Nederland en Afghanistan 174

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'Continuing US losses will lead to military strikes on Pakistan
* Jonathan Landay of McClatchy Newspapers calls situation in Pakistan more serious than that in Iran*

Expert warns that Pakistan and US are on collision course

By Khalid Hasan

WASHINGTON: If the United States forces in Afghanistan continue to suffer casualties inflicted by insurgents crossing over from Pakistan, the next administration, whether Republican or Democratic, will come under tremendous public pressure to make direct strikes on Pakistani targets, according to three South Asia experts.The observation came at a meeting organised by Khawaja M Ashraf, president of the Pakistani-American Congress, here on Sunday. The three experts who spoke on the prevailing situation in the region were, Walter Andersen of the Johns Hopkins University, Rodney Jones, who runs a local consultancy, and Jonathan Landay of McClatchy Newspapers, who has extensive experience of travelling in and writing about the region.Andersen said the cross-border movement of insurgents from Pakistan into Afghanistan was a major US concern. As more US troops make their way into Afghanistan from next year, there will be in increase in attacks on them from the insurgents, prompting sharp public reaction in America for strong retaliatory action. The new American policy was no longer going to be confined to hot pursuit but when so warranted, direct military strikes inside the areas from where the attacks were seen to have originated or mounted. He warned that any US president would come under enormous pressure if US troops continued to be killed by Pakistan-based insurgents and regardless of what party he belonged to, he would order strikes at Pakistan. Andersen added that there cannot be a military solution of the Afghanistan situation in the long term, while proposing a joint US-Pakistan policy to deal with the situation. More importantly, Afghanistan and Pakistan need to build a strong and co-operative relationship to meet the challenge posed by extremism. However, given the level of distrust that has marked their relationship, the new government in Pakistan will have to be willing to consider new policy options. He said India too will have to be taken on board because terrorism is affecting the entire region and requires the adoption of a regional approach.Serious situation:Jonathan Landay, who spent two years in the region this year, called the situation in Pakistan more serious than that in Iran. He called the Iranian government responsible and its policies logical. Iran may be pursuing nuclear weapons, he added, but Pakistan is already a nuclear state and if it unravelled, it would pose a grave danger to regional and global security.'

Lees verder: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C09%5C30%5Cstory_30-9-2008_pg7_63