Tweet
Terrorists would love us to fight against Pakistan | The Sun |Features
Terrorists would love us to fight against Pakistan
THE clash between Pakistani troops and US gunships has brought the countries to the brink of war.
Pakistan say 24 soldiers died in the American helicopter strike last weekend.
The US say they were Afghan Taliban fighters being sheltered at a border post. The Pakistanis deny this and say gung-ho American pilots fired wildly.
This might have just been a tragic accident but deep distrust has grown up between Washington and Islamabad.
Since Americans discovered Osama Bin Laden hiding in Pakistan in May, the country has gone from being an ally in the war on terror to No1 suspect.
Believing Pakistani generals help the Taliban and their allies has led the US military to step up attacks on Pakistani territory.
Neither side wants to back down but each step in this deadly game of dare pushes both closer to the edge.
Pakistan is a vital route for Nato convoys taking supplies to 150,000 troops in Afghanistan. Now it is blocked, their lives will be more difficult. If Pakistan drops all pretence of policing the frontier and lets more Taliban fighters cross, life for our troops will be much more dangerous.
Some American politicians talk glibly about war. They forget Pakistan is a big country with seven times as many people as Afghanistan — and it has the Bomb.
War with a nuclear-armed Pakistan would be stupid. Their bombs can't reach Washington or London, but they can make a big hole where a British base was in Helmand.
Worse still, pushing Pakistan into open hostility could persuade some angry nuclear specialist to hand his bomb to terrorists.
David Cameron must remind Washington the US might not have kith and kin in Pakistan — but the UK does. British troops in Afghanistan could easily be drawn into an American war with Pakistan.
That would put British Muslims in a far worse position than war in Afghanistan or Iraq. It is in our vital interest US-Pakistan tensions are calmed.
With British troops in Helmand, Whitehall has a common interest with the White House in stopping aid to the Taliban getting across the Pakistani border.
But starting another war is not the way to win the one in Afghanistan.
Going into Iraq before Afghanistan had been won should remind Washington widening the war is not the same as winning it.
That doesn't mean Pakistan isn't an unreliable partner. But defeating the Taliban in Afghanistan won't be made easier by picking a fight with Pakistan. That's what the terrorists want.
Mark Almond is visiting professor in international relations at Bilkent University, Turkey.
Terrorists would love us to fight against Pakistan
THE clash between Pakistani troops and US gunships has brought the countries to the brink of war.
Pakistan say 24 soldiers died in the American helicopter strike last weekend.
The US say they were Afghan Taliban fighters being sheltered at a border post. The Pakistanis deny this and say gung-ho American pilots fired wildly.
This might have just been a tragic accident but deep distrust has grown up between Washington and Islamabad.
Since Americans discovered Osama Bin Laden hiding in Pakistan in May, the country has gone from being an ally in the war on terror to No1 suspect.
Believing Pakistani generals help the Taliban and their allies has led the US military to step up attacks on Pakistani territory.
Neither side wants to back down but each step in this deadly game of dare pushes both closer to the edge.
Pakistan is a vital route for Nato convoys taking supplies to 150,000 troops in Afghanistan. Now it is blocked, their lives will be more difficult. If Pakistan drops all pretence of policing the frontier and lets more Taliban fighters cross, life for our troops will be much more dangerous.
Some American politicians talk glibly about war. They forget Pakistan is a big country with seven times as many people as Afghanistan — and it has the Bomb.
War with a nuclear-armed Pakistan would be stupid. Their bombs can't reach Washington or London, but they can make a big hole where a British base was in Helmand.
Worse still, pushing Pakistan into open hostility could persuade some angry nuclear specialist to hand his bomb to terrorists.
David Cameron must remind Washington the US might not have kith and kin in Pakistan — but the UK does. British troops in Afghanistan could easily be drawn into an American war with Pakistan.
That would put British Muslims in a far worse position than war in Afghanistan or Iraq. It is in our vital interest US-Pakistan tensions are calmed.
With British troops in Helmand, Whitehall has a common interest with the White House in stopping aid to the Taliban getting across the Pakistani border.
But starting another war is not the way to win the one in Afghanistan.
Going into Iraq before Afghanistan had been won should remind Washington widening the war is not the same as winning it.
That doesn't mean Pakistan isn't an unreliable partner. But defeating the Taliban in Afghanistan won't be made easier by picking a fight with Pakistan. That's what the terrorists want.
Mark Almond is visiting professor in international relations at Bilkent University, Turkey.
Comment