Pakistan 2008 is Afghanistan 2001

[Bonestorm]

Some depressing news from the GAO:

The United States has not met its national security goals to destroy terrorist threats and close the safe haven in Pakistan’s FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas). Since 2002, the United States relied principally on the Pakistan military to address U.S. national security goals. Of the approximately $5.8 billion the United States provided for efforts in the FATA and border region from 2002 through 2007, about 96 percent reimbursed Pakistan for military operations there. According to the Department of State, Pakistan deployed 120,000 military and paramilitary forces in the FATA and helped kill and capture hundreds of suspected al Qaeda operatives; these efforts cost the lives of approximately 1,400 members of Pakistan’s security forces. However, GAO found broad agreement, as documented in the National Intelligence Estimate, State, and embassy documents, as well as Defense officials in Pakistan, that al Qaeda had regenerated its ability to attack the United States and had succeeded in establishing a safe haven in Pakistan’s FATA.

But we can't leave Iraq because the terrorists will claim victory. Seems to me that they've already won.


http://hcfa.house.gov/110/GAO041708.pdf

[uscitizen]

umm I won't even remind anyyone how I predicted Pakistan would turn out. them being such good allies of ours and all that.

[Onceler]

Boy, am I interested to hear Sean Hannity's reaction to a President Obama striking Pakistan.

[Bonestorm]

To be fair, the report talks focuses on the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on the border with Afghanistan that are largely outside the control of the Pakistani government.

[bob]

To be fair, the report talks focuses on the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on the border with Afghanistan that are largely outside the control of the Pakistani government.

that area would remain a problem even if we didn't invade iraq

[uscitizen]

Yep Pakistan was already a Problem. Just goes to show you just can't rent good allies any more.

[Bonestorm]

that area would remain a problem even if we didn't invade iraq

Yeah, because everyone knows that the 150-200,000 troops, hundreds of billions (trillions?) of dollars, vast amounts of military equipment, along with the single-minded focus of the most skilled strategic thinkers in Pentagon, State Department, NSC, etc. . . on and in Iraq really frees up a whole hell of a lot of space for the United States to develop a coherent comprehensive strategy for dealing with the threat of Al Qaeda.

Further, maybe the problem would exist, but at least we may have developed a coherent strategy to deal with it, unlike now where we just throw a couple of billion bucks at the Musharraf government.