I had heard of predators before but I suppose I didn't realize how much they were actually used until I read this article. Predators are the pilot-less remote controlled planes used by the US to conduct reconnaissance and bombing missions. In the last few years they have been the perfect loop hole for Mursharraf and Bush to conduct US strikes against terrorists while allowing Mursharraf to maintain his famous claim that only Pakistani forces could conduct missions on Pakistani soil. Of course, Mursharraf has always maintained that he was opposed to these bombing runs and that he strictly monitored and managed their occurrences. Newsweek printed an article today which indicates that the US has essentially been given free reign now to bomb as they please inside Pakistan due to the realization that terrorism in Pakistan isn’t just a US problem anymore.
Pakistani generals and Mursharraf were quick to deny these claims because they were afraid of the US-hostile civilian parliament reacting to them. They continue to maintain that they have never allowed the US to conduct these bombing run. The Newsweek article, however, maintains that there has been a huge spike in the number of predator missions conducted and no protestation accompanying them. While I’m happy to see that Mursharraf and the military are being careful not to anger the new parliament; I’m not convinced that Newsweek is misinformed about the deals between Pakistan’s military and the US.
Pakistan’s intelligence in the terrorist areas is so bad that the US has had to rely solely on its own intelligence just to run these missions. In just one year the number of suicide attacks in Pakistan has risen from 6 to 65. At some point, it makes sense that Pakistan’s military said, “What the hell, just go ahead and start bombing.” Absent this Newsweek report which was a result of a leak on the US’ side, I don’t think anyone in Pakistan would have been the wiser.
In the bigger picture of things, this really isn’t anything new or profound. The day the military unilaterally allows US full access into the country will be the day a scandal is really formed. My intrigue with this story is that it’s more so a foreshadowing of the way the military is going to maintain its control in the country. Parliament is horribly equipped to monitor what the military is doing. These permissible predator attacks will probably continue to happen and I highly doubt parliament will be able to pass a law that changes that. If this is allowed to happen though, then what stops the military from making backdoor deals both domestically and internationally? I’m not a CIA agent, but I guarantee that this Newsweek article is at least half right and Pakistan’s military is brokering deals with the US. This story just underlines the imaginary control parliament has over Mursharraf and the military.
Pakistani generals and Mursharraf were quick to deny these claims because they were afraid of the US-hostile civilian parliament reacting to them. They continue to maintain that they have never allowed the US to conduct these bombing run. The Newsweek article, however, maintains that there has been a huge spike in the number of predator missions conducted and no protestation accompanying them. While I’m happy to see that Mursharraf and the military are being careful not to anger the new parliament; I’m not convinced that Newsweek is misinformed about the deals between Pakistan’s military and the US.
Pakistan’s intelligence in the terrorist areas is so bad that the US has had to rely solely on its own intelligence just to run these missions. In just one year the number of suicide attacks in Pakistan has risen from 6 to 65. At some point, it makes sense that Pakistan’s military said, “What the hell, just go ahead and start bombing.” Absent this Newsweek report which was a result of a leak on the US’ side, I don’t think anyone in Pakistan would have been the wiser.
In the bigger picture of things, this really isn’t anything new or profound. The day the military unilaterally allows US full access into the country will be the day a scandal is really formed. My intrigue with this story is that it’s more so a foreshadowing of the way the military is going to maintain its control in the country. Parliament is horribly equipped to monitor what the military is doing. These permissible predator attacks will probably continue to happen and I highly doubt parliament will be able to pass a law that changes that. If this is allowed to happen though, then what stops the military from making backdoor deals both domestically and internationally? I’m not a CIA agent, but I guarantee that this Newsweek article is at least half right and Pakistan’s military is brokering deals with the US. This story just underlines the imaginary control parliament has over Mursharraf and the military.
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