US Takes Gloves Off With Pakistan

[cosmicone]

Admiral Mike Mullen’s warning that Pakistan is using extremism as an instrument of policy marked a major change in US tone. Will Pakistan respond?

You could be forgiven for dismissing the latest diplomatic spat between the United States and Pakistan as just another hiccup in a long-estranged marriage. Trading accusations and navigating diplomatic crises has become a weekly affair for this deeply troubled alliance. But the broadside launched against Pakistan by the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in congressional testimony on September 22 represents a rupture so dramatic that its significance is difficult to overstate.

On Thursday, Adm. Mike Mullen told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Pakistan was using ‘violent extremism as an instrument of policy’ and said the Haqqani network, Af-Pak’s deadliest militant outfit, ‘acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan’s Internal Services Intelligence Agency.’ Mullen further explained that Pakistan was using militant proxies to ‘hedge their bets’ in Afghanistan, adding, ‘in reality, they have already lost that bet.’ To be sure, independent analysts and former government officials have been airing such complaints for years. But never in the long, dark history of the Afghan war have serving officials so unequivocally called Pakistan to account for its double game.

Pakistan’s reaction was swift but uninspiring. The country’s new foreign minister warned that the United States ‘cannot afford to alienate Pakistan,’ while Mahmood Shah, a former army brigadier, explained that the US is simply ‘mak(ing) Pakistan the scapegoat for (its) failures in Afghanistan.’ Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani added: ‘They can’t live with us. They can’t live without us.’

http://the-diplomat.com/2011/09/25/us-takes-gloves-off-with-pakistan/

It is about time US cut off all aid to Pakistan, both civilian and military while supporting the Free Baluchistan rebels to start the balkanization of Pakistan.

[Syrinx]

1. the Paks are terrorist supporting shitheads

But so are our "revered allies," the Saudis.

And so are our even more revered allies, the Israelis.

And so are we. By "we," I mean our own corporate-run government -- the military-industrial-media complex.

The world is made up of people. And people are assholes.

[JCMach1]

5. You are correct... It is also wrong to think of Pakistan as one power center at the moment

There is the civilian government, organized crime, the military establishment, the security apparatus (ISI).

None of them control the country.

[ellisonz]

2. Balkanizing Pakistan would be far worse than the namesake.

Will never happen.

[Firebrand Gary]

3. If is were the previous administration I might agree with the "scapegoat" label

However President Obama has shown himself to be far more pragmatic and strategic for such a simplistic accusation. Case in point, review the guest list for the 2009 state dinner. Adm Mullen's account does raise an eyebrow.

Pakistan's double game has been known for years, are we finally laying the groundwork for a new path? Who knows?

[MadHound]

4. It is time for the US to bring the troops home

Getting further involved with Pakistan simply means that we'll be militarily involved in that region for another ten years, and with still nothing to show for it when we're done.

[JCMach1]

6. The CIA has been at war with the Pakistani ISI since Obama took office

and the CIA has been winning.

Obama dared to do what Bush never would and it is paying off with real gains against the terrorists.