Word: islamabad
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...offensive in Bajaur and other areas has been applauded by Washington, Prime Minister Asif Zardari is having a harder time convincing his own people of the wisdom of waging war on the militants. While some had hoped that last month's horrific terror attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad would rally the nation to fight militancy, instead divisions have only deepened. Recent opinion polls still find a majority of Pakistanis opposed to their government's support for Washington's "war on terror" - despite their anger at the recent wave of suicide bombings, these Pakistanis believe the attacks...
...Pakistan answers that question could help determine the fate of the war on terror. U.S. military leaders have long grumbled that Islamabad's commitment to fighting extremism was ambiguous at best - and duplicitous at worst. The new post-Musharraf government says it is serious about the fight, and offers as proof its two-month long military offensive in Bajaur, the northernmost chunk of the tribal belt. But, say Pakistani officials, U.S. incursions over the past two months, including an incident on Sept. 25 in which two U.S. helicopters and Pakistani soldiers in a border post engaged each other...
...tensions come as the militants have stepped up their campaign inside Pakistan, strengthening their hold over huge swathes of the country and launching ever more deadly strikes in its cities, including a Sept. 20 truck bombing that killed more than 50 people at Islamabad's Marriott Hotel. U.S. Army General David McKiernan, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, believes the militants are now so strong that they pose an "existential threat to the future of Pakistan." Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters at the Pentagon on September 26 that the terrorist safe haven...
...they are anti-American - will emerge from these camps. If Bajaur is a crucial front for the Pakistani military, the terrorists know not to get cornered into any last stands; they are striking across the country. Al-Qaeda and Taliban bombers are now able to strike Karachi and Islamabad; following the Marriott bombing, militants have targeted political leaders across the country. Their reach also imperils the U.S. military's supply lines into Afghanistan - 80% of dry cargo and 40% of the fuel used by U.S. forces in Afghanistan goes through Pakistan...
...military officials plainly want to keep their supply lines running through Pakistan, but are preparing alternate routes if Islamabad orders them shut down. "We're working our way through to understand rail, pipelines, customs, what it would take, are they there in a sufficient scale to allowus to do this?" Marine General James Cartwright, vice-chairman of the JointChiefs told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Sept. 23. Under the circumstances, say U.S. officials, it makes little sense to give up the option of cross-border operations - the Pakistanis have not yet demonstrated that they can fight this on their...