Best of The Streak: Cross-Border Attacks on the Increase in Afghanipakistan « The Washington Independent
Jul 31, 202071.4K Shares1M Views
First appeared September 8, 2008
**BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — Usually when you hear about cross-border attacks here, they are perpetrated by the Taliban. Not so much in recent weeks — this time it’s the U.S.dipping its toes into Pakistan, which Sen. John McCain has said Sen. Barack Obama is naive for proposing.
Last week, the U.S. allegedly went after a target in Pakistan — something that the U.S. military never confirmed but nonetheless prompted Pakistan’s new government to shut downa crucial NATO resupply entry point. Today comes word that the U.S. fired a missileat the old-school Taliban commander Jalaladeen Haqqani’s Pakistan redoubt.
With any luck I can get to the border tomorrow, to learn more about all this crossborder activity.
In the meantime, Bill Roggio’s Long War Journal has a very informative postabout the increase in cross-border operations in 2008. Most of them, it seems, have come in the form of airstrikes, because ground troops were a no-no even during the relatively complaint government of Pervez Musharraf.
Perhaps last week’s (alleged!) ground-troop raid was a test of what the U.S. military can get away with. Keep an eye on how new Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari reacts in the coming days.
Now that the roller coaster that was 2008 has come to an end, we thought it would be fun to look back at some of our most popular, thought-provoking and entertaining posts from The Streak over the past year. This post was chosen by TWI staff as one of the most memorable of 2008.
Rhyley Carney
Reviewer
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