Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was in Kabul on Thursday, and he was complaining about Pakistan’s failure to do more against the al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani terrorist network. This is from the AP report on Secretary Panetta’s visit:
“As U.S. forces draw down in neighboring Afghanistan, the Americans appear to be pushing Pakistan harder than ever before to squeeze insurgents who find sanctuary within its borders. ,,,
Panetta repeatedly emphasized U.S. frustration with attackers crossing the border from Pakistan. It is essential that Pakistan stop ‘allowing terrorists to use their country as a safety net in order to conduct their attacks on our forces,’ he said alongside Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak.
‘We have made that very clear time and time again and we will continue to do that, but as I said, we are reaching the limits of our patience,’ Panetta said.”
I understand why Secretary Panetta wants Pakistan to act. What I don’t understand is why he thinks they will – or at least why he thinks the United States has much influence with Pakistan anymore. After all, the article continues:
“The U.S. clearly wants Pakistan to take on the Haqqanis before the bulk of U.S. troops have left the region by the end of 2014. …
The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Marine Gen. John Allen, has to withdraw 23,000 American troops by the end of September, leaving about 68,000 U.S. military personnel in the country. Once the 23,000 U.S. troops depart, Allen is expected to review how the fighting season is going and then will begin to put together an analysis for Obama on how troop withdrawals will proceed next year.”
We’re leaving. Why do we think the Pakistanis, or anybody else (except maybe some people in Afghanistan who need our money even after 2014), are going to listen to us? Once we’re gone, the Haqqanis will still be there. If you were Pakistan, who would you try to get along with, the people who are leaving in less than two years or the people who will still be there once the other people have gone?
President Obama has said we are leaving, no matter what. If that is his position, and I have no reason to doubt him, why would anybody ally with us against the people who will still be around after we are gone? The Pakistanis may have their problems, but stupidity is not one of them.
If Secretary Panetta wants to complain about people in Afghanistan and Pakistan not cooperating with us, instead of complaining in Kabul, maybe he should complain in Washington – to the person who set the policy of “bugging out” that gives these people no reason to listen to us or trust us.
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