VIEW: NATO BOOTS - A LETTER
PRINTED IN THE POST SEP 21, 2008 One of the mandates of our recently elected government was to annihilate Taliban sanctuaries; allowing NATO boots on the ground was also somewhere down the agenda . It has not escaped notice that the ‘Boots’ have come on the heels of the new presidency. Their presence, confirms that Washington has given the green light to a controversial new strategy their media has been hinting at for months. A strategy that promises more action within Pakistani territory and a planned surge in Afghanistan makes their intentions perfectly clear. The war on terror has taken a crucial turn and there will be more where that came from. And though Pakistani leadership has been slow to react, statements from Pakistan’s military brass indicate that they not happy with this arrangement. The Pak-Afghan border has been declared a new frontline by Washington, proving that perhaps authorisation or approval is no longer considered central to the partnership. While the new gov...