U.S. Troop Killed By Gunmen In Afghan Uniform

[ima]

We should just surrender and then leave. If Ghengis Khan couldn't get the job done...

 

[Peter Dow]

We need to stop providing our enemies the space-age hi-tech weapons they use or could use against us

and that's the kind of strategic approach we need to be sure that the space-age technology is being used by and for our side in this war, not by and for the Taliban's side.

Yea, those Star Wars light sabers and ray guns the Taliban have been using are deadly weapons for sure.

"Space-age" is science-fact, not science-fiction.

No sir, the Taliban use very factual guns and bombs but their modern infantry weapons are paid for and supplied by states such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran, who do employ satellite TV (beamed to the ground from geostationary orbit don't-ya know?) to beam pro-Taliban propaganda throughout the Middle East.

The Taliban's immediate masters are the Pakistani ISI, military intelligence, as this video explains,


This 2-hour video is of a British TV programme which explains in great detail the role of the Pakistani state via the ISI (Inter-services intelligence) has in supporting the Taliban's war against our forces in Afghanistan.

VIDEO: BBC Documentary - "SECRET PAKISTAN - Double Cross / Backlash" (2 hours)
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_SkNUorWhc]Secret BBC - Pakistan Double Cross on Terrorism - Full - YouTube[/ame]

and Pakistan does have nuclear weapons and does have missiles to propel warheads via ballistic sub-orbital paths through space to targets on the ground.

So try ridicule if you like but your claim that the Taliban is merely some kind of stone-age Pashtun tendency won't wash.

The Taliban are the creatures of serious space-age powers like -

• Pakistan used by them to extort money from the USA to fund the expansion of Pakistan's military power and
  
• Saudi Arabia, used by them to further their global jihadi plans and to lure the USA and NATO away from their valuable oil-fields to the worthless Hindu Kush mountains.

The West's enemies in the war on terror have been rumbled. They've be found out, our intelligence agencies know their game and just watch out Sunni Man because maybe sometime soon we'll get this war won.

 

[High_Gravity]

We need to stop providing our enemies the space-age hi-tech weapons they use or could use against us

and that's the kind of strategic approach we need to be sure that the space-age technology is being used by and for our side in this war, not by and for the Taliban's side.

Yea, those Star Wars light sabers and ray guns the Taliban have been using are deadly weapons for sure.

"Space-age" is science-fact, not science-fiction.

No sir, the Taliban use very factual guns and bombs but their modern infantry weapons are paid for and supplied by states such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran, who do employ satellite TV (beamed to the ground from geostationary orbit don't-ya know?) to beam pro-Taliban propaganda throughout the Middle East.

The Taliban's immediate masters are the Pakistani ISI, military intelligence, as this video explains,


This 2-hour video is of a British TV programme which explains in great detail the role of the Pakistani state via the ISI (Inter-services intelligence) has in supporting the Taliban's war against our forces in Afghanistan.

VIDEO: BBC Documentary - "SECRET PAKISTAN - Double Cross / Backlash" (2 hours)
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_SkNUorWhc]Secret BBC - Pakistan Double Cross on Terrorism - Full - YouTube[/ame]

and Pakistan does have nuclear weapons and does have missiles to propel warheads via ballistic sub-orbital paths through space to targets on the ground.

So try ridicule if you like but your claim that the Taliban is merely some kind of stone-age Pashtun tendency won't wash. The Taliban are the creatures of serious space-age powers like Pakistan used by them to extort money from the USA to fund the expansion of Pakistan's military power and Saudi Arabia, used by them to further their global jihadi plans and to lure the USA and NATO away from their valuable oil-fields to the worthless Hindu Kush mountains.

The West's enemies in the war on terror have been rumbled. They've be found out, our intelligence agencies know their game and just watch out Sunni Man because maybe sometime soon we'll get this war won.

As long as the Taliban have Pakistan to use a base to regroup, re arm, rest and train this war will keep going. If the Pakistanis ever got serious about taking out the Talibs on their side this war would have been done years ago.

