U.S. weighs expanded covert war in Pakistan: report

U.S. weighs expanded covert war in Pakistan: report

www.reuters.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and his national security advisers are considering expanding the covert U.S. war in Pakistan far beyond the tribal areas near the border with Afghanistan, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

Two high-level reports on Pakistan and Afghanistan that have been forwarded to the White House in recent weeks have called for broadening the target area to reach the Taliban and other insurgent groups to a major sanctuary in and around the city of Quetta, the newspaper said on its website, citing senior administration officials.

Missile strikes by Central Intelligence Agency-operated drones have until now been limited to the tribal areas, and never been extended into Baluchistan, a sprawling province under the authority of Pakistan's central government, and which is next to parts of Afghanistan where recent fighting has been fiercest, the newspaper website said.

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I was under the impression that Pakistan had finally started to get on these border towns harboring the terrorists? Why all of the sudden are we up in arms and ready to move farther into their country? Have the drones not been giving a decisive enough display on what to bomb or not bomb?

from article:
Many of Obama's advisers are also urging him to sustain orders issued last summer by former President George W. Bush to continue Predator drone attacks against a wider range of targets in the tribal areas, and to conduct cross-border ground actions, using CIA and Special Operations commandos.

Now I distinctly remember him saying we wouldn't be in Iraq and continuing Bush and Co's assaults. So It looks like we are now going to invade them too.

www.reuters.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 18-3-2009 by xoxo stacie]

yeah i'm sure pakistan will just stand by and watch spooks run around their cities in coyote vs. road runner type skitz. no chance.
pakistan will react militarily in response to trespass and afganistan will expand into the afpakistan conflict.

reply to post by spearhead


I wonder if this has anything to do with the suicide bombing that killed 11 and wounded 23 of the poppy eradication unit that was getting ready to pull out? I don't remember them saying they knew exactly who did it, although they thought the incident "may" have been retaliation by the drug lords. Kind of odd if you ask me they have been straight shooting back not bombing people as far as the news reports have gone from out of there.