American, Pakistani troops exchange fire on Afghan border

Friday 26th September, 08:10 AM JST

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skipthesong at 01:47 PM JST - 26th September

not impose state law there, but to join the Jihadis in their fight against the American kuffars." WilliB, well, if you look at in one way, you can say they are joining the winning team.
techall at 01:57 PM JST - 26th September

skipthesong:

Are you really saying that the Taliban and Al Qaida are the "winning team"?
CavemanLawyer at 02:03 PM JST - 26th September

With allies like these....

I think this line might belong to the Pakistanis.
skipthesong at 02:55 PM JST - 26th September

Are you really saying that the Taliban and Al Qaida are the "winning team"?" winning team? No, I meant, it seems to me, that they are winning.

After all the money that was given to Pakistan, I wonder why such a hostile move against the coalition forces.. I can understand friction over the incursions, but to go to such lengths is, to me, a bit un-ordinary, not even expected.
JackDorff at 02:57 PM JST - 26th September

Pakistan has enough problems in the border regions. It certainly doesn't need them compounded. It's true that bin Laden's residence there--if in fact he is there--also serves to compound the problem, but the government of Pakistan probably has more reason to neutralize bin Laden than we do.

SezWho2 - Yes, but only because hes now inconveniencing them. They were all pretty good buddies there for a while. In fact, GWBs "Youre either with us or against" line was aimed squarely at the likes of Pakistan. The Pakistan government knew that theyd have a less than cosy time siding with the Taliban, so they went with the US. However, they still have a lot of sympathy for Bin Laden.
WilliB at 03:21 PM JST - 26th September

techall:

" The problem with the Pakistani military is that a lot of them are Islamic hardliners and don't necessarily follow the orders of the central government when it comes to rooting out the taliban and AQ." "

That is an understatement if I ever saw one. Do assume that there are no islamic hardliners in the central government? Optimism lives...
techall at 03:25 PM JST - 26th September

WilliB:

The government is, at least in principle, a partner in the war on terror as evidenced in recent bilateral statements. However the military is very much split in their loyalties.
Nippon5 at 05:42 PM JST - 26th September

I have to disagree with the comment the Pakinstans have a better idea where the border is then the UN.. Im going on a limb here but the UN is using GPS and the Pakistan guys are using ???? I would guess that most of the soldiers in the Pakistan army havent been in this area enough to be experts on border location... I would like to see someone go to the border of the US and Canada in a wooded area and show me the countries line with out a gps showing you...
goodDonkey at 06:40 PM JST - 26th September

Bush was saving the American-Iranian war for just before he left office. The American-Pakastani war is just a bonus.
SezWho2 at 06:43 PM JST - 26th September

JackDorff,

When was bin Laden a good buddy to the Pakistani government? I think the leaders of Pakistan have at best been ambivalent about bin Laden since at least 1990 or so. They have not wanted to court trouble with the tribal regions. When bin Laden was in Afghanistan, the tribal regions were a buffer. If he's now in the tribal regions, the story is different.
neverknow2 at 11:57 PM JST - 26th September

America should stay OUT of Pakistan. America is NOT the centre of the world
neverknow2 at 12:00 AM JST - 27th September

Terrorism is bad. Terrorism has ruined our planet. But... still... America is NOT the centre of the world. Pakistan has every right to fire at 'invading' US troops. Don't forget, Pakistan has nuclear capabilities.
JackDorff at 12:30 AM JST - 27th September

SezWho2,

In the late 90s the US were asking Pakistan to pressure the Taliban to surrender Bin Laden. Pakistan paid no attention to the requests and kept on providing support to the Taliban. Maybe the Pakistan govt. werent wearing "Osama Bin Ladin - HERO" t-shirts, but they didn`t appear too concerned about putting an end to his activities.
techall at 11:38 AM JST - 27th September

neverknow2:

So who do you think Pakistan should Nuke? There is a broad coalition fighting in Afghanistan and, unlike Iraq, the struggle to root out terrorists there enjoys broad support. The Taliban and Al Qaida terrorists cross the border from Pakistan into Afghanistan and kill French and British and other coalition troops just as often as they kill Americans and then cross back into Pakistan wher the tribal leaders give them refuge and support. If the Pakistanis don't want anyone crossing their borders they should make sure NO ONE crosses their borders.
SezWho2 at 08:57 AM JST - 30th September

JackDorff,

Sorry not to have gotten back to you sooner. Computer problems.

The situation you describe hardly amounts to being good buddies with the Taliban. There have always been elements within Pakistan that were sympathetic to or even advocates for the Taliban. In the late 90s, the government of Pakistan as a whole did not support the Taliban but was hardly in a position to take strong action against them. It was only after the bloodless coup, the rise of Musharraf and his consolidation of power that Pakistan was able to do anything effective.