 

[Peter Dow]

Yea, those Star Wars light sabers and ray guns the Taliban have been using are deadly weapons for sure.

"Space-age" is science-fact, not science-fiction.

No sir, the Taliban use very factual guns and bombs but their modern infantry weapons are paid for and supplied by states such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran, who do employ satellite TV (beamed to the ground from geostationary orbit don't-ya know?) to beam pro-Taliban propaganda throughout the Middle East.

The Taliban's immediate masters are the Pakistani ISI, military intelligence, as this video explains,


This 2-hour video is of a British TV programme which explains in great detail the role of the Pakistani state via the ISI (Inter-services intelligence) has in supporting the Taliban's war against our forces in Afghanistan.

VIDEO: BBC Documentary - "SECRET PAKISTAN - Double Cross / Backlash" (2 hours)
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_SkNUorWhc]Secret BBC - Pakistan Double Cross on Terrorism - Full - YouTube[/ame]

and Pakistan does have nuclear weapons and does have missiles to propel warheads via ballistic sub-orbital paths through space to targets on the ground.

So try ridicule if you like but your claim that the Taliban is merely some kind of stone-age Pashtun tendency won't wash. The Taliban are the creatures of serious space-age powers like Pakistan used by them to extort money from the USA to fund the expansion of Pakistan's military power and Saudi Arabia, used by them to further their global jihadi plans and to lure the USA and NATO away from their valuable oil-fields to the worthless Hindu Kush mountains.

The West's enemies in the war on terror have been rumbled. They've be found out, our intelligence agencies know their game and just watch out Sunni Man because maybe sometime soon we'll get this war won.

As long as the Taliban have Pakistan to use a base to regroup, re arm, rest and train this war will keep going. If the Pakistanis ever got serious about taking out the Talibs on their side this war would have been done years ago.

Well if you spend 2 hours watching the video, you will see that the Pakistani military are serious about arming and training the Taliban and sending them over the border into Afghanistan to kill our soldiers.

So the Pakistani military are serious about waging a terrorist war-by-proxy against us. The question is are we seriously going to fight back against the Pakistani military, or not?

So are we serious, or are we not? That's the real question.

Right now, I am wondering if the answer is "No, we are not serious, we are pulling out in 2014 so just let the Pakistani military send their terrorists to kill us and we'll turn a blind eye to that fact that it is the Pakistanis who are behind it all"?

 

[High_Gravity]

"Space-age" is science-fact, not science-fiction.

No sir, the Taliban use very factual guns and bombs but their modern infantry weapons are paid for and supplied by states such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran, who do employ satellite TV (beamed to the ground from geostationary orbit don't-ya know?) to beam pro-Taliban propaganda throughout the Middle East.

The Taliban's immediate masters are the Pakistani ISI, military intelligence, as this video explains,


This 2-hour video is of a British TV programme which explains in great detail the role of the Pakistani state via the ISI (Inter-services intelligence) has in supporting the Taliban's war against our forces in Afghanistan.

VIDEO: BBC Documentary - "SECRET PAKISTAN - Double Cross / Backlash" (2 hours)
Secret BBC - Pakistan Double Cross on Terrorism - Full - YouTube

and Pakistan does have nuclear weapons and does have missiles to propel warheads via ballistic sub-orbital paths through space to targets on the ground.

So try ridicule if you like but your claim that the Taliban is merely some kind of stone-age Pashtun tendency won't wash. The Taliban are the creatures of serious space-age powers like Pakistan used by them to extort money from the USA to fund the expansion of Pakistan's military power and Saudi Arabia, used by them to further their global jihadi plans and to lure the USA and NATO away from their valuable oil-fields to the worthless Hindu Kush mountains.

The West's enemies in the war on terror have been rumbled. They've be found out, our intelligence agencies know their game and just watch out Sunni Man because maybe sometime soon we'll get this war won.

