Karzai has harsh words for Pakistan support of evil Taliban

NY Times:

In strikingly strong language, President Hamid Karzai warned Tuesday that a failure to bring peace to Afghanistan would destroy the whole region, and laid the blame squarely on neighboring Pakistan.

As if to underscore Mr. Karzai’s warning, as he arrived here, a suicide bomber blew himself up in neighboring Helmand Province, narrowly missing the provincial governor but killing eight civilians and bodyguards in his office.

“Afghanistan either has to be fixed and be peaceful, or the whole region will run into hell with us,” Mr. Karzai told a small group of journalists during a visit to this southern city, his hometown, which has been reeling from almost daily suicide bombings in the last 10 days. “It’s not going to be like the past, that only we suffer. Those who cause us to suffer will burn in hell with us. And I hope NATO recognizes this.”

Mr. Karzai charged that elements of the Pakistani government were still supporting Islamic militants, as they had in the past, and that if such sources of terrorism were not defeated, Afghans and international soldiers would continue to die.

“The state of Pakistan was supporting the Taliban, so we presume if there is still any Taliban, that they are still being supported by a state element,” he said.

“In Afghanistan we are fighting the symptoms of terrorism, not the roots of it,” he added. “We feel we should go to the sources of terrorism and fight it there, or we’ll keep losing men, Afghan and international, in a vicious circle.”

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It is time to go back to the original Bush doctrine. Either you are with us or you are with the terrorist. The Pakistan straddle can no longer be tolerated. Musharraf has to go back on the offensive against the Taliban and thos who harbor them. Right now Pakistan is the where the seat of terror is for the world and it can no longer be ignored.

Westhawk also looks at the Pakistan sanctuaries:

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If the Taliban and Al Qaeda wish to smudge out the Durand Line separating Pakistan and Afghanistan, the line should be smudged out for both sides. The Afghan and U.S. governments should consider offensive operations into Pakistan’s tribal areas. Such operations could be particularly effective. They would demoralize the Taliban by removing its safe haven and would put the movement on the defensive, thwarting its ability to go on the attack in Afghanistan.

Such an offensive by Afghanistan and the U.S. would not have to be overt. It could be a stealthy affair, carried out by Afghan tribes and assisted by clandestine U.S. personnel and support. There would be no need to change the relationship with President Musharraf. The clandestine operation against the tribal areas would be a pressure tactic against him, part of a design to change Pakistan’s approach to the tribal areas.

Such a course by Afghanistan and the U.S. would be risky. However, a change in course is required. Last summer’s Taliban offensive was unpleasant. The 2007 summer offensive may be worse. At least with this strategy, pain would occur on both sides of the frontier.

Such a course would also cause major tantrums on the Pakistan side of the border. Muslim street theater would be in high dudgeon and threaten the Musharraf government. For that reason it would be better to do it overtly with the governments support since they are going to be attacked anyway by the Islamist religious bigots.