With The Appointment Of Petraeus To CIA, Tensions Between The U.S. And Pakistan Are Going To Increase

Gen. David H. Petraeus, center, during the White House announcement that he was being named C.I.A. director. The move will give him direct control over drone attacks in Pakistan. Doug Mills/The New York Times

Move to C.I.A. Puts Petraeus in Conflict With Pakistan -- New York Times

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The appointment of Gen. David H. Petraeus as director of the Central Intelligence Agency puts him more squarely than ever in conflict with Pakistan, whose military leadership does not regard him as a friend and where he will now have direct control over the armed drone campaign that the Pakistani military says it wants stopped.

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My Comment: I have no sympathy for the Pakistani position. They are openly supporting a terrorist group (the Haqqani network) that are killing and maiming U.S./NATO troops and our Afghan allies. If they are not willing to stop these people who are on their own soil .... what can I say .... but be prepare for the consequences. Unfortunately .... U.S. - Pakistan relations are going to go into the toilet even more than where they are now, and the conflict between U.S./NATO/Afghan soldiers and the Taliban are going to increase even more. But there are no good options in this situation .... but the realization that we need someone like Patraeus in the CIA to confront Pakistan when they need to be confronted.

Terror Groups Within Pakistan Are Now Threatening To Carry Their Jihad To America

Mumbai terror attack. 2008

Pakistani Terrorists Eye U.S. -- National Interest

The current crisis between Pakistan and the United States centers on one key little-discussed issue: Will Islamabad disarm its most formidable Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET) which staged the 2008 attack on Mumbai and now openly threatens to carry its jihad to America?

The two Pakistanis shot by CIA contractor Raymond Davis on January 27, 2011, were agents of Islamabad’s powerful Intelligence Bureau (IB), the domestic spy agency that works closely with the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI). The IB agents were monitoring Davis’s activities as he attempted to spy on LET, and the IB agents were in turn being monitored by the spy agencies of two neighboring countries, India and Afghanistan, who have definite information that Davis’s two victims were IB operatives and have shared it with me.

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My Comment: Bottom line .... there are many in Pakistan who would cheer if another 9/11 should occur on U.S. soil. This sentiment permeates all levels in Pakistani society, and as much as we try to change this .... this culture and mindset will not change in the near future. Therefore .... as a result of years of this indoctrination and mindset .... the prospect of Pakistani terror groups attacking the U.S. is becomes more likely with each passing day .... and yes .... they are especially eyeballing us as we continue our drone war in Pakistan's frontier regions.

CIA , U.S. Forces Have Abandoned Their Pakistan Base

Image: MMQ1 Assassination Predator Drones at Shamsi Airbase, Feb. 2006 Photo, Google Earth, The Times

U.S. Departs Pakistan Base, Source Says -- CNN

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- U.S. military personnel have left a southern base in Pakistan said to be a key hub for American drone operations in the country's northwestern tribal areas, a senior Pakistani intelligence official told CNN on Friday.

Drones are said to take off and get refueled for operations against Islamic militants from the Shamsi Air Base in Pakistan's Balochistan province.

News of a possible U.S. departure comes amid a public furor over American drone attacks, which have killed civilians.

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Update: Shamsi Air Base taken back from CIA, US forces -- International News

My Comment: Aside from all the public talk, these actions say volumes on the present state of U.S. - Pakistan relations. I guess that this also means that future U.S. - Pakistan anti-terror operations are probably now in the crapper.

The U.S. Agrees To Supply Pakistan With 85 Mini-Drones

The military's UAV inventory has reached seven thousand, including the hand-launched Raven. Dan Winters

U.S. To Supply Pakistan With 85 Mini-Drones -- Yahoo News/Reuters

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The United States will provide Pakistan with 85 small "Raven" drone aircraft, a U.S. military official told Reuters, a key step to addressing Islamabad's calls for access to U.S. drone technology.

The official, speaking on Thursday on condition of anonymity, declined to disclose the cost of the non-lethal, short-range surveillance aircraft, which are manufactured by the U.S.-based AeroVironment Inc.

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My Comment: The U.S. have decided to throw a small bone to satisfy Pakistan's request for drones .... but I suspect that the Pakistanis were expecting something bigger.

The U.S. - Pakistan Alliance To Combat Islamic Extremism Is Fraying

Photo released by the Pakistan's Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) on April 20, 2011 shows Pakistan's Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Khalid Shameem Wynne (R) meeting with his U.S. counterpart Admiral Mike Mullen in Pakistan's Rawalpindi. (Xinhua/INTER SERVICES PUBLIC RELATIONS)

Senior Pakistani Military Official on 'So-Called Coalition Partner' U.S. -- ABC News

For a moment as a senior Pakistani military official spoke to ABC News about his country's most important international relationship, his emotions seemed to get the better of him.

"The U.S. is saying, 'My way or the high way,'" the official said, and slammed his hand down on his desk. "They're going solo." Exasperated, the official told ABC News that "our so-called coalition partner" had put the military at odds with its own population.

"You've pitted us against our own people," he said. "And if you make us choose, of course how can we not choose our own people?"

