US deploys troops along Pak border

[DESERT FIGHTER]

Good seal the border.. it will help Pakistan.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

And this in your opinion is good for Pakistan ? Why can't Pakistan corner Haqqanis and let US deal with it ?

'Cornering the Haqqanis' essentially means launching full fledged military operations in North Waziristan - and Pakistan's position on that, in terms of lack of resources, ability to absorb the spike in violence across Pakistan (as a result of the operations) as well as lack of faith in the US staying committed to Pakistan and the region after Pakistan creates an enemy out of the Haqqanis, is well documented.

And since the US has no hope of defeating, or even significantly damaging, the Haqqanis with a one sided assault out of Afghanistan, I doubt they'll go to that extent - the Haqqanis well end up emerging with even more support after such a move.

 

[Irfan Baloch]

Keeping the news report in mind don’t read anything I say below and watch the video first to get an Idea what I am going to say.

Notice the terrain and the roads in both videos to get the idea about the area.

Camp Keating, Afghanistan (former Kamdesh PRT) I - YouTube

US military base under Taliban control - YouTube



Regarding this news, I fail to see the reason for the enthusiasm of Indian members which is not only misplaced but also self defeating.. I don’t know why they have decided that it’s a cause for celebrating the Invasion of Pakistan by the NATO forces.

On the contrary, from the Pakistani military point of view, it took NATO 10 years to actually do something from their side what Pakistan has been telling them already o do on Afghan side to support Pakistani border control. Given the terrain features and logistical nightmare plus harsh weather conditions throughout the year its easier said from the comfort of the offices than actually in the field.
it’s a welcome development but its mostly symbolic and people like me who have lived in the area, have contacts with the yousafzais, Mehsouds, kakakhels & Usman Zais belonging to Waziri tribes know too well how much substance is there in the report when it includes “heavy machinery, heavy tanks and artillery to give weight to the deployment”.

As far as the heavy tanks are concerned, the best that region has seen is BMPs (of Soviet era) or the American Bradley and British Scimitars. The dirt roads, narrow passes and short ledges by the mountains don’t support any thing bigger. Also the deployment of such a mass number as is being claimed is impossible, unless NATO halts all its other operations both combat, support, transport and logistics and devotes all its aviation to drop “hundreds” of troops with vehicles along the hill tops.

I am not dismissing any movement whatsoever but I am questioning the “the alleged massiveness” that has been under taken overnight. I can sense some smart readers will point me towards the awesomeness of the NATO forces and their technology but I will only remind then of the actual incidents where they had to abandon bases and their fellow soldiers that were over run by Taliban and with all their firepower and state of the art military hardware all they could do was watch their “boys” fall and were only able to come in when the Taliban had left the place destroyed. The first video relates to that base after the fight.

Coming back to the news, my best estimate is a battalion size deployment of troops that can call in air strikes that have light to medium mortars with them and have dug in some positions on the hill tops but its not sustainable because of the remoteness of the area they need constant supplies and relief to last up to next few months and as we speak some hill tops will be already covered with snow or bone piercing wind, and when I say bone piercing I mean every single word of it literally. NATO will conduct some searches in the villages, make some arrests, their kill teams will murder some locals while there are no witnesses make some videos and then they will leave the place afterwards.

The best outcome out of this is that there will be less cross border movements on either sides of Pak Afghan border.


Good luck NATO with moving your “heavy tanks and artillery” and policing this area. wish you all the best because we alone cant do it.

 

[Jango]

Doubt that a mass logistical movement of this kind can take place overnight, but a couple hundred foot soldiers only for patrol perhaps?

 

[OrionHunter]

1. Haqqani is a hoax/disinfo created by US Intel to establish an excuse to pounce on Pakistan.

Oh really? And you know this how? In other words, the Americans are spending close to $100 billion a year chasing a ghost organization that doesn't exist? If not you, then the Americans must be out of their minds! Get real!

In the face of the anticipated assault all Pakistanis - whether Taliban/terrorist or whatever color, will be united. This will in fact be a boon for Pakistan which has been seeking national unity in the face of aggression.

Again, you being a Bangladeshi, you know this how? You seem to have intimate knowledge of all terrorist organizations in Pakistan and their psyche!

