This picture taken 01 June 2007 shows pro-Taliban supporters as they chant anti-US slogans during a religious gathering in Killi Nalai, a village near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. More than 10,000 pro-Taliban supporters rallied near the Afghan border in southwest Pakistan to hear a tape by the brother of slain Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah. Slogans of "long live (Taliban supremo) Mullah Omar, (Al-Qaeda chief) Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban movement," rang out at the charged gathering. The fiery voice recording was said to be of Mullah Mansoor Dadullah, who has replaced his brother as military commander after he was killed about three weeks ago by NATO-led forces in southern AfghanistanPakistan: Uproar Grows Over First Ground Assault By US Troops -- Christian Science Monitor
Pakistani military officials fear American intervention in the tribal areas could spark a rebellion, derailing counterterrorism operations.
United States forces conducted their first ground assaults into Pakistani territory from bases in Afghanistan early Wednesday morning in a raid on a suspected Taliban stronghold in South Waziristan, one of Pakistan's lawless tribal areas. The attack has caused an uproar in Pakistan and raised concerns of a new period of tension between the US and its valuable, nuclear-armed ally in the war on terror, which has entered a period of political uncertainty after the resignation of long-serving president Pervez Musharraf last month.
The US has not officially commented on the raid, and leaders of the US-led NATO peacekeeping force in Afghanistan deny any knowledge of the attack, reports Reuters. But one US official, speaking to CNN on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that the attack had occurred.
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My Comment: Nato, Afghan, and American escalation of the war into Pakistan is a testament to how successful the Taliban have been in expanding the war in Afghanistan. If the Taliban were not making headway, this incursion into Pakistan would never have occurred.
The safe havens and significant Pakistan support of the Taliban have created a monster that a good number of officials in the Pakistan Government have trouble accepting is a monster. Pakistani ceasefires with the Taliban, ISI (Pakistan Intelligence) support, as well as logistical and material support from a significant number of people in the Frontier Regions of Pakistan is causing misery and destruction in neighboring Afghanistan.
I am surprised that the Pakistan Government is surprised that air strikes and arm troop assaults will occur as retaliation for what the Taliban is doing. It is clear that Pakistan never contemplated the consequences of their actions.
My fear is that Nato, the U.S., and the Afghan Government will one day make a decision that Pakistan is not a reliable partner in this war against the Taliban and their Al Qaeda allies, and that they will no longer be consulted on future operations. This is not the case for now .... but the attack on a safe house in Pakistan this week is a clear sign that Pakistan's neighbors are losing patience.