Pakistan, Afghanistan agree on fighting militants

[Onlooker]

Source: Reuters

KABUL (Reuters) - The presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan pledged on Sunday to work together to combat the common security threat of Taliban and al Qaeda militants.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf addressed the closing session of a gathering, or jirga, of Afghan and Pakistani politicians and tribal elders in the Afghan capital Kabul aiming to bring the two often-feuding U.S. allies closer together.

"The joint peace jirga strongly recognises the fact that terrorism is a common threat to both countries and the war on terror should continue to be an integral part of the national policies and security strategies of both countries," said a declaration agreed by jirga delegates.

"There is no other option for both countries other than peace and unity, trust and cooperation," Musharraf told the jirga. "There is no justification for resorting to terrorism."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070812/ts_nm/afghan_pakistan_dc

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It's unbelievable that it's taken 6 years to come only this far in getting our two key allies in the fight against Al Qaeda to cooperate with each other. That it's taken this long is a big failure by the Bush team.

[EFerrari]

1. They had to wait that long for us to get the hell out of their way. n/t

[The Magistrate]

2. Not Worth The Paper It Is Written On, Ma'am

If it is written down at all....

The I.S.I. will continue its patronage towards both the Taliban and al Queda, and the Pakistani military will continue not to dare enter the tribal areas in force.

[EFerrari]

3. I recently watched a lecture given here somewhere - likely DC --

by the governor of a Pakistani large western province. He gave a pretty scathing critique of the American approach to the war on terra, and the crux of his argument was that one shouldn't handle local insurgents with the same tactics that are used against global terrorists.

One thing he said surprised me, though, because I thought I understood the precarious balancing of power and influence between the official government and the ISI. He said, it wasn't in the better interests of Pakistan to tolerate al Qaida or the Taliban because since the war in Afghanistan, the chaos was spilling over into Pakistan as have millions of Afghani refugees.

Now, I didn't take that to mean the ISI would stop their manipulation of those groups or that the military would charge into the tribal areas. But it sounded, to me anyway, as if some balance had been upset and as though there was a struggle on in Pakistan to regain it.

/oops

[The Magistrate]

4. It Is, Ma'am, A 'Can't Tell The Players Without A Score-Card' Situation, Unfortunately

I make no claim to fine-grain knowledge of the place, and it would be necessary to know who the speaker was, and what faction he is aligned with, to get a full sense of what he pressing for. It is certainly true that the fighting has a destabilizing effect on Pakistan, and this is of great concern to moderate political figures, of the wing that aligns with the pre-Musharref political structures, typified by the Chief Justice recently restored to office. But for the I.S.I., maintaining the struggle in Kashmir is the predominant aim, and in this, both the domestic jihadis of Pakistan, as well as the Taliban and al Queda, have been and are still invaluable assets.

Musharref is being caught in a vise, assailed both from his 'religious right' and his 'bourgeois left'. The quashing of the 'Red Mosque' militants was an attempt to check the former and placate the latter, but it does not seem to have helped him much in either direction. Things are pretty near the point where our patronage is of no use to him at all, if not already at it. It is hard to foresee a good outcome to the situation.

[EFerrari]

5. Here is a link - the first entry describes the speaker, with a link to video.

It was interesting, and almost as much for what Mr. Ghani didn't say or said indirectly. The more I learn about the complexity of the situation, the more hamfisted our government seems. :shrug:

http://www.c-span.org/Search/advanced.asp?AdvancedQueryText=Pakistan&StartDateMonth=7&StartDateYear=2007&EndDateMonth=8&EndDateYear=2007&Series=&ProgramIssue=International&QueryType=&QueryTextOptions=&ResultCount=25&SortBy=date

[Yupster]

6. Mushareff's recent book

is quite an interesting read. Makes himself look good, but what memoir doesn't. Very short and readable though.