Bush Takes Fight to Pakistan

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright October 3, 2008
All Rights Reserved.                    

              GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) blasted Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.) for daring to say he would pursue terrorists in Pakistan.  U.S. predator drones, flying from Afghanistan to Pakistan Oct. 3, attacked a safe-house, killing 12 suspected terrorists, underscoring the official U.S. policy.  When the two debated on Sept. 26, McCain indicated that Barack’s policy would destabilize a U.S. ally, leaving Pakistan vulnerable to the Taliban and al-Qaida.  When Islamic extremists truck-bombed the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad Sept. 20 killing 50, terrorists expressed contempt for Pakistan new Prime Minister Asif Ali Zardari, widow of the late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.  His wife was assassinated by extremists Dec. 28, 2007 in a brazen suicide attack against her armored motorcade in Rawalpindi. 

            Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters have been on an unrelenting rampage, steadily increasing U.S. casualties.  Sixty-five U.S. soldiers were killed in Afghanistan in May, June and July 2008, the deadliest toll since 45 died the same three months of 2005.  McCain and Palin have repeatedly said the Iraq is the “central front in the war on terror,” citing former Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus.  Yet both know that Iraq had nothing to do with Sept. 11.  Both have acknowledged that Osama bin Laden is presumed hiding in Pakistan.  With the U.S. military unable to get Bin Laden, the White House has targeted the Northwest Waziristan region.  McCain, and his running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, refuses to acknowledge that it’s official U.S. policy to kill or capture terrorists inside Pakistan.  Despite White House actions, McCain pretends Obama is at odds with U.S. policy.

            Palin told CBS News anchor Katie Couric Sept. 29 that she would pursue terrorists inside Pakistan.  When she realized it ran counter to McCain’s criticism of Barack, she abruptly reneged, prompting McCain to blame the media for playing a “gotcha” game.  Palin insisted Oct. 2 at her debate with Democratic VP nominee Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) that Iraq, not Afghanistan, was primary terrorist battleground.  She said the U.S. was close to victory, blaming Biden for throwing in the white flag.  Biden pointed out that al-Qaida was busy plotting the next terror attack not in Iraq but the rugged lawless region inside Pakistan, the likely lair of Osama bin Laden.  Recognizing the Taliban resurgence, Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledges Sept. 16 that, due to personnel shortages, the Pentagon could not add troops until next June.  Until then, predator drone attacks will have to do.

            Since former president Gen. Pervez Musharraf stepped down Aug. 18 and Zardari took over, the Pakistani government has gone after terrorists.  Musharraf cut special deals with the Taliban and tribal leaders in Waziristan, essentially ceding terrorists—including Bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar—sovereign territory.  After his wife’s assassination, Zardari knows his enemies are the same Islamic extremists that killed his Benazir Bhutto.  Pakistana’s Interior Minister Chief Rahman Malik promised that he would go against jihadists until his country is “terrorist free.”  Malik confirmed that the new government that came to power in February will kill or force terrorists to flee Pakistan.  “There is no other option,” Malik told Express TV News, describing the government’s commitment to root out extremists in the wake of the deadly Sept. 20 blast at Islamabad’s Marriott hotel.

            Unlike Musharraf, the U.S. has a real partner in Zardari, committed not only to rooting out terrorists but to a Democratic Pakistan.  U.S. support of Musharraf, who ousted elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Oct. 12, 1999 in a bloodless coup, antagonized Pakistanis serious about Democracy.  Musharraf played both sides against the middle but, in the end, lent support to terrorist operations in Pakistan’s ungoverned tribal lands along the Afghan border.  “We will not stop any operation unless we reach its logical conclusion.  That means that this war will continue until we make Pakistan terrorism-free,” said Malik, indicating there’s a new sheriff in town.  When two U.S. missiles hit villages in North Waziristan Oct. 3, it signaled the government’s commitment to eradicating terrorists.  Zardari knows his government is in an implacable life-or-death struggle.

            McCain and Palin won’t admit that the White House is actively engaged in cross-border attacks in Pakistan.  McCain says he’ll follow Bin Laden “to the gates of hell” but won’t use predator drones to attack terrorists nests in Pakistan.  Both know that the Afghan-Pakistan border is the real central front in the war on terror.  Iraq is long overdue for an exit strategy endorsed by Obama but strongly urged by Iraq President Nouri al-Maliki.  As Biden staid in last night’s debate, Iraqis must step up to pay and fight for their own sovereignty.  Going after the terrorists in Pakistan responsible for Sept. 11 is a moral and national security obligation for the United States.  As Barack and Biden frequently point out, Iraq has become a dangerous distraction in the real war on terror.  U.S. policy must change course, end the Iraq War and recommit to killing and capturing the terrorists responsible for Sept. 11.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

©1999-2005 Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.
(310) 204-8300
All Rights Reserved.