Bush Adopts Obama's Pakistan Position



(image via cnn)

It's about time. Our muddled policy and support of the strongman in Pakistan has only earned the United States the enmity of the citizens and an increasingly bold Taliban. The more we learn about the situation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the more it seems that Senator Obama's position, outlined during the Democratic Party debates, is not so outrageous as it seemed at the time. For those who would characterize the Senator from Illinois as hopelessly liberal and touchy-feelie Internationslist-humanitarian naive, The NYTimes:

"President Bush secretly approved orders in July that for the first time allow American Special Operations forces to carry out ground assaults inside Pakistan without the prior approval of the Pakistani government, according to senior American officials.

"The classified orders signal a watershed for the Bush administration after nearly seven years of trying to work with Pakistan to combat the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and after months of high-level stalemate about how to challenge the militants’ increasingly secure base in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

"...'The situation in the tribal areas is not tolerable,' said a senior American official who, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicate nature of the missions. 'We have to be more assertive. Orders have been issued.'

"The new orders reflect concern about safe havens for Al Qaeda and the Taliban inside Pakistan, as well as an American view that Pakistan lacks the will and ability to combat militants. They also illustrate lingering distrust of the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies and a belief that some American operations had been compromised once Pakistanis were advised of the details."