Pak-Ghanistan: Time to Leave Them to Their Own Devices

In Throwing acid on human rights, the Afpak Journal shows why the U. S. has no dog in the internal Pakistani fight:

In the summer of 2008, five women were buried alive in Baluchistan because they wanted to choose their own husbands. A few days after the news broke, the issue was raised in the lower house of Pakistan's parliament: Senator Israrullah Zehri defended the ghastly act, saying it was part of "tribal traditions." A few months after his statement, Zehri was made a federal minister.

In Daily Brief: Pakistan considers North Waziristan ops , the Afpak Journal makes it crystal clear that Pakistan is merely a mercenary for the U. S. in its internal war:

The U.S. is making moves to transfer $600 million to Pakistan as reimbursement for its military operations against militants in the country's northwest (AFP).

And what good does all this action do? From the article immediately above:

The BBC adds to reporting that targeting killings in the scenic Swat Valley hint that Taliban militants are returning after last year's Pakistani military operations there (BBC).

The U. S. is widely hated in Pak-ghanistan. We are spending money we don't have to interfere with their internal affairs. If we confined ourselves to killing a few al Qaeda, that would be one thing. What we are doing is quite something else.

And BTW is Barack Obama a war criminal for authorizing the CIA to kill Pakistani nationals with whom the U. S. is not at war? Simply because they oppose their own government? Consider Legal questions raised over CIA drone strikes:

The CIA strikes are "a clear violation of international law," said Mary Ellen O'Connell, law professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School, who added that going after terrorists should be a law enforcement activity.

She said the rest of the world does not recognize American authority to carry out attacks in Yemen and Pakistan, countries where the U.S. is not involved in direct armed conflict.

CIA officers who operate the drones could be arrested and charged with murder in other countries, O'Connell warned, likening it to having the Mexican police or military bomb hotels in Arizona in order to target drug lords who may be hiding there.

You've got to know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.

Message to Obama: The U. S. remains in a domestic crisis. War + weak economy = stagflation. Save money.
Prioritize. Remember your Nobel Peace Prize. Justify it just a little. Storm troopers in Quincy, Illinois guarding you from Tea Party grannies is more than enough militarism. Some wars are just not worth it. Afghanistan looks to be one such war. You said you're planning to bring the troops home in a year. Fuggedabout it. It's 5-10 years or no way (see Britain/Malayan insurgency). Cut your losses or level with the American people.

Out now.

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