Pakistanis are now chanting "down with America" and some backlash is coming in the form of the common border with Afghanistan being closed to supply trucks and demands for "strong and urgent action be taken against those responsible for this aggression." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15901363 Pakistan has shown over and over again that it is not the friend of American/NATO forces. The nation refused to allow supply deliveries for 10 days last year after another accidental attack and the country has not exactly been diligent in weeding out militants. They were outraged over the attacks that killed Osama bin Laden (although I kind of/sort of see their point about their sovereignty), while I think that they should have been celebrating a step in the right direction in damaging/eliminating the Taliban. We've known for a long time that Pakistan isn't precisely our friend and isn't precisely our enemy--but it feels to me that they are looking for excuses to cut diplomatic ties and join with our enemies. Opinions? (And please don't attack me for my opinion--address my statements, please.)
My opinion is that if Mexico or anyone else killed 24 of our border agents and injured 13 others inside our borders, I think we'd be more than a little PO'd. My other opinion is that we can't get out of Afghanistan quick enough for my tastes.
How much are we spending over there. How many of our boys paid the ultimate price. What ever happened to the death stars that Reagan wanted to develop. We could be all that we could be in Tampa and blow up people as we are filmed for tv commericals.
Pakistan is a country the U.S. would be wise to keep a very close eye on. It's not just their nuclear warheads we have to worry about, it's the will of the people there that worry me too. Like any country with a significant population, you are going to have a wide range of beliefs on everything. Some in Pakistan support the U.S. while others don't. The military there is also composed of various beliefs and faiths, and some of those personnel are extremists that don't approve of their commanders working with the U.S. Some of these personnel are Taliban-like-minded and are actively fighting against us, some overtly... some covertly. The same can be said for the general population. But, the same could be said in the U.S. too, some U.S. citizens are anti-American, though here it's a much smaller percentage than it is in Pakistan. The point is that, overall, our relationship with Pakistan is as an ally. It's in our best interests (as well as Pakistan's) to maintain that friendship and work on or issues with each other.
Now I do not have a lot of time for those in power in Pakistan and agree that they have been playing both sides (Mainly those in the inteligence service) but I will just post this little snippet from Wiki for those of you who do not believe that Pakistan (Some in the Armed forces) do take the situation seriously. In a debriefing to parliamentarians on 19 October 2011, the military stated that a total of 3,097 security forces members were killed and 721 other were permanently disabled in the war on terror. The Inter-Services Intelligence lost 63 of its personnel owing to targeted assaults on ISI installations. In the same report it confirmed that since 2001 a total of 40,309 Pakistanis, both military and civilian, have lost their lives related to terrorist incidents. In addition, 17,742 militants had been killed or captured by February 2010. Among these, by November 2007, were 488 foreign extremists killed, 24 others arrested and 324 injured. An additional 220 policemen were killed in fighting in 2007 and 2008. Before all-out fighting broke out in 2003, independent news sources reported only four incidents of deaths of Pakistani security forces members in 2001 and 2002, in which a total of 20 soldiers and policemen were killed. The independent South Asia Terrorism Portal website has estimated that at least 1,865 soldiers and policemen were killed between 2003 and 2008. The Pak Institute For Peace Studies has estimated that 1,185 soldiers and policemen were killed in 2009.
Pakistan appears to be no one's friend, especially not the Pakistani people. Apparently someone thinks it's to our advantage to play nice with those guys, the same line of thinking that put Noriega and Pinoche, and Ho Chi Mingh for that matter, in power.