As long as the Taliban have Pakistan to use a base to regroup, re arm, rest and train this war will keep going. If the Pakistanis ever got serious about taking out the Talibs on their side this war would have been done years ago.

Well if you spend 2 hours watching the video, you will see that the Pakistani military are serious about arming and training the Taliban and sending them over the border into Afghanistan to kill our soldiers.

So the Pakistani military are serious about waging a terrorist war-by-proxy against us. The question is are we seriously going to fight back against the Pakistani military, or not?

So are we serious, or are we not? That's the real question.

Right now, I am wondering if the answer is "No, we are not serious, we are pulling out in 2014 so just let the Pakistani military send their terrorists to kill us and we'll turn a blind eye to that fact that it is the Pakistanis who are behind it all"?

Sadly I don't think we are taking this war seriously, and we haven't in a long while. People are afraid to do anything against the Pakistani Military because they fear the people in Pakistan over throwing their government and an Islami theocracy rising in its place armed with nuclear weapons, so Pakistan gets a pass on alot of issues because of their nukes. If they were not nuclear armed I don't think people would deal with them as delicately.

 

[Peter Dow]

As long as the Taliban have Pakistan to use a base to regroup, re arm, rest and train this war will keep going. If the Pakistanis ever got serious about taking out the Talibs on their side this war would have been done years ago.

Well if you spend 2 hours watching the video, you will see that the Pakistani military are serious about arming and training the Taliban and sending them over the border into Afghanistan to kill our soldiers.

So the Pakistani military are serious about waging a terrorist war-by-proxy against us. The question is are we seriously going to fight back against the Pakistani military, or not?

So are we serious, or are we not? That's the real question.

Right now, I am wondering if the answer is "No, we are not serious, we are pulling out in 2014 so just let the Pakistani military send their terrorists to kill us and we'll turn a blind eye to that fact that it is the Pakistanis who are behind it all"?

Sadly I don't think we are taking this war seriously, and we haven't in a long while. People are afraid to do anything against the Pakistani Military because they fear the people in Pakistan over throwing their government and an Islami theocracy rising in its place armed with nuclear weapons, so Pakistan gets a pass on alot of issues because of their nukes. If they were not nuclear armed I don't think people would deal with them as delicately.

If the US is afraid of Pakistani nuclear weapons then why is the US government giving Pakistan billions so that they can build more?

Kansas City Star: ""Pakistan freed of anti-terrorism obligations; U.S. billions flow instead"

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration has refused for the first time to declare that Pakistan is making progress toward ending alleged military support for Islamic militant groups or preventing al Qaida, the Afghan Taliban or other extremists from staging attacks in Afghanistan.

Even so, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has quietly informed Congress that she’s waived the legal restrictions that would have blocked some $2 billion in U.S. economic and military aid to Pakistan. Disbursing the funds, she said in an official notice, is “important to the national security interests of the United States.”

I would have thought economic sanctions, like against Iran, would be more appropriate to cut the Pakistani nuclear threat down to size?

How do American tax-payers feel about paying for Pakistani nuclear weapons which are pointed at them to stop them doing anything about the Pakistani military which is arming, training and sending terrorists to kill Americans, in their own homeland, like on 9/11, and your soldiers in Afghanistan?

Why pay the enemy?

It's not serious and it's not logical.

 

[High_Gravity]

Well if you spend 2 hours watching the video, you will see that the Pakistani military are serious about arming and training the Taliban and sending them over the border into Afghanistan to kill our soldiers.

So the Pakistani military are serious about waging a terrorist war-by-proxy against us. The question is are we seriously going to fight back against the Pakistani military, or not?

So are we serious, or are we not? That's the real question.

Right now, I am wondering if the answer is "No, we are not serious, we are pulling out in 2014 so just let the Pakistani military send their terrorists to kill us and we'll turn a blind eye to that fact that it is the Pakistanis who are behind it all"?