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More News On The U.S. - Pakistan Relationship

Pakistan rejects "negative propaganda" on militant ties -- Reuters
Pakistan says alleged Taliban ties are US 'negative propaganda' -- Christian Science Monitor
Pakistan Rejects US 'Negative Propaganda' on Militancy -- Voice of America
Pakistani official disputes claim of ISI-insurgent 'relationship' -- CNN
Pakistan army accuses US of 'negative propaganda' -- AP
Pakistan accuses US of 'negative propaganda' -- The Telegraph
Pakistan at Impasse With U.S. on Drone Attacks After Meetings With Mullen -- Bloomberg

U.S. Warns Pakistan on Links to Taliban -- Wall Street Journal
Mullen: Pakistan's ISI spy agency has 'militant links' -- BBC
Mullen launches diatribe against ISI -- DAWN
U.S. military chief, in Pakistan, eyes militant ties -- Reuters
Mullen calls Pakistan relationship strong on Middle East tour -- CBS News
US warns Pakistan about ISI-Haqqani link -- Hindustan Times
Mullen accuses Pakistan of keeping terrorist links -- Miami Herald/McClatchy News
Why Admiral Mullen is talking tough with Pakistan over Haqqani militants -- Christian Science Monitor

U.S. Options For Drone Operations In The Event That Pakistan Says No

U.S. Still Has Options For Drones If Denied Use Of Pakistani Bases -- Washington Times

U.S. military forces will still be able to target al Qaeda terrorists in mountainous Southwest Asia with remotely piloted drones based in Afghanistan should Pakistan’s government deny the use of its territory to launch attacks.

Col. Dean Bushey, deputy director of the Army’s Joint Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center of Excellence, told an international-relations conference Wednesday that U.S. Reaper and Predator aircraft could still reach the “mountainous regions” of Pakistan without being based in that country.

“Our assets from Afghanistan have a long enough flight time to do it,” he told the conference, sponsored by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

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My Comment: Pakistani participation in anti-terrorism operations in the past have been spotty. Top Al Qaeda leaders have been captured, but others have been tipped off on U.S. operations .... hence the U.S. reluctance for sharing UAV intelligence with Pakistan. While UAV operations can be conducted from Afghanistan, continued drone attacks and civilian casualties will only inflame what is already a tense and hostile environment for both Pakistan and the U.S. .... an environment that will only get worse if Pakistan decides to vocally condemned future attacks.

The Unraveling Of The U.S. - Pakistan Intelligence Agency Alliance

Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha (right, with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani) will hope to clear the air with his CIA counterpart in Washington. Radio Free Europe

The CIA’s Pakistan Endgame -- J. Berkshire Miller, The Diplomat

A mix of inter-agency bickering and complicated ties with Pakistani intelligence continue to hamper chances for a smooth exit from Afghanistan.

In the autumn of 2009, US President Barack Obama rounded up his foreign policy team and cadre of political advisors to determine how to move forward in Afghanistan. After months of leaks, opinion pieces and TV spots that spurred a public turf war between the Pentagon and the National Security Council, the Obama administration finally agreed to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. All of the national security players reportedly agreed in principle to the plan, but anxiety arose over two looming uncertainties: the exit strategy and Pakistan.

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More News On U.S. - Pakistan Intelligence Ties

Pakistan demands drawdown of US drones, CIA agents -- Christian Science Monitor
Intelligence Disagreements Cast Shadow Over U.S.-Pakistani Relations -- Radio Free Europe
Pakistan Tells U.S. to Halt Drones -- Wall Street Journal
Pakistan pushes for drastic cuts in CIA activities -- Mercury News/New York Times
‘Pakistan’s request for fewer US trainers reflects fear of spying’ -- DAWN
Pakistan Says No to Drone Strikes, CIA Operations -- Voice of America
Pakistan warns US 'to restrict CIA activities' - report -- BBC

My Comment: A must read that explains this U.S. - Pakistani intelligence dispute is from Spencer Ackerman at the Danger Room .... Fuel for The Drone Strikes: Pakistani Outrage .... read it all.

Pakistan Tells The U.S. To Stop It's Drone Attacks

Gen Kayani has told the Obama administration that its expanded drone campaign has gotten out of control, a Pakistani official said. File photo

Pakistan Tells U.S. to Halt Drones -- Wall Street Journal

Pakistan has privately demanded the Central Intelligence Agency suspend drone strikes against militants on its territory, one of the U.S.'s most effective weapons against al Qaeda and Taliban leaders, officials said.

Pakistan has also asked the U.S. to reduce the number of U.S. intelligence and Special Operations personnel in the country, according to U.S. and Pakistani officials.

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More News On U.S. - Pakistan Intelligence Officials Meeting In Washington

Pakistan tells US to cut CIA, special forces numbers: report -- AFP
Pakistani spy chief presses CIA for concessions -- Reuters
Pakistan says no to CIA and drone strikes -- Washington Examiner
Pakistan threatens to impose new restrictions on CIA activities -- Washington Post
Pak military asks US to significantly cut number of CIA operatives -- DAWN
US asked to stop drone raids, cut CIA operations -- Dawn
Pakistan's top spy visits Washington in patch-up trip -- Reuters
Official: 'Frank discussion' between US, Pakistan intelligence chiefs -- CNN
CIA and Pakistan in anti-terror talks -- Financial Times
AP sources: Intel chiefs aim to rebuild trust -- AP
U.S. Will Consider Controversial Drone Policy in Pakistan, Says Ambassador -- FOX News
Pakistan-US intelligence impasse -- Daily Times editorial
What’s at stake in U.S.-Pakistan spy talks -- David Ignatius, Washington Post