Pakistan Isn’t Cambodia: Denver Post

Posted by reasonmclucus

I’ve seen occasional recent references comparing Pakistan to Cambodia during the Vietnam War. If the Bush administration, or Barack Obama, thinks the two are comparable it is making the biggest miscalculation since the U.S. made the mistake of getting too close to China in the Korean War. Obama wants to expand the current Bush attacks on border areas to include an attack on Osama bin Laden where ever he might be in Pakistan.

U.N. forces had routed the North Korea Army and appeared to on the verge of winning when China became concerned that the Americans might decide to go ahead and conquer China as well because China had been supplying the North Koreans. China responded by sending in its army. President Harry Truman decided that it was best not to antagonize the Chinese any more than necessary and prohibited bombing supply bases in China.

Enemies using sanctuaries isn’t a new situation for the U.S. Andrew Jackson faced such a situation along the border of what was then Spanish owned Florida during the administration of President James Monroe. Jackson took care of the problem by in effect declaring war on Spain with nothing more than an ambiguous letter from President Monroe. Jackson invaded Florida without any authorization from Congress and captured the Spanish governor at a poorly defended fort at Pensacola. Spain after a protest decided Florida wasn’t worth the trouble and ceded it to the U.S.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan Isn’t Cambodia: Denver Post

Nato's lost cause: Guardian

The west's 'good war' in Afghanistan has turned bad. A local solution, rather than a neocolonial one, is what's needed

In the latest clashes on the Pakistan-Afghan border, Nato troops have killed 11 Pakistani soldiers and injured many more, creating a serious crisis in the country and angering the Pakistan military high command, already split on the question.

US failure in Afghanistan is now evident and Nato desperation only too visible. Spreading the war to Pakistan would be a disaster for all sides. The Bush-Cheney era is drawing to a close, but it is unlikely that their replacements, despite the debacle in Iraq, will settle the American giant back to a digestive sleep.

The temporary cleavage that opened up between some EU states and Washington on Iraq was resolved after the occupation. They could all unite in Afghanistan and fight the good fight. This view has been strongly supported by every US presidential candidate in the run up to the 2008 elections, with Senator Barack Obama pressuring the White House to violate Pakistani sovereignty whenever necessary. He must be pleased.

That the "good war" has now turned bad is no longer disputed by a number of serious analysts in the US, even though there is no agreed prescription for dealing with the problems. Not least of which for some is the future of Nato, stranded far away from the Atlantic in a mountainous country, the majority of whose people, after offering a small window of opportunity to the occupiers, realised it was a mistake and became increasingly hostile.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Nato's lost cause: Guardian