so despite what might have at one point or another obtained from a particular viewpoint which was extended to a general assessment through the device of "the average afghani"-----as if that makes any sense---and despite how wonderful it was to have this, thing in more or less real time continue to evolve or devolve depending on your view of an escalation in conflict with pakistan.
it's hard to keep track of all this idiocy, layer on layer of idiocy, between football season and reality tv, the collapse of the american financial system and the slower implosion of the housing market, the disappearance of "risk management" as a pseudo-coherent undertaking, the cloud of lint being blown from the right in place of a coherent political debate about what is happening in the united states and the world and which policy options might or might not make sense to consider when making a decision about who to vote for in the next election....it's hard to keep track, because there is so fucking much stupidity and it is happening continually.
Quote:
Pakistan orders troops to fire on US cross-border raids
Army official says field commanders have been told to take action against further raids launched from Afghanistan
* Mark Tran and agencies
* Tuesday September 16 2008 16:17 BST
Pakistan's military said today its forces had received orders to fire on US troops if they entered Pakistani territory, after a cross-border raid inflamed public opinion.
The country's civilian leaders, who have taken a tough line against militants, have insisted Pakistan must resolve the dispute with the US through diplomatic channels. But the military has taken a more robust line.
General Athar Abbas, an army spokesman, told the Associated Press that after a cross-border assault in the south Waziristan region earlier this month, the military told its field commanders to take action to prevent any similar raids.
"The orders are clear," Abbas said in an interview. "In case it happens again in this form, that there is a very significant detection, which is very definite, no ambiguity, across the border, on ground or in the air: open fire."
The remarks mark a sharp deterioration in military relations between the US and Pakistan, which have been close allies in the "war on terror" since the September 11 attacks seven years ago.
The Bush administration has shown increasing impatience over what it considers Pakistan's incapacity or unwillingness to crack down on Taliban and al-Qaida fighters operating on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
Pakistan insists it is doing what it can. It has about 100,000 troops in the restive north-west and suicide bombers are inflicting an increasingly deadly toll on the Pakistani army.
American officials have confirmed that their forces carried out a raid near the town of Angoor Ada but have given few details. Abbas said Pakistan's military had asked for an explanation but received only a "half-page" of "very vague" information that did not identify the intended target. Pakistani officials have said the raid killed about 15 people, and Abbas said they all appeared to be civilians.
He would not say whether General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who replaced Pervez Musharraf as head of the army last year, personally made the decision on orders to fire on US troops or if it had been discussed with US officials.
The army spokesman played down reports that Pakistani forces yesterday shot at US helicopters after they penetrated national air space. Abbas insisted no foreign troops had crossed the border and that "trigger-happy tribesmen" had fired the shots.
Pakistani troops based nearby fired flares to see what was going on, he said. The US military in Afghanistan said none of its troops were involved in such an incident yesterday.
As the US steps up its military activity in the sensitive tribal area, Pakistani officials have warned that an increase in cross-border raids will achieve little and fuel the insurgency in Pakistan. Some complain that the country is being made a scapegoat for the failure to stabilise Afghanistan.
In a rare public statement last week, Kayani said Pakistan's sovereignty would be defended "at all cost". Abbas said Pakistani officials had to consider public opinion, which was increasingly anti-American and had some sympathy for rebels claiming to fight in the name of Islam.
"Please look at the public reaction to this kind of adventure or incursion," Abbas said. "The army is also an extension of the public and you can only satisfy the public when you match your words with your actions."
Last week, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, said a new strategy for Afghanistan was needed that incorporated the tribal territory. George Bush is believed to have signed a secret order allowing US forces to operate in the tribal area, even though the UN mandate for international forces in Afghanistan does not extend into Pakistan.
* guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2008
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Pakistan orders troops to fire on US cross-border raids | World news | guardian.co.uk
if you read french, there's an interesting article here:
Pakistan, extension du domaine de la guerre - Les blogs du Diplo