March 28, 2011

Petraeus Not Apoloziging For Pakistani Casualties

The News International reports that General David Petraeus, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Commander in Afghanistan, has neither apologized nor given any explanation to Pakistani Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. Kayani reacted with a burst of rare anger after 44 civilians were killed in the March 17th drone attack in North Waziristan. Local leaders in the Dattakhel area were holding a jirga on mineral deposits when the Hellfires struck.

Sherabat Khan Wazir doubled as one of those leaders in addition to commanding under Hafiz Gul Bahadur, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan’s chief in NW. Bahadur has since threatened to scrap his truce with Islamabad, but has yet to follow through.

What’s striking is that The News had initially reported the opposite - that Petraeus had reached out to Kayani.
“When contacted by The News, a US military source in Pakistan denied these reports carried by a local news agency, and said, “With regards to the allegation that General Petraeus contacted the Pakistani military or that he expressed regret over this alleged incident, I can assure you that General Petraeus hasn’t had any contact with Pakistani military leaders since his meeting with General Kayani on March 3.”

When asked about this particular drone strike, the US military source responded, “With regards to the alleged drone incident, we do not comment on these allegations. However, the US mission in Pakistan is to conduct training and provide support to Pakistan’s fight against violent extremists.”
So why is America afraid of apologizing and paying blood money in Pakistan but not Afghanistan? U.S. drone strikes are no longer secret, if they ever were. This is counter-productivity COIN. The Palestinians and Pakistanis are in the running for those peoples most let down by President Barack Obama.

2 comments:

  1. The responsibilities of the local leaders are important and they have to look out for some important things and factors,the news which is based on the Local leaders in the Dattakhel area were holding a jirga,so this event is a beautiful one and they can discuss and share the most necessary things.
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