Has the U.S. Invasion of Pakistan Begun?
By Tariq Ali,
Tomdispatch.com. Posted September 18, 2008.
The Bush administration in its waning months seems intent on a slo-mo
launching of a third war in the border regions of Pakistan.
The decision to make public a presidential order of last July
authorizing American strikes inside Pakistan without seeking the
approval of the Pakistani government ends a long debate within, and on
the periphery of, the Bush administration. Senator Barack Obama, aware
of this ongoing debate during his own long battle with Hillary
Clinton, tried to outflank her by supporting a policy of U.S. strikes
into Pakistan. Senator John McCain and Vice Presidential candidate
Sarah Palin have now echoed this view and so it has become, by
consensus, official U.S. policy.
Its effects on Pakistan could be catastrophic, creating a severe
crisis within the army and in the country at large. The overwhelming
majority of Pakistanis are opposed to the U.S. presence in the region,
viewing it as the most serious threat to peace.
