Boots On the Ground, Egg On the Face

Friends,
Pakistan is vital to any sort of win in our next "big war" in Afghanistan. They are electing, today, Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's widower who has been previously convicted of financial corruption. Without the help of the Pakistani army in the tribal areas adjoining Afghanistan,
any chances of a win against the taliban are nil. So the U.S. sends troops into Pakistan two days before the election and kills a number of civilians. Is there no one in charge? How stupid is it to invade a country and kill civilians just before a national election? We need to have Pakistan as an ally. This is a horrid start to a very important game.

Peace and Love,
Rev O

Pakistan angry over territorial intrusion Financial Times of London
By Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad

"Pakistan on Thursday vowed to defend its territory against foreign intrusion as anger mounted after a raid on a border village, which US officials confirmed had been carried out by special forces."

“We have a resolve and we have national consensus in Pakistan to defend our territorial integrity,” Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the foreign minister, told parliament. “We will not compromise on any violation of our sovereignty”.

"Reuters quoted US Pentagon officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirming that the raid was conducted by US special operations forces. They were targeting suspected al Qaeda operatives which signalled a possible intensification of American efforts to disrupt militant safe havens in Pakistan."

"However, senior Pakistani diplomats said the raid had strained relations with the US in spite of earlier undertakings that the new government would continue co-operation with US and Nato forces fighting Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan."

“This was a complete botch up. The Americans went wild upon receiving what has turned out to be very faulty intelligence” said one Pakistani diplomat. “The Americans put boots on the ground and got egg on their face”.

"However, western diplomats said that Wednesday’s cross-border raid was likely to make the popular mood increasingly hostile to the government as well as Washington. "