Pakistan PM fears Afghan escalation will destabilize Balochistan

The U.S. does not really care about the difficulties the surge may cause for Pakistan. They will insist that Pakistan battle the many militants who will simply cross the border into Pakistan. However, Pakistan already is facing a separatist threat in Balochistan. If the separatists team up with militants from Afghanistan there could be real trouble for Pakistan. Pakistan already worries about having sufficient troops for offenses against the Taliban in the tribal regions and also to guard the border with India. No doubt the cozy relationships the US is developing with India will not go down well in Pakistan and will create an even stronger anti-American sentiment in the country.


News From Antiwar.com -
Pakistan PM: US Escalation in Afghanistan Will Destabilize Balochistan

Posted By Jason Ditz

Speaking just days before President Obama unveils a massive new escalation in neighboring Afghanistan, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani warned that he is increasingly concerned that the escalation could imperil Pakistan’s Balochistn Province.

“This is the concern that we already discussed with the US administration,” Gilani noted. The US is expected to commit additional troops to Helmand Province, along the border with Pakistani Balochistan.

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U.S. to move five new brigades to Afghanistan.

This is from the Irish Times. No doubt Gates has a bright future under Obama. Obama will probably keep him on as his defence secretary according to news reports.
Gates fits in perfectly with Obama's bellicose plans for Afghanistan. Why leftists ever supported Obama is beyond me. The two main US parties are mainly fronts for the ruling class. To support one of their leaders is to simply surrender to them without even a fight. Boring from within I guess it is supposed to be! The Obama plan is public works at home and creative destruction for the military-industrial complex abroad. Obama may have trouble recruiting any allied forces for further service in Afghanistan. Only in the US is the Afghan war popular. In fact I am not sure how popular it is even there.


US to move five new brigades to Afghanistan
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today he expected to move five combat brigades into Afghanistan next year and wanted at least some of them in place before the country's election next autumn, stressing this was a top priority.
Washington had initially said it would send one brigade in January and three later in the year.
Violence in Afghanistan has surged to levels not seen since the 2001 US-led invasion toppled the country's former Taliban rulers, prompting commanders to call for more troops.
"We will deploy an additional brigade combat team in January," Mr Gates said after a meeting of defense ministers from eight countries that have forces in southern Afghanistan, a Taliban stronghold.
"Beyond that we've had some very preliminary discussions. We don't have a timetable at this point for the additional four brigade combat teams that (top NATO commander) Gen. (David) McKiernan has asked for," he told a news conference in the eastern Canadian town of Cornwallis.
Each brigade has about 3,500 soldiers.
Mr Gates said the meeting had discussed trying to put as many troops as possible into the country before the presidential election.
"All of us agree that one of our most important and maybe the most important objective for us in 2009 in Afghanistan is a successful election," he said, calling on Afghan authorities to play their part too.
"We all recognize the need for the Afghan government - with our help - to demonstrate some progress over the course of 2009," he said.
US president-elect Barack Obama says he wants to focus more on the Afghan war and plans to persuade other nations to send more soldiers.
But Canadian defence minister Peter MacKay said Mr Obama should look to other Nato members first, rather than turning to the other seven nations that took part in the Cornwallis meeting: Canada, Denmark, Britain, the Netherlands, Australia, Estonia and Romania.
"The reality is there are other Nato doors that president-elect Obama should be knocking on first," he told the news conference. Canada has long complained that the nations with troops in southern Afghanistan are bearing a disproportionate share of the military burden.
"There is an enormous amount of goodwill that has been engendered by President-elect Obama that he might be willing to spend for a cause that he clearly believes in," said MacKay.
Many Nato nations insist on stationing their troops in other quieter parts of Afghanistan and strictly limit what kind of combat activities they can carry out.
Reuters
© 2008 irishtimes.com