Jun 12 2008
US Not At Fault In Pakistan-Afghanistan Border Clash
The US released its UAV Predator images showing militants from Pakistan firing upon coalition forces (Afghan and maybe US) inside Afghanistan, which earned them some guided munitions in response. Â It is important video and there is no Frontier Corps outpost in the video:
Update: In some of these shots you can see what looks like the border behind the AAF fighters (dirt road or cleared swath). It makes sense that the border has been clearly demarcated so that everyone is aware of which country they are in and what rules of engagement are to be employed. – end update.
Note that there are more and more reports that the Frontier Corps soldiers joined the Taliban fighters, probably to give them cover fire as they retreated back into Pakistan.
Indications that Pakistani soldiers were fighting alongside Taliban forces against Afghan army and US units in the border area will also bolster critics of US policy who argue that the Pakistani military is playing a “double game” and can no longer be trusted. All the same, should NATO “lose” Pakistan, it would be a devastating setback.
While the precise circumstances of the incident remain unclear, an eye witness, Taliban spokesman Zubair Mujahid, who represents the Taliban’s commanders for Kunar and Nooristan provinces in Afghanistan, told Asia Times Online by telephone: “The multiple Taliban groups operating on both sides of the border – in the Afghan Kunar Valley and in Mohmand Agency – spotted NATO forces launching into Mohmand Agency’s mountain-top Sarhasoko military post (below).
“We realized the Pakistani troops were struggling against the NATO forces so we activated our networks all over the area,” Zubair said.
“The Pakistani security forces were under siege and were at the point of being evacuated from the post when we opened fire on them [NATO] from several positions. Our attack was so unexpected for NATO that they had to retreat. The Pakistan army lost 11 soldiers, the Taliban lost eight and NATO lost 20 soldiers during the operation.”
As I noted in the previous posts this story makes no sense unless the soldiers of the Frontier Corps were actually Taliban allies, placed in the Corps so they could look the other way when their Taliban allies execute their cross-border attacks into Afghanistan. It is the only reason the Taliban would come to the aid of Pakistani soldiers. And the Frontier Corps is recruited from local tribes. It seems someone in the Pak Military or ISI is letting Taliban rebels man the border outposts.
BTW, the article linked above has a good historic perspective on how we find ourselves here.
AJ, watch these event unfolding in Maysan provice Iraq closely. This one is going to be a major big deal and could possibly whack a nest of Iranian hornets. This one is going to leave a mark on the Quds operating in Iraq.
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Thisis just another Haditha scheme. Nothing but PR. It is strictly the Pakistanis covering their asses. They don’t want to admit that there is a faction within their army that sympathizes with the Taliban and Al Quaeda. They also don’t want the rest of the world to know they are not 100% against the GWOT.
Thanks CP – will do.
[…] the involved an hours long fire fight between US forces-Afghan forces and Pakistan-Taliban forces here, here, here, here and here. Â To summarize I speculated that the Pak Frontier Corps (FC) outpost […]