U.S. military officials racing to make progress in Afghanistan are pressing new tactics to choke off the flow of Taliban fighters and bomb-making materials from Pakistan into key battlefields of the south, with some even advocating cross-border attacks, according to several U.S. civilian and military officials.
Two senior officers from the staff of Gen. David H. Petraeus, the U.S. general who commands NATO forces in Afghanistan, are scheduled to meet with Pakistani counterparts this week, a senior NATO official said, in part to present intelligence about Taliban operations in Baluchistan, a Pakistani province along Afghanistan's southern border.
With pressure to show results this year so that the withdrawal can begin in July 2010 (granted, it would just be a start--perhaps only symbolic), our military is seeking ways to speed up the Afghanistan clock as the Washington clock ticks forward relentlessly.
But raids with special forces are risky. Drones can only do so much. And it would be foolhardy to actually send troops into the area even if Pakistan agrees--it would be a whole new war, requiring another 100,000 troops, at the end of tenuous supply lines.
But perhaps we have an alternative way to operate inside Pakistan, using local recruits.
Backed by our air power and stiffened by special ops and spooks, these guys could never be as skilled soldiers as ours are, but they could get the job done. We may not have any choice if we have to shut down or seriously hurt those sanctuaries and if Pakistan won't do the job.
