Read that last night. The press cover it? C'mon.

Thanks Em! I can hope ........ Like wishing in one hand and [fill in the blanks].

Can't remember the vote in congress that authorized this. Or is that even necessary anymore?

Thanks Rick! Think it's done by edict or proclamation nowadays.

I am constantly amazed by what we choose to ignore in favor of rooting for one political team or party over the other. I distinctly recall voicing my concerns here several months ago (see my comments under "U.S. Stirs a Hornet's Nest in Pakistan" on this blog). At that time, I referenced the fact that President Bush had signed an order to deploy 3,000 Marines from the 10th Mountain Division to the Khyber Region near Peshawar in November, 2006 (admittedly, I was not that explicit in my previous comments because I didn't want the FBI kicking my door in and asking questions about my sources). Funny how quickly we forget things like that.

Bush began cultivating a relationship with then-dictator Musharraf in March, 2006 during his tour of Asia, and called on Musharraf to hold democratic elections in Pakistan. Despite obvious tension between the two leaders, Bush gave Musharraf high praise for his claimed anti-terrorism stance. This "finessing" resulted in Bush's offer to send troops to Pakistan under the guise of training Musharraf's loosely-organized and rag-tag paramilitary forces.

I'm not an Obama fan, either, but let's give credit where it's properly due.

Moving on ...

Dir is a small sharecropping community nestled in the foothills of the Safed Koh Mountains along the Kabul River, a little less than twenty miles east of the Afghanistan border. The people who live there barely produce enough to feed themselves because the rough terrain is covered by a very thin layer of top soil, which often washes out during periods of heavy rainfall. Dir is considered militarily strategic due to its central location between the Khyber Pass (100 miles south) and the Baroghil Pass (about 125 miles north), and also because of its close proximity to the Afghani border.

We know both passes, when available, are traveled regularly by insurgents and Taliban alike to cross the border going both ways. However, in recent years the passes have been closely watched and heavily guarded by British and American troops, so Dir and Arandu (about 35 miles northeast of Dir) are particularly vulnerable to (and become bottlenecks for) hostile foot traffic. Our presence there is unavoidable and necessary, provided we can accept the notion that the "War on Terror" (it doesn't matter what Obama chooses to call it; a rose by any other name is still a war) can be won by simply preventing border crossings by local indigenous personnel or by those we suspect of engaging in or supporting terrorist activities.

To be honest, I'm surprised that only three Americans were killed in the attack but, based on what I know of the area, I'm as certain as I can be that they were an EOD tech, a combat engineer (the driver) and a political envoy who was on his way to the newly reopened school to cut the ribbon and to make the standard, "See What We've Done for You? Isn't American Democracy Great?" speech.

Unfortunately, I'm still convinced that this will turn ugly (even moreso than it has already) in the coming months. Pakistan's most imposing deterrent to unleashing a nuclear weapon is its proximity to India (third in rank as a world nuclear power) and Russia (which ranks second, behind the United States), but even those threats are wearing very thin these days. That's my most pressing concern about this stupid war, and I pray to God that my fears prove to be unfounded. Musharraf still exercises political influence in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, and I'm just not sure whether President Zardari has the leadership skills or the loyal troops required to resist a major coup.

Time will tell, I guess ...

     Jim

Correction to my previous comments:

I stated above that Arandu is "about 35 miles northeast of Dir." Actually, Arandu is approximately 35 miles northwest of Dir. A minor point, but I like to be accurate.

Sorry for the oversight.

     Jim

Heard a report on this topic this a.m. on RBN online radio show of Jack McLamb. Most ppl don't realize we are at war in Pakistan and it's up to us to spread the word. That is if you can get a few moments of their attention away from A)football B)T.V. The new opiates of the people. Someone should tell our Gov to stop killing people around the world. You don't see other countries doing such atrocities. Perhaps we are "the great satan".

We are also at war on the southern border of the US. There is a daily domestic war on gangs. War has many faces,   there are so many going on right now large and small that true peace on earth is but the impossible dream

Thanks Jim! Sorry for delayed reply to your post. For whatever reason my ISP doesn't let emails from LP through so have to manually check feed bookmarks for replies.

I have mixed feelings about our occupation of other nations. Used to buy the official version hook line and sinker but the drone of the official version is getting old. Not doubting we do good but feel our own domestic problems need solving first. Bringing industry back to provide jobs would be a stellar beginning.

Thanks TigerAngel! Amazing the anti war rhetoric has morphed into a renamed Bush agenda on steroids. Where are the voices of the anti war protesters now?

Thanks Jarasan! If they really wanted to solve our gang problems they could bring troops home and assign them to gang areas. Problem solved, domestic tranquility and safety of citizens restored.

Wasn't it Mao's method to allow thugs to beat down law abiding citizens?