US, Afghans, Pakistan see 'common threat'

[Turborama]

Source: AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States vowed Thursday to fight a common threat of terrorism, pledging to chart out a new strategy despite sharp differences simmering below the surface. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the three countries would hold a regular dialogue after she met in Washington with the South Asian neighbors' foreign ministers for talks she called "valuable and unprecedented. Our three nations have a common goal, a common threat and a common task. And my government commits itself to our friends and to the success of this common endeavor," Clinton told reporters.

She said the next trilateral talks were set tentatively for late April or early May.

President Barack Obama has vowed a new focus on fighting a resurgent Taliban and Al-Qaeda in the region and is sending 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan as his administration winds down the US involvement in Iraq. Afghan Defense Minister Mohammad Rahim Wardak, who came to Washington for the talks, welcomed the fresh deployments and hoped they would help rid the country of remnants of the Taliban regime, which was ousted in the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. "We can expect 2009 to be a critical year and we should be prepared for the challenges and yet we are optimistic to turn the tide in our favor," Wardak told a Washington think tank. "We still lack sufficient forces and equipment to hold our gains and to facilitate good governance and development. "The requirements of our national security forces are urgent and undeniable," he added.

The three-way meeting comes as relations sharply improve between Kabul and Islamabad after civilian Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari took over last year from former army chief Pervez Musharraf. But Zardari's government has remained under pressure from both Kabul and Washington, which are concerned that insurgents fleeing Afghanistan enjoy a virtual safe haven in Pakistan's lawless border areas. Richard Holbrooke, the US envoy to the region, has voiced dismay after Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire with pro-Taliban militants in Pakistan's Swat Valley in a deal that includes the imposition of Islamic sharia law.

=snip=

His Afghan counterpart, Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, said that while he strongly supported the new Zardari government, nuclear-armed Pakistan remained a top worry for Afghanistan as it fights militants. "My thesis is that the main threat center for instability in the world is not Iraq, it is not Afghanistan, it is much more Pakistan," Spanta said. "If Pakistan becomes a failed state, it is a serious threat for you, for us and for the entire region."

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jjmhS-i7yonN1iXJaJbRwnFXyP_Q

---

I watched this quite shocking two part documentary series about extremists in Pakistan the other day; it really gave a good insight regarding the situation in Pakistan, how it affects the ongoing war in Afghanistan and helped me understand why it is so very important that we fix this terrible mess that Cheney/Bush have gotten us into properly. What worries me most about all this is that Pakistan has nuclear weapons and we have to do whatever it takes to make sure they DO NOT fall into the wrong hands...

I thoroughly recommend that anyone who wants to get a better understanding of what's really going on in that region takes the time to watch it all the way through.

Pakistan's War: The Battle Within
In this exclusive two-part series, Rageh Omaar travels from the capital, Islamabad, to the tribal heartlands to chart the spread of suicide bombings and the escalation of violence that has turned Pakistan into a war zone.


Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XJZnESwcgo

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30tGS-xDJg0

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px4lhZzaRpA

Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAVv1epfbqk


Pakistan's War: On the Front Line
In the second part of his special series Pakistan's War, Rageh Omaar gets exclusive access to the Pakistani army in their full-scale military offensive against fighters on the frontier with Afghanistan.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQB-IgktVEM

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u43ngbDH6og

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WmQTxwXrhA

Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k3XGlO7rWI


You can also bookmark this page which has all the links and a synopsis if you want to save it for later:

Pakistan's War
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/general/2008/12/200812211123302404.html

[ihavenobias]

1. Wow, thanks for putting this together!

K & R

[ohio2007]

4. thread worth saving for the links alone.

people don't like to comment on these "non rose colored glasses" subjects

[No Elephants]

2. K & R

[ohio2007]

3. And China,India,Russia , Iran don't see a threat ?

AN isolated valley in Pakistan isn't the bottom of the swamp imo

[ihavenobias]

5. Kick n/t

[ohio2007]

6. Gunmen ambush Pakistan school minibus: police

....
The bus was ambushed outside the town of Hangu in the country's troubled North West Frontier Province, which borders Afghanistan and is plagued by sectarian violence as well as Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

"Unknown gunmen fired at the school van carrying Shiite students. The driver was killed, two children were injured, while six appear to have been kidnapped by the attackers," local police station chief Saeed Khan told AFP.



...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090227/wl_sthasia_afp/pakistanunrestsectarian

"The Distance Between Swat and Islamabad is Not Much... All Pakistan's Cities are Within the Taliban's Reach - Lahore, Faisalabad, Karachi, Hyderabad, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad"

[Turborama]

7. Now they're kidnapping school kids? WTF? BTW, here's a map that

shows how close the Swat valley is to Islamabad...

[ohio2007]

8. Taliban kills Shia school children in Pakistan ( to go w/ the map )

Why, maybe Tehran can get the Pak ambassador on the carpet and get the US to recognize the true threat against the region is spreading.... like the cancer it is
from its wahabi roots dug in deep


Moderate Sunni groups and political activists protest against Shia blockade and killings in Parachinar
yeah, Good luck with that peace comittee sit in tactic...

as the 'breaking news' story is swept under the rug, burried deep by western media standards.

Taliban kills Shia school children in Pakistan

The Taliban insurgents in northwestern Pakistan ambush a minibus carrying Shia children to school, killing three and injuring several others. At least eight other Shia Muslim children appear to have been kidnapped by the attackers. The incident happened on Friday morning outside the town of Hangu in the troubled North West Frontier Province, state-run television PTV reported.

The driver of the minibus was also killed in the lethal attack.

The death toll is expected to rise as some of the injured children are said to be in critical condition, according to medics.

Hangu is located about 175 kilometers (110 miles) west of the capital Islamabad.

Taliban-linked militants in Parachinar, Hangu towns and the other areas of the Kurram tribal agency have killed 25 to 30 people on a daily basis during the last six months, local media reports say.

Some reports have cited grave human rights abuses against Shias in the northwestern Pakistani city of Parachinar
Taliban has established its rule in the restive Swat valley and its influence is also rapidly increasing its grip on the major cities and even the so-called settled areas of the country.


snip

Moderate Pakistani Sunni groups believe that leaving Shias at the mercy of the Taliban is a conspiracy against the country. Earlier, Tehran cautioned Islamabad over the 'silent massacre' of its Shia community by the Taliban in the country.

"The incidents that have occurred against Pakistan's Shia community are a plot to create conflict between the region's Sunni and Shia population," said Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani.

"We have warned Islamabad over the incidents and we will pursue the matter," he added.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=86937§ionid=351020401

'Moderate' Pakistani Sunni groups should sit down with the 'fundie' Sunni groups for an open forum discussion....don't forget to video weblink it live ;) for future reference.


Seems Pakistan is in denial


http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/nwfp/taliban-lost-border-region-gen-khan--qs

[ohio2007]

9. Class Dismissed in Swat Valley ( NYTimes video )

Class Dismissed in Swat Valley

A short documentary profiling an 11-year-old Pakistani girl on the last day before the Taliban close down her school.
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/02/22/world/asia/1194838044017/class-dismissed-in-swat-valley.html

The video isn't breaking news, just a recap of life in Swat valley under the fundies and their 'No (male) Child left Behind' policy for a father that runs an all girls school.

imo
He won't live to see 2010 staying there running that buisness...and his 11 yr old daughter is going to catch the eye of a righteous man soon if not already.

"she ain't getting any younger"