even earlier) seperatist/irritant elements in Afghan soil came to us...and we sent them back defeated and in body bags as a response....now we SHOULD take the fight to those elements --and those who support them, whether its terrorist training centers, "consulates/safe-house" and the like
The central issue really is the relative strengths of the two countries. If Afghanistan could afford going to war with Pakistan over territory, they would do so without qualms. They had an understanding with India in the post-1971 period for just that.
had Afghanistan not done the bidding of india and other enemies - we wouldnt need to take defensive actions in the first place
Afghans have been at war with themselves too - which we mustnt forget...its a fractured country
In any case, the only way to get something done is to raise the level of rhetoric to pressurize the Afghan government. If that does not work, then we should plan and execute an operation. Right now Afghanistan would not be in a position to do something. They can keep a grudge alright. But who says they have not done so already since 1947?
my point as well......and domestically, you can easily "sell" this idea to the masses - all you have to do is remind them that india has a hand in the destabilization and that will get even the most divided people to become united
so far the PPP and currrent PML-N have tried using diplomacy with the karzai administration...clinging onto false hopes and dreams. Karzai never had control outside of Kabul - and his career has expired. He's finished, and ready for his dismissal whether he likes it or not. He's going bye-bye
Of the three countries in the fray, Pakistan is certainly best positioned along the border, but it is anybody's guess further away. Certainly it represents an opportunity for India to settle some scores from Kashmir into this backyard.
Pakistan has a rich cross-over of ethnic/tribal ties with Afghanistan not to mention given our vast experience there we know the inner workings and who to talk to, when to talk to them etc.
india geographically is irrelevant.....their only connection to the region is via Chah Bahar in Iran - and everyone knows that india wont risk alienating itself from amreeka and israel in order to deal with Iranians (or risk sanctions). So Chah Bahar is a non-starter and the Central Asians are land-locked.
india still has its puppets on the ground in Afghanistan but we will likely have developed counters to those....we have old contacts such as the older generation mujahideen the same way indian have contacts with their increasingly irrelevant northern alliance
as for Iran - despite their sneakiness, we have an interest not to get involved in a tug-of-war with them. Like Pakistan, their influence in Afghanistan is simply undeniable, namely in the western sector....as we are Islamic Republics we should set good examples by working together.
Abdullah Abdullah has a more conciliatory tone to him - he's not a puppet of india per se and he seems he would be friendly to both Pak, Iran and other relevant stake-holders. He'd also not flip-flop with the Americans (especially on the security pact which Karzai has been too scared to sign)
