The Shield of Achilles: Pakistan is on the frontline in the war on terror

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Pakistan is on the frontline in the war on terror

As you probably already know, yesterday 57 people were killed (including two Americans) and 266 injured when a suicide truck bomb detonated at a Marriot hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan. Two diplomats were also killed - including the Czech ambassador, even though the Czech Republic has not deployed any soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan. Additionally, most of the dead were simply drivers and hotel security guards waiting outside the building. This just helps underscore why this is a global problem, and Al Qaeda's absolute disregard for innocent life. That is the definition of evil - a word which has been so abused in the United States that it's more often been applied to President Bush than to these terror networks.

The blast left a crater 24 feet deep and almost 60 feet wide. There is unconfirmed speculation that the Prime Minister's residence may have been the initial target, or that the attack was really aiming for US Marines in the hotel. In my opinion, the actual target mattered little to Al-Qaeda; far more important was the body count they could obtain from the blast.

Just last week there were reports of border incursions by US Special Forces and a threat by Pakistan to open fire if US troops conduct another cross border raid. I didn't mention it at the time, because Special Operations Forces operate in unknown countries all the time, that is the nature of the business (more power to them). I doubt greatly that this was the only such incursion. It's difficult to win a war when your enemy believes he can cross the border with impunity but you can't.

The other thing to keep in mind is that despite Pakistan's bluster, it is highly unlikely they would ever fire on US troops in any case, because 1) to do so would be virtual suicide, and they know this, and 2) the US would cut off all aid to Pakistan, including weapon sales.

Moreover, terrorist attacks such as this may help remind Pakistan who their real enemies are. In a encouraging move, Pakistan announced that they will now step up raids against Al-Qaeda border outposts.