The solution to a failing war is a wider war. That’s logic! No need for approval from Congress (the Consitution is just poetry). Certainly no need to tell the American people (that political regime faded away while we were watching sit-coms). However there is an election in November, which gives us an opportunity to arrest the slide into a dark new era. {Hat tip to Erasmus}
“Pakistan Raid Start Of Concerted Bid To Hit Al-Qaida“, NPR, 12 September 2008 — Excerpt:
NPR has learned that the raid by helicopter-borne U.S. Special Operations forces in Pakistan last week was not an isolated incident but part of a three-phase plan, approved by President Bush, to strike at Osama bin Laden and top al-Qaida leadership.
The plan calls for a much more aggressive military campaign, said one source, familiar with the presidential order, which gives the green light for the military to take part in the operations. The plan represents an 11th-hour effort to hammer al-Qaida until the Bush administration leaves office, two government officials told NPR.
“Definitely, the gloves have come off,” said a source who has been briefed on the plan. “This was only Phase 1 of three phases.”
Pentagon and White House officials have declined to discuss the new plan.
The intelligence community already had approval from the president to carry out operations inside Pakistan, which included attacks by Predator drones, which can carry 100-pound Hellfire missiles. Additional authority came from the president just recently that allowed incursions by U.S. Special Operations forces, the source said.
A second source said that lawmakers on Capitol Hill were briefed on the new plan shortly before The New York Times broke the story this week about the Special Operations raid from Afghanistan into Pakistan. The source also said that CIA personnel from around the world were being pulled into the Afghan-Pakistan border area, an intelligence-community “surge” to go after bin Laden and other al-Qaida figures.
There was concern by some lawmakers about the political ramifications in Pakistan. The Pakistan government is offering some cooperation in halting the cross-border attacks by Islamist fighters from the tribal areas into Afghanistan. And Pakistan is a key logistics route for U.S. equipment heading into Afghanistan.
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Other posts about our war in Afghanistan (and now Pakistan)
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Scorecard #2: How well are we doing in Iraq? Afghanistan?, 31 October 2003
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Quote of the day: this is America’s geopolitical strategy in action, 26 February 2008
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Another perspective on Afghanistan, a reply to George Friedman, 27 February 2008
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How long will all American Presidents be War Presidents?, 21 March 2008
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Why are we are fighting in Afghanistan?, 9 April 2008 — A debate with Joshua Foust.
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We are withdrawing from Afghanistan, too (eventually), 21 April 2008
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Pakistan warns America about their borders, and their sovereignty, 14 September 2008
