US Anti-Terror Strike in Pakistan Kills 18 Non-Terrorists

The intelligence said that Al Qaeda’s number two man, Ayman al-Zawahiri was there. The US quickly ordered up an air strike in Pakistan’s mountains to kill him. Five children, five women and eight men died. It appears Mr. al-Zawahiri was either not there any more, or never was. Senator Evan Bay (D-IN) asked, “it’s a regrettable situation, but what else are we supposed to do?” The Muslim political parties of Pakistan have suggestions.

In northwest Pakistan, there isn’t really much of a government. It’s more than a bit like the Wild West. Local tribesmen have a tradition of shooting at anyone pretending to represent central authority. So the writ of Perez Mascara’s regime doesn’t really extend there. That makes it a good hiding place for those who wish to hide and even better for those, like spoiled rich kid Usama bin Laden, who can pay for it.

However, the US must balance the gratification and strategic value that killing Mr. al-Zawahiri would provide against the undermining of General Musharraf, a non-democratic ruler who has sided with the US in the fight against Fascislam. This strike makes him look extremely weak and puppet-like. The city of Karachi saw protests for a couple of days with 10,000 people -- many of whom the BBC says chanted “Death to America” just like Tehran in the good old days. Something about winning hearts and minds.

Now, the dirty little secret is that the US has the permission of the Pakistani government to do this sort of thing in general. The US doesn’t always tell Pakistani officials when a specific attack is coming because the Pakistani security organs are pretty well infiltrated by Al Qaeda and its sympathizers. General Musharraf’s government has protested and the US ambassador will be called on the carpet for a ceremonial whine. However, the general went on TV to say, “If we keep sheltering foreign terrorists here ... our future will not be good. Remember what I say.” Which means, this government is forcefully looking the other way.

If the strike had killed Mr. al-Zawahiri, there would still be complaining in a few quarters, but since he wasn’t, the cries from the street about the 18 dead are all the louder. It was a judgment call, and frankly, it is tough to fault the judgment. That said, some people turned against the US over the week-end as a result of the air strike, and that is something Senator Bayh and others don’t quite comprehend. Killing the bad guys is part of this fight, but preventing those who are not actively opposed to the US from changing their attitude is just as important in the short term, and more important in the long term. Keeping Pakistan (which unlike Iran really has a nuclear arsenal) on the US side is vital. The air strike’s failure didn’t help that effort at all.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
Produced using Fedora Linux.


Home