By Ewen MacAskill / Guardian
Barack Obama gave the go-ahead for his first military action yesterday, missile strikes against suspected militants in Pakistan which killed at least 18 people.
Four days after assuming the presidency, he was consulted by US commanders before they launched the two attacks. Although Obama has abandoned many of the "war on terror" policies of George Bush while he was president, he is not retreating from the hunt for Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders.
The US believes they are hiding in the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan, and made 30 strikes last year in which more than 200 people were killed. In the election, Obama hinted at increased operations in Pakistan, saying he thought Bush had made a mistake in switching to Iraq before completing the job against al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The US marine corp commander said yesterday that his 22,000 troops should be redeployed from Iraq to Afghanistan. Gen James Conway said "the time is right" to leave Iraq now the war had become largely nation-building rather than the pitched fighting in which the corps excelled; he wanted the marines in Afghanistan, especially in the south where insurgents, and the Taliban and al-Qaida, benefit from both a nearby safe haven in Pakistan and a booming trade in narcotics.
Obama has warned that he is prepared to bomb inside Pakistan if he gets relevant intelligence about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. He had also said he would act against militants along the border if the Pakistan government failed to.
The US missiles were fired by unmanned Predator drones, which hang in the sky gathering intelligence through surveillance and, when commanded and directed by remote control, to launch attacks.
The strikes will help Obama portray himself as a leader who, though ready to shift the balance of American power towards diplomacy, is not afraid of military action.
The first attack yesterday was on the village of Zharki, in Waziristan; three missiles destroyed two houses and killed 10 people. One villager told Reuters of phonethat of nine bodies pulled from the rubble of one house, six were its owner and his relatives; Reuters added that intelligence officials said some foreign militants were also killed. A second attack hours later also in Warizistan killed eight people.
The Pakistan government publicly expressed hope that the arrival of Obama would see a halt to such strikes, which stir up hostility from Pakistanis towards the government; in private, the government may be more relaxed about such attacks.
There is a lot of nervousness in the new administration about the fragility of Pakistan, particularly as it has nuclear weapons, but it also sees Afghanistan and Pakistan as being linked. In the face of a Taliban resurgence, there is despair in Washington over the leadership of the Afghan leader, Hamid Karzai, and there will not be much disappointment if he is replaced in elections later this year.
3 comments:
Not pleased with this move...OBL is DEAD. Try diplomacy Mr President, its a new concept not yet tried by this country in Afghanistan/Pakistan. (Unless you include the troops negotiating with local warlords) Ask the Russians what happens when one insists firepower works in that part of the world...
We are unsure that OBL is dead, Prissy. There has been so much conflicting information by the former President of the whereabouts of OBL or whether he is dead or alive. Unfortunately, Afghanistan has been ignored and should have been more of the focused than Iraq. Afghanistan has become more dangerous than Iraq.
However, I am not saying that President Obama's decision of airstrike is the right or wrong decision. That is decision that he has to make as taking the job as President and inheriting Bush's mess. And I do condemn innocent civilians among casualities. There are going to be decisions that President Obama will make when we will disagree and agree on.
Yes, diplomacy is the key for peace. But, we are dealing with Karzai who is leader of Afghanistan who is still part of the Bush Administration rotten core and should be replaced with a better leader.
Stepping into Bush's mess and Bush's creation of two wars is not going be easy for Obama. But, with strong team such as Clinton, Gates, DOD, etc. we will hopefully see a mutual relationship with our international leaders that are our friends as well as foes.
What does a President do when left with this mess. Many have answers but they don't have the power to decide. By sitting back and doing nothing as Obama hasn't been in office a week yet. Republicans are doing well in programing Americans to attack or question President Obama. Now as Rush Limballs said it is the job of the GOP and Americans to have Obama fail so a Republican can get back in the White House. All these attacks on Obama yet not a word to Bush/Cheney who created this mess. Obama is a real good man because with the way he's been treated and attacked I'd let the US hang and watch some other country walk in and take over. It's truely sad we have so many uneducated Americans. It's much eaiser to use ignorant people that those who are educated enough to ask questions and demand intelligant answers. Fox News is doing a great job at selling stupidity and hate. As we see the other countries grow and develop with a better economy and education it's clear why in just 8 short years Bush/Cheney did so well and got in two terms. I remember reading how the Masters were told not to educate their slaves as if they did the slave would be able to think for themselves. We know the results of that. Now the same thing is done today but to all Americans, as like sheep they will follow as ordered.
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