Obama To Pakistan: So Sorry For Protecting Our Troops
War On Terror: If there's one thing this administration is good at, it's apologizing. In the latest outrage, it has asked Islamabad to forgive our military for protecting troops from Pakistani ambush.
In an obscene capitulation, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton apologized Tuesday for the coalition airstrike that justifiably killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last year.
The bombing of two Pakistani border posts came in response to unprovoked attacks from the posts on our troops stationed across the border in Afghanistan.
In other words, U.S. soldiers took sustained fire from Pakistan's army, and naturally, our military retaliated. It was not an accident. It was an ambush by our double-crossing ally, and hardly the first.
A few years earlier, Pakistani commandos and plainclothes agents ambushed U.S. officers during a high-level meeting on the Afghan border, killing a U.S. Army major in cold blood. The incident was covered up by Washington.:cool2:
But attacks have become so frequent that our troops can no longer just duck and cover while pretending Pakistan has our back in this war. They have to return fire to protect the lives of U.S. and NATO soldiers.
U.S. commanders on the ground were fuming over the latest ambush when it took place back in November. So was Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who refused demands by Islamabad for a formal apology.
So why the apology now, more than seven months later? Because Islamabad outsmarted and outmaneuvered this administration. It cut off two major coalition supply routes running through Pakistan to bases in Afghanistan, costing the U.S. more than $2 billion.
Instead of following through with threats to cut off billions in aid to Islamabad, the administration blinked. Clinton said in a statement she was "pleased" to announce the reopening of the routes.
Despite Pakistan's betrayals, aid continues to flow.
The administration has shown that the sticks that come with its carrots are made of straw. Its threats are hollow, and Islamabad has called its bluff.
Yet it's Pakistan who should be apologizing to America for killing our troops, both directly and by proxy, while secretly sponsoring the insurgency in Afghanistan. It's Pakistan, moreover, that should be apologizing to Americans for sheltering and protecting Osama bin Laden and other 9/11 masterminds.
The only way to end Islamabad's double-game is to make credible threats and actually follow through with them if Pakistan does not comply with U.S. demands.
Offer rewards, such as more aid, only in return for verifiable cooperation. Threats should include: withholding both military and civilian funds, cutting off intelligence-sharing, ramping up U.S. drone strikes on terror targets inside Pakistan, launching cross-border special ops raids and strengthening U.S. ties with India.
If these sticks don't bring Islamabad in line, the U.S. must be willing to blacklist Pakistan as a state sponsor of terror and reimpose pre-9/11 nuclear sanctions.
Meantime, the only thing we should be sorry for is trusting terror-sponsoring Pakistan to be a reliable ally in the war on terror.
War On Terror: If there's one thing this administration is good at, it's apologizing. In the latest outrage, it has asked Islamabad to forgive our military for protecting troops from Pakistani ambush.
In an obscene capitulation, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton apologized Tuesday for the coalition airstrike that justifiably killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last year.
The bombing of two Pakistani border posts came in response to unprovoked attacks from the posts on our troops stationed across the border in Afghanistan.
In other words, U.S. soldiers took sustained fire from Pakistan's army, and naturally, our military retaliated. It was not an accident. It was an ambush by our double-crossing ally, and hardly the first.
A few years earlier, Pakistani commandos and plainclothes agents ambushed U.S. officers during a high-level meeting on the Afghan border, killing a U.S. Army major in cold blood. The incident was covered up by Washington.:cool2:
But attacks have become so frequent that our troops can no longer just duck and cover while pretending Pakistan has our back in this war. They have to return fire to protect the lives of U.S. and NATO soldiers.
U.S. commanders on the ground were fuming over the latest ambush when it took place back in November. So was Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who refused demands by Islamabad for a formal apology.
So why the apology now, more than seven months later? Because Islamabad outsmarted and outmaneuvered this administration. It cut off two major coalition supply routes running through Pakistan to bases in Afghanistan, costing the U.S. more than $2 billion.
Instead of following through with threats to cut off billions in aid to Islamabad, the administration blinked. Clinton said in a statement she was "pleased" to announce the reopening of the routes.
Despite Pakistan's betrayals, aid continues to flow.
The administration has shown that the sticks that come with its carrots are made of straw. Its threats are hollow, and Islamabad has called its bluff.
Yet it's Pakistan who should be apologizing to America for killing our troops, both directly and by proxy, while secretly sponsoring the insurgency in Afghanistan. It's Pakistan, moreover, that should be apologizing to Americans for sheltering and protecting Osama bin Laden and other 9/11 masterminds.
The only way to end Islamabad's double-game is to make credible threats and actually follow through with them if Pakistan does not comply with U.S. demands.
Offer rewards, such as more aid, only in return for verifiable cooperation. Threats should include: withholding both military and civilian funds, cutting off intelligence-sharing, ramping up U.S. drone strikes on terror targets inside Pakistan, launching cross-border special ops raids and strengthening U.S. ties with India.
If these sticks don't bring Islamabad in line, the U.S. must be willing to blacklist Pakistan as a state sponsor of terror and reimpose pre-9/11 nuclear sanctions.
Meantime, the only thing we should be sorry for is trusting terror-sponsoring Pakistan to be a reliable ally in the war on terror.