rssThe World Is A Dangerous Place And You’d Be Well Within Your Rights Not To Care Right Now
Wednesday, September 24, 2008 at 11:05 am
- 2 Comments
The economy is basically writing a suicide note to the country. What’s a national security reporter to do? The first opportunity I had after coming back from Afghanistan, I went right to my bank to make sure I hadn’t lost all my savings while on the other side of the planet. My reading habits right now consist of Mary Kane, Mike Lillis and Moe Tkacik. At the moment, I don’t care about the stuff I cover, either. So how can I expect you to?
It’s hard to say, but, you know, from a security perspective, this world is ten types of messed up. Look, I’ll be quick. Here are just a few things worth keeping an eye on in between checking out the bailout package and the oil markets and Warren Buffett and such. I’ll do it listicle-style, since I’m so influenced by Moe.
Pakistan is shooting at us like we were 50 Cent. On Sunday the Pakistani Army was firing “warning shots” at U.S. Army helicopters. Now they’re not firing warning shots. The Pakistanis shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle of ours. A statement put out by the U.S. military disputes losing the drone, but either way, the U.S.-Pakistani alliance is deteriorating by the day.
No additional U.S. troops will come to Afghanistan until at least Spring 2009. So says SecDef Bob Gates. If the Taliban really does launch a winter offensive, U.S. troops can’t count on reinforcements.
Speaking of Gates and the Pakistanis. Get a load of this Gates quote. “”If you ask me today, after the successes that we’ve had against al-Qaeda in Iraq, where the greatest threat to the homeland lies, I would tell you it’s in western Pakistan.” So, uh, how about rehabilitating that U.S.-Pakistani alliance?
We’re shooting at Awakening Council leaders in Iraq. Nothing says “enduring U.S.-Sunni alliance” like a couple slugs. It was an accident. Will the Sunnis view it that way?
Most Americans believe we’re losing the war on terrorism. I wonder why.
Follow Spencer Ackerman on Twitter
2 Comments
Comment posted September 24, 2008 @ 11:45 am
Spencer. The U.S. has also denied the Pakistanis shot at its helicopters. And that can happen, and the guys on the ground can be doing the shooting, and nothing must necessarily be wrong with our relationship. Normally, this is the pattern: the U.S. does what it does, the government agrees to it in private but with the understanding that it cannot support it publicly because public opinion is so solidly anti-U.S.
That's not the say the relationship isn't strained for other reasons, but it's a mistake to assume that all discussions happen in public.
Comment posted September 24, 2008 @ 6:45 pm
Spencer. The U.S. has also denied the Pakistanis shot at its helicopters. And that can happen, and the guys on the ground can be doing the shooting, and nothing must necessarily be wrong with our relationship. Normally, this is the pattern: the U.S. does what it does, the government agrees to it in private but with the understanding that it cannot support it publicly because public opinion is so solidly anti-U.S.
That's not the say the relationship isn't strained for other reasons, but it's a mistake to assume that all discussions happen in public.
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
