Secure Afghan Border

Source: iraqpundit.blogspot.com --- 19 days ago
Iran just test fired a missile near Iraq's Border. Obama's reaction? His "incoming administration plans to explore a more regional strategy to the war in Afghanistan -- including possible talks with Iran -- and looks favorably on the nascent dialogue between the Afghan government and "reconcilable" elements of the Taliban, according to Obama national security advisers." That's right Barack, look to Iran for solutions in the Middle East. No wonder Ahmadinejad feels good about Obama. Surely Iran, who has demonstrated its desire for a quiet and Secure Mideast with its support of Hezbollah, Syrian, and all manner of extremists in Iraq, will cooperate on Afghanistan. Abdul Rahman Rashed writes [Arabic] in Asharq Al Awsat that Obama might succeed initially. But down the road, Rashed predicts that Obama will discover the same thing Bush, Clinton, GHW Bush, and Reagan found before him. That is, it's not a good idea. I guess Rashed doesn't get Obama's magic. The majority of Americans, according to the AP, believe Obama can fix the economy: "Seven in 10 people in the survey are voicing confidence that the president-elect will be able to turn the stalling economy around when he takes office in January. Nearly all Democrats and even four in 10 Republicans say so." So there you have it. Obama will track down Osama Bin Laden. He will make the Iranians and the Taliban cooperate with the rest of the World. And we will all live happily ever after. ...

Source: watandost.blogspot.com --- 20 days ago
New envoy urges US to bail out Pakistan Ex-BU professor facing tough task By Farah Stockman, Boston Globe, November 10, 2008 WASHINGTON - With Pakistan teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, Husain Haqqani put on a powder blue tie and made his pitch. A quick infusion of US cash, he said, would ensure that Pakistan will be able to afford to keep up its expensive military operations near the Afghan Border. "All Pakistan is asking for is a bailout of $10 billion to fight terrorism" and get back on its feet, he told a packed audience recently at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank. Fleeing investors and mounting debts have become serious threats for Pakistan, along with a smoldering insurgency and a history of corruption. Now Haqqani - a former Boston University professor of international relations who became Pakistan's ambassador to the United States in May - is charged with an almost impossible task: trying to Secure more funding from the already depleted coffers of the US government. Haqqani has been an Islamic activist, a war correspondent, a savvy politician, a beloved professor, and an aide to two rival Pakistani prime ministers. As an envoy from one of Washington's most precarious allies, Haqqani must be an opti mist against the odds. He must believe that the newly elected government he represents can clean up corruption, defeat a Taliban insurgency, survive a major financial crisis, and impro ...

Source: www.realclearworld.com --- 16 days ago
Child mortality — among the worst in the world in 2001 — has dropped by 25 percent. Democracy, a free press, economic gains and better livelihoods — all of that is there. But, sadly, we are still fighting the Taliban and al-Qaida. What is it that we have not done right that makes us — and the rest of the world — less Secure? After the liberation in 2001, the international community concentrated on Afghanistan alone as the place to fight extremism and terrorism, while we Afghans argued that our country is not the right place to fight. The war on terrorism could not be fought in Afghan villages. Instead, a regional approach was needed. It must be concentrated on the sanctuaries of those who train, equip and motivate the extremists and send them out to hurt us all. But we were not heard. Regardless of whether that was the result of a lack of knowledge or a lack of will, events have proven us right. Unfortunately, for the past two years, Pakistan has suffered as much or perhaps more than Afghanistan. Almost the entire tribal belt along the Pakistan/Afghanistan Border is suffering. Just as schools were burned in Afghanistan from 2004 onward, for the past year schools — especially for girls — have been burned there, leaving 80,000 children without facilities. Bridges have been blown up, soldiers and police killed. Bombs have exploded from Karachi to Lahore to Islamabad. The violence has spread to India as well, with bombings in Gujarat, Ban ...