Will India take advantage? This is an issue which Pak leaders must be taking up with natural allies in the Ummah and China.

Oh yeah! Here comes India into the equation! I was just waiting for this to happen. Nothing can be discussed without shoving India in. And if India's in, can China be far behind?

Jeeez man, go smell some coffee get some fresh air.

 

[Irfan Baloch]

Doubt that a mass logistical movement of this kind can take place overnight, but a couple hundred foot soldiers only for patrol perhaps?

like I said its mainly symbolic. their drones can do better patrolling. foot patrol is very expensive and dangerous, the area is hostile and roads are not secure. there will be ambushes, roadside IEDs and even attacks on NATO camps & Bases.

It appears to be for domestic consumption of US population but has the risk of backfiring if there are some body bags flying home but then again thee is always Pakistan & ISI to blame. I wish our ISI was that capable as alleged and believed by the Americans because we would have taken out BLA training camps and Mullah Fazlullah in Afghanistan by now.

 

[Drawn_Sword_of_God]

well, if they do all we need to do is arm the haqqanis. they alone will give the US a run for their money, if things get out of controll the PA can finish of the job

 

[asad71]

Time for Pakistanis to get united. Support the tribesmen, and they will sort out the aggressor in the tribal zone. Tribesmen on either side of the Durand Line have always united when faced with invasion. And here the enemy of the aggressor is not merely Pakistan but Islam.

 

[VelocuR]

It is good step by US troops to control Frankenstein monsters in Afghan sides. Please do more!

-----------------------
April 2011

6 US Soldiers Killed Near Pakistan Border
Kunar province among Afghanistan's most violent
http://www.newser.com/story/115418/...ldiers-killed-in-pakistan-border-assault.html


(Newser) – Six US soldiers were killed during an attack on an insurgent hideout near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, the Washington Post reports. The deaths that resulted from the helicopter-driven assault are the latest reminder of the US struggle in the isolated Kunar province. The US has lately shifted its attention away from the region—one of Afghanistan’s most violent since 2005—concentrating instead on population centers.

The assault took place near Pakistan's tribal areas, over which its government has little sway. Last summer, the same battalion killed some 150 fighters in the region; afterward, the US attempted to build an Afghan police station there. But when American troops left the area, so did the police. “The police were too scared the Taliban were going to come back and kill them,” said a US commander. “The people are still timid, and the police are timid.” Heartbreakingly, the Post notes that the wife of one of the dead soldiers was included in a November article on the stress Army spouses endure.

 

[Jango]

like I said its mainly symbolic. their drones can do better patrolling. foot patrol is very expensive and dangerous, the area is hostile and roads are not secure. there will be ambushes, roadside IEDs and even attacks on NATO camps & Bases.

It appears to be for domestic consumption of US population but has the risk of backfiring if there are some body bags flying home but then again thee is always Pakistan & ISI to blame. I wish our ISI was that capable as alleged and believed by the Americans because we would have taken out BLA training camps and Mullah Fazlullah in Afghanistan by now.

But this ploy of having a half-hearted go at tackling this issue is a bit too childish don't you think? Either seal the border by committing reasonable number of troops, or do a full fledged operation in the troublesome areas in your own territory , and stop blaming the other side for everything bad that happens with you.

 

[VelocuR]

Afghanistan, Pakistan, ISAF forces meet to foster border relations

SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan - U.S. Army Col. Robert Waltemeyer, (left) Joint Border Coordination Center director speaks with Pakistan Army Brig. Gen. Asad Shahzada, Pishin Scouts and Frontier Corps zone commander. Liaisons from the Pakistan Army, Afghan...

SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan - Afghanistan Border Police Brig. Gen. Abdul Razziq (bottom right) talks to liaisons from the Pakistan Army, Afghan National Security Forces and International Security Assistance Force officials at the Joint Border Coordination...

SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan - Pakistani Army Brig. Gen. Asad Shahzada (second from right) Pishin Scouts and Frontier Corps zone commander, talks to liaisons from the Afghan National Security Forces and International Security Assistance Force officials at...

SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan - Pakistani Army Brig. Gen. Asad Shahzada (second from right) Pishin Scouts and Frontier Corps zone commander, gestures as he talks to liaisons from the Afghan National Security Forces and International Security Assistance...

SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan - Liaisons from the Pakistani Army, Afghani National Security Forces and International Security Assistance Force officials met to discuss improving border relations along the Afghan-Pakistan border at the Joint Border...

More articles link

 

[Ambitious449]

I hope:undecided selfish USA is not considering India as buffer state for nuclear war. May be i am not diplomatic but India should take stand thwhich Iran took in gulf war. Supporting Iraq in hidinging their plane. In short supportive.

 

[Irfan Baloch]

well, if they do all we need to do is arm the haqqanis. they alone will give the US a run for their money, if things get out of controll the PA can finish of the job

Iam not sure why you decied that we should be arming the Haqqanis

The Taliban of Haqqani group are already giving NATO forces a run for their money without any overt help from Pakistan. And secondly Pakistan is partner with US and Afghan Government in the War on Terror and fight against the insurgency. If it starts helping Taliban overtly or covertly as is alleged on continuous bases from puppet Afghan government and NATO/ CIA then we loose the reason to complain about Afghan/ NATO help of the BLA and TTP terrorists.

Lets get one thing clear, there is no special relationship or love between Haqqanis/ Taliban and Pakistan. From Pakistan point of view they form the part of the stakeholders that will decide the future of Afghanistan. Subduing them violently has failed for the past 10 years and they have seen off a former super power earlier and many empires before therefore Pakistan is advocating a peaceful and negotiated settlement between the warring Afghan parties i.e. the Taliban and the NATO, and CIA has used this leverage of Pakistan few times in the past and has had meetings with both the Mulah Omar and Haqqani Taliban representatives.

Pakistan knows too well that only a peaceful and trouble free Afghanistan will ensure its own stability and means to end its own insurgency problem so it cant afford to cause problems for the Afghanistan by becoming a party but then again it is in no position to mount any more offensives given its forces are already engaged in maintaining the current advances against Pakistani Taliban.

This operation will have similar fate as the earlier surge by the American forces because the current American administration is playing a double game, it wants to appear stronger with an upper hand when negotiating peace and making an exit from Afghanistan which in military terms is called front loaded withdrawal (serge, intensified operations, aggressive patrols and engagements) so that it can declare victory and confirm victory in the next elections in the shorter run and also maintain its super power status.

All warring factions that are opposing the occupation are united in their assessment about the Americans. Gulbadin Hikmatyar , Sirajudin Naquin & Mullah Umar all say that they are no longer intersected in speaking to the Americans because they are not trustworthy, on one hand they want to negotiate a political settlement on the other hand they are trying to cause rifts among Taliban groups and trying to break up Haqqani Taliban and also continuing to peruse its leadership while continuing to seek dialog. This is the reason why the last secret meetings between Haqqanis and CIA that were held with the help of ISI didn’t achieve much and later on Americans came with the idea that having ingress and links within the Haqqani network by ISI is same as having sympathy and support although the very nature and essence of an intelligence agency is to create inside men and have unofficial links with other organisations to stay ahead of the game.

ISI has captured and handed over enough Taliban leadership that they cant risk the cosy relationship with ISI that CIA and Gen Mullen seem to claim (still no proof apart from the sensational media outburst) therefore neither ISI is keen to help the Haqqanis nor they are seeking any help, they are using the terrain and the support of the local population to their advantage and are able to move freely as they please. This stalemate will continue until the Americans scale down their operations and show a complete and honest commitment to political and peaceful settlement of the Afghan issue otherwise the current situation will continue for next ten years or more.
The opportunity was lost after the 2 May operation, Had Americans declared victory by eliminating the leader of the organisation allegedly responsible for 911 attacks and had sought Pakistan and Saudi help in approaching the Taliban to talk peace, then they would have had used the momentary shock of the Taliban and got what they wanted with their terms but that is in the past now.

 

[Chogy]

"Hundreds of troops" couldn't seal 1 kilometer of the border.

The title of the article itself is a total impossibility... an amazing leap to a false conclusion. What we have is a simple troop movement/operation in a particular area that happens to be close to the border.

Before Desert Storm, Schwartzkopf wanted hundreds of thousands of troops before he was ready to roll. I don't know what the mission is for these soldiers, but it is neither to seal the border, nor invade Pakistan.

 

[Major Sam]

it cant be possible with such lower number how can they seal a wide border?