Sadly I don't think we are taking this war seriously, and we haven't in a long while. People are afraid to do anything against the Pakistani Military because they fear the people in Pakistan over throwing their government and an Islami theocracy rising in its place armed with nuclear weapons, so Pakistan gets a pass on alot of issues because of their nukes. If they were not nuclear armed I don't think people would deal with them as delicately.

If the US is afraid of Pakistani nuclear weapons then why is the US government giving Pakistan billions so that they can build more?

Kansas City Star: ""Pakistan freed of anti-terrorism obligations; U.S. billions flow instead"

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration has refused for the first time to declare that Pakistan is making progress toward ending alleged military support for Islamic militant groups or preventing al Qaida, the Afghan Taliban or other extremists from staging attacks in Afghanistan.

Even so, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has quietly informed Congress that she’s waived the legal restrictions that would have blocked some $2 billion in U.S. economic and military aid to Pakistan. Disbursing the funds, she said in an official notice, is “important to the national security interests of the United States.”

I would have thought economic sanctions, like against Iran, would be more appropriate to cut the Pakistani nuclear threat down to size?

How do American tax-payers feel about paying for Pakistani nuclear weapons which are pointed at them to stop them doing anything about the Pakistani military which is arming, training and sending terrorists to kill Americans, in their own homeland, like on 9/11, and your soldiers in Afghanistan?

Why pay the enemy?

It's not serious and it's not logical.

Our whole foreign policy is totally fucked, we give billions of dollars a year to countries that hate us. We give cash to countries like Yemen, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, and Lebanon which have a foaming at the mouth anti American populace. The money we give to the Lebanese government finds its way to Hezbollah because Hezbollah is a part of that government, and you know that large chunks of the money we give Afghanistan goes to the Taliban as well. We also give cash to the Palestinian territories, so we are funding Hamas too, I don't care whethers its indirectly or whatever, the bottom line is American tax dollars are going in the wallets of some pretty nasty people.

As far as Pakistan goes, that money is basically bribe money for us to bring supplies into Afghanistan using their soil and for covert Military ops there. We also bring Pakistani Military officers into our Military Academies here in the States to train, something I do not agree with.

 

[RoccoR]

High_Gravity, et al,

To a degree, there are many things here for which I agree.

... ... ... we give billions of dollars a year to countries that hate us. We give cash to countries like Yemen, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, and Lebanon which have a foaming at the mouth anti American populace. The money we give to the Lebanese government finds its way to Hezbollah because Hezbollah is a part of that government, and you know that large chunks of the money we give Afghanistan goes to the Taliban as well. We also give cash to the Palestinian territories, so we are funding Hamas too, I don't care whethers its indirectly or whatever, the bottom line is American tax dollars are going in the wallets of some pretty nasty people.

As far as Pakistan goes, that money is basically bribe money for us to bring supplies into Afghanistan using their soil and for covert Military ops there. We also bring Pakistani Military officers into our Military Academies here in the States to train, something I do not agree with.

(COMMENT)

Remember, the US needs to "buy" its allies and "pay-off" these Middle East dictators and corrupt officials. The US simply doesn't know how to promote its diplomacy any other way.

Most Respectfully,
R

 

[High_Gravity]

High_Gravity, et al,

To a degree, there are many things here for which I agree.

... ... ... we give billions of dollars a year to countries that hate us. We give cash to countries like Yemen, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, and Lebanon which have a foaming at the mouth anti American populace. The money we give to the Lebanese government finds its way to Hezbollah because Hezbollah is a part of that government, and you know that large chunks of the money we give Afghanistan goes to the Taliban as well. We also give cash to the Palestinian territories, so we are funding Hamas too, I don't care whethers its indirectly or whatever, the bottom line is American tax dollars are going in the wallets of some pretty nasty people.

As far as Pakistan goes, that money is basically bribe money for us to bring supplies into Afghanistan using their soil and for covert Military ops there. We also bring Pakistani Military officers into our Military Academies here in the States to train, something I do not agree with.

