Safe havens in Pakistan challenge war effort: Pentagon
Even as the United States begins to withdraw from Afghanistan, insurgents abetted by Pakistan pose the major threat to US-led forces, the Pentagon said on Friday.
Security has improved in recent months and enemy attacks are down in Afghanistan compared to a year ago, the Pentagon said in a twice-annual report to the US Congress. Nato and Afghan forces largely “stunted” the Taliban’s spring and summer offensive, although the insurgency remains adaptive and resilient, with a “significant regenerative capacity,” the report said.
But attacks from across the eastern border were up because of the support the insurgency received from safe havens in Pakistan, it said.
“Safe havens in Pakistan remain the insurgency’s greatest enabler,” the report said. These havens have grown more “virulent” in recent months “and are the most significant risk” to Nato’s campaign, it said.
The report comes as President Barack Obama’s administration has begun pulling surge forces from Afghanistan – withdrawing 10,000 this year and the remaining 23,000 by the end of September 2012.
Critics of Obama’s plan fear it could undermine the progress surge troops have made and point to faltering security in attacks in Afghanistan’s volatile east, along the porous border with Pakistan.
The Afghanistan NGO Safety Office (ANSO), which advises aid and other groups on security, warned this month that the war appeared to be “escalating, not diminishing.”
The Pentagon said that recent high-profile attacks in Kabul, including a bold Sept. 13 strike on the US Embassy that rattled perceptions about security in the capital, were carried out by the Pakistan-based Haqqani network and “directly enabled by Pakistan safe haven and support.”
While high-profile attacks on “soft targets” have increased, overall enemy attacks were five percent lower than the same period a year earlier, said the report, which covers April 1 through Sept. 30. It said enemy attacks continue to decline.
Political impact
Assassinations and attacks directed from the safe havens in Pakistan could have a “significant political effect” in Afghanistan as well as coalition countries, the document said. Afghan perceptions of security had worsened slightly, it said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 29th, 2011.
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@Mirza: "It is a mistake to assume that all US troops would leave both Afghanistan and Iraq and let their opponents take over."
Fortunately r unfortunately, there has been a complete pull-out fro Iraq promised already by Obama.
@Mirza:@Mirza: "US pullout from the region may not be complete” Only a fool would make this kind of mistake after such a long struggle."
Very true but there is no shortage of such fools who think we can wait USA out and our business will shine. All such policy makers are living in a fool’s paradise.
As the end game of American withdrawl from Afghanistan begins, there is increasing resort by Pakistan to bluff, bravado and challenge the American power and influence. Pakistan sole aim is to achieve strategic depth to keep India away from this region as well ensuring that Afghanistan is ruled by internationally isolated regime, which would result into becoming as a de facto client state of Pakistan. However, Talebans had proved to be slippery customers in the past and this grand plan might backfire incase they decide to turn on the heat on their mentors to implement its agenda of enforcing sharia on its neighbour.
Cheap publicity of false progress. Recently UN's report contradicted their claims of peace and progress in Afghanistan. They are just trying to fool their own public in particular and international community in general.
Same song from US. US Strategy now is to put all blame of failures on Pakistan and run away as soon as possible.
US pullout from the region may not be complete and required number of troops would remain in the region in safe places from where they can conduct their operations. It is a mistake to assume that all US troops would leave both Afghanistan and Iraq and let their opponents take over. Only a fool would make this kind of mistake after such a long struggle.