The menace in Pakistan

Editorial

Pakistan's new ambassador to the United States is asking for understanding as the new civilian government tries to cope with the persistent insurgency in tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan. That is asking a lot of the U.S. and its Afghan allies, whose past patience has not been rewarded. If Islamabad wants time, it needs to show the world it is prepared to act firmly against a chronic menace that endangers not only the Pakistani government, but Afghans, and quite possibly, Americans.The insurgents include elements of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. They have terrorized Pakistan, and they have launched attacks more frequently this year across the border into Afghanistan. American forces recently killed 11 members of Pakistan's paramilitary forces by mistake, in a bombing attack on enemy units along the border. Meanwhile, Taliban forces struck at a prison in Kandahar, freeing some 1,200 prisoners. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said he would send troops into Pakistan to "destroy terrorist nests"—though he probably doesn't have the forces to carry out the threat. According to U.S. intelligence, there is a growing flow of foreign jihadists into Pakistan. Most sobering is that Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says Al Qaeda operatives in the tribal areas are plotting new attacks on the American homeland. The U.S. needs no reminder of what can happen when it allows terrorism to flourish in a safe haven provided by a foreign government.The U.S. options, from cutting off aid to Pakistan to launching missile strikes against insurgent sites, are hardly foolproof. But they look better than doing nothing. Islamabad has to understand that no American president can sit by and ignore the danger. Under military ruler Pervez Musharraf, however, Islamabad preferred to negotiate feckless deals that left the terrorists free to continue making trouble across the border. The new government has to make an unequivocal break with that cynical, short-sighted policy. U.S. policy has also been plagued by internal disputes over how aggressive the U.S. can be against Al Qaeda leaders holed up in Pakistan.Pakistan has launched a new military offensive against militants. Pakistani ambassador Husain Haqqani promises things have changed. The Washington Post reported that he "will not agree to any cease-fires that do not include a halt to attacks in Afghanistan as well as in Pakistan, and the expulsion of foreign fighters—which means Al Qaeda." That's a hopeful signal. But Washington can't afford to wait long to see it backed up with concrete action. When asked by the Post if he worried what would happen if Al Qaeda forces use this haven to plan and execute another spectacular act of terrorism against America, Haqqani replied, "What do you think keeps me up at night?" He's not the only one losing sleep.

Source: Chicago Tribune
www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0712edit1jul12,0,5959144.story