(COMMENT)

Remember, the US needs to "buy" its allies and "pay-off" these Middle East dictators and corrupt officials. The US simply doesn't know how to promote its diplomacy any other way.

Most Respectfully,
R

Friendships that are bought with money mean nothing.

 

[Peter Dow]

As far as Pakistan goes, that money is basically bribe money for us to bring supplies into Afghanistan using their soil

I've not done the complicated sums involved but could it be possible HG, that if

• this money, billions of dollars of aid / bribe money is added to
  
• the notional transit fees per truck via Pakistan, namely -

BBC: Pakistan to reopen supply lines to Nato Afghan forces

US officials say the existing charge of $250 (£160) per truck will not change - Washington had baulked at a Pakistani demand for $5,000 per container to let supplies flow again.

and add that to

• the cost of the additional forces we've had to deploy to Afghanistan because the aid money to Pakistan is encouraging the Pakistani state to spend "re-invest" (from their point of view) some of it on re-enforcing the Taliban, in turn forcing us to surge our forces in response

- that all adds up to more than it would cost us to fly all our supplies into Afghanistan, directly, not via Pakistan at all?

In other words, wouldn't it be cheaper to fly supplies in, perhaps bring in some via the Northern Distribution Network, rather than pay bribes to the enemy?

I just don't see how keeping our supplies under the control of the enemy gives us a clean way to win? If Pakistan controls our supplies we can't deal a death blow against the Taliban's masters, the Pakstani military.

If we withdraw in 2014 from Afghanistan, Pakistan will get the Taliban to re-take Afghanistan and use it to base terrorists again or demand huge cash payments not to. Either way, we lose.

and for covert Military ops there.

The covert ops which found Bin Laden was done without co-operation with the Pakistani authorities. If we would have told them then they would have tipped Bin Laden off and he would have flown the nest, like Al-Zawahiri did when he was cornered.

Really if we need the co-operation of the Pakistani state isn't it more effective to use the stick than offer carrots?

I just don't think there is any amount of cash we can give the Pakistani state that is going to win this war. They are always going to come back asking for more and more. They sense weakness and are pressing a perceived advantage.

I don't think they have an advantage really but paying them makes them think they have an an advantage so they will keep on supporting the Taliban and Al-Qaeda to try to screw more and more out of the US in a protection racket.

Now, the US has big pockets and a fat wallet but I am just suggesting that it might be more cost effective long term to seek to win this war outright by crushing the Taliban and their Pakistani military sponsors?

If we seize their satellites and broadcast information about the traitors in the Pakistani military supporting the enemy Taliban terrorists who have been killing Pakistanis, undermining their government etc, we could force a democratic revolt against the Pakistani general staff and ISI and all in league with them in supporting the Taliban.

We can call on our friends in Pakistan to establish political party militias in opposition to the Pakistani ISI and general staff which is disloyal to the people.

If and when it comes to a civil war in Pakistan we can intervene on the side of our friends in Pakistan by bombing our enemies in Pakistan. We'll know friend from foe when the fighting starts.

I think we could win this war that way. Possibly it would be much easier than we think.

We also bring Pakistani Military officers into our Military Academies here in the States to train, something I do not agree with.

It's routine for countries at peace to exchange officers I think but it's not exactly "peace", nor "war" with Pakistan but maybe a cold war.

But even in a cold war, you don't pay the enemy. We didn't pay the Soviets billions of dollars in the Cold War. If anything we tried to bankrupt them by outspending them on military technology in the arms race.

 

[ima]

Stop dreaming about taking out the Paki military, Pakistan has nukes, the US doesn't attack countries with nukes, and anyways, the US army couldn't take shitholes like Nam, Afghanistan, Irak or Somalia. What makes you think they can take Pakistan with their nukes?

 

[Peter Dow]

Stop dreaming about taking out the Paki military, Pakistan has nukes, the US doesn't attack countries with nukes, and anyways, the US army couldn't take shitholes like Nam, Afghanistan, Irak or Somalia. What makes you think they can take Pakistan with their nukes?

It's more a question of aiming to take out the Pakistani military as an independent political force, above and beyond the Pakistani government, a state within a state.

There's still a Pakistani military dictatorship element operating under the surface of a democratically elected government of Pakistan which uses the Taliban and assassinations to terrorise the government into deferring to the military.

All we need to do to defeat that element is to identify their leaders, senior officers, arrest or assassinate them. Our intelligence points to the ISI as most implicated. Maybe bombing ISI HQ would be a good start? There must be more senior officers in the Pakistani general staff who support using the ISI to organise terrorism and we need names to target them for arrest or assassination.

For example, one such figure is Pervez Musharraf. He's living in London last I heard. Either way, he is scared to go back to Pakistan because he'd be arrested. So he'd be easy to arrest and whisk off to Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He probably has a very good idea of who in the Pakistani general staff are supporting the Taliban. Maybe he could be "persuaded" to name names?

And the weapon of choice is not nukes, it's satellite TV. We take over Pakistani state satellite TV and use it to broadcast our propaganda back into Pakistan, calling for a purge of the military who have been supporting the Taliban and Al Qaeda. We broadcast stories of Musharraf in Gitmo, dressed in an orange prisoner outfit, the voice-over saying "This is what happens to traitors who do harm to the Pakistani people" etc.

If we do this right, the Pakistanis can win this, bring their own military under democratic control, with a little help from us. If we screw up, we might have to do a lot more bombing of our enemies in Pakistan, hopefully conventional bombs, drones or missiles is all it will take but remember our nukes are bigger and more accurate and of longer range than Pakistan's. I don't think it has to come to nuking Pakistan but better that than letting the Taliban beat us. That's not acceptable.

 

[High_Gravity]

As far as Pakistan goes, that money is basically bribe money for us to bring supplies into Afghanistan using their soil

I've not done the complicated sums involved but could it be possible HG, that if

• this money, billions of dollars of aid / bribe money is added to
  
• the notional transit fees per truck via Pakistan, namely -

BBC: Pakistan to reopen supply lines to Nato Afghan forces

US officials say the existing charge of $250 (£160) per truck will not change - Washington had baulked at a Pakistani demand for $5,000 per container to let supplies flow again.

and add that to

• the cost of the additional forces we've had to deploy to Afghanistan because the aid money to Pakistan is encouraging the Pakistani state to spend "re-invest" (from their point of view) some of it on re-enforcing the Taliban, in turn forcing us to surge our forces in response

- that all adds up to more than it would cost us to fly all our supplies into Afghanistan, directly, not via Pakistan at all?

In other words, wouldn't it be cheaper to fly supplies in, perhaps bring in some via the Northern Distribution Network, rather than pay bribes to the enemy?

I just don't see how keeping our supplies under the control of the enemy gives us a clean way to win? If Pakistan controls our supplies we can't deal a death blow against the Taliban's masters, the Pakstani military.

If we withdraw in 2014 from Afghanistan, Pakistan will get the Taliban to re-take Afghanistan and use it to base terrorists again or demand huge cash payments not to. Either way, we lose.

and for covert Military ops there.

The covert ops which found Bin Laden was done without co-operation with the Pakistani authorities. If we would have told them then they would have tipped Bin Laden off and he would have flown the nest, like Al-Zawahiri did when he was cornered.

Really if we need the co-operation of the Pakistani state isn't it more effective to use the stick than offer carrots?

I just don't think there is any amount of cash we can give the Pakistani state that is going to win this war. They are always going to come back asking for more and more. They sense weakness and are pressing a perceived advantage.

I don't think they have an advantage really but paying them makes them think they have an an advantage so they will keep on supporting the Taliban and Al-Qaeda to try to screw more and more out of the US in a protection racket.

Now, the US has big pockets and a fat wallet but I am just suggesting that it might be more cost effective long term to seek to win this war outright by crushing the Taliban and their Pakistani military sponsors?

If we seize their satellites and broadcast information about the traitors in the Pakistani military supporting the enemy Taliban terrorists who have been killing Pakistanis, undermining their government etc, we could force a democratic revolt against the Pakistani general staff and ISI and all in league with them in supporting the Taliban.

We can call on our friends in Pakistan to establish political party militias in opposition to the Pakistani ISI and general staff which is disloyal to the people.

If and when it comes to a civil war in Pakistan we can intervene on the side of our friends in Pakistan by bombing our enemies in Pakistan. We'll know friend from foe when the fighting starts.

I think we could win this war that way. Possibly it would be much easier than we think.

We also bring Pakistani Military officers into our Military Academies here in the States to train, something I do not agree with.

It's routine for countries at peace to exchange officers I think but it's not exactly "peace", nor "war" with Pakistan but maybe a cold war.

But even in a cold war, you don't pay the enemy. We didn't pay the Soviets billions of dollars in the Cold War. If anything we tried to bankrupt them by outspending them on military technology in the arms race.

Me personally I would just bypass the Pakistanis altogether for the supplies, go through countries like Turkmenistan or Tajikstan, although I don't know much about either country but I would think they would like the business. The whole situation is totally fucked with regards to the Pakistanis, the Pakistanis hate America but they love American cash, they are making a shitload of money from these supply routes too. I will tell you this though after we are done in Afghanistan we need to throw our lot in with India, who is a much better ally for us than Pakistan. Our government is scared that the Pakistani government will fall and an Islamic radical regime will arise in Pakistan equipped with nukes, so we keep throwing money at the Pakistanis to keep the current government in power.

 

[ima]

Stop dreaming about taking out the Paki military, Pakistan has nukes, the US doesn't attack countries with nukes, and anyways, the US army couldn't take shitholes like Nam, Afghanistan, Irak or Somalia. What makes you think they can take Pakistan with their nukes?

It's more a question of aiming to take out the Pakistani military as an independent political force, above and beyond the Pakistani government, a state within a state.

There's still a Pakistani military dictatorship element operating under the surface of a democratically elected government of Pakistan which uses the Taliban and assassinations to terrorise the government into deferring to the military.

All we need to do to defeat that element is to identify their leaders, senior officers, arrest or assassinate them. Our intelligence points to the ISI as most implicated. Maybe bombing ISI HQ would be a good start? There must be more senior officers in the Pakistani general staff who support using the ISI to organise terrorism and we need names to target them for arrest or assassination.

For example, one such figure is Pervez Musharraf. He's living in London last I heard. Either way, he is scared to go back to Pakistan because he'd be arrested. So he'd be easy to arrest and whisk off to Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He probably has a very good idea of who in the Pakistani general staff are supporting the Taliban. Maybe he could be "persuaded" to name names?

And the weapon of choice is not nukes, it's satellite TV. We take over Pakistani state satellite TV and use it to broadcast our propaganda back into Pakistan, calling for a purge of the military who have been supporting the Taliban and Al Qaeda. We broadcast stories of Musharraf in Gitmo, dressed in an orange prisoner outfit, the voice-over saying "This is what happens to traitors who do harm to the Pakistani people" etc.

If we do this right, the Pakistanis can win this, bring their own military under democratic control, with a little help from us. If we screw up, we might have to do a lot more bombing of our enemies in Pakistan, hopefully conventional bombs, drones or missiles is all it will take but remember our nukes are bigger and more accurate and of longer range than Pakistan's. I don't think it has to come to nuking Pakistan but better that than letting the Taliban beat us. That's not acceptable.

Bra, you're totally delusional. Assassinate the their top brass? You're kidding, right? And if they figure out it's the US, how sure are you that they won't whack the American army in Afghanistan with nukes? And what if a crazy Jihad party gets elected? Man, you sure haven't thought this through.