Begun, the cold war with Pakistan has.
The U.S. has already asked the Pakistanis for the helicopter wreckage back, but one Pakistani official told ABC News the Chinese were also “very interested” in seeing the remains. Another official said, “We might let them [the Chinese] take a look.”
A U.S. official said he did not know if the Pakistanis had offered a peek to the Chinese, but said he would be “shocked” if the Chinese hadn’t already been given access to the damaged aircraft.
So let’s get this straight. Pakistan propped up the Taliban in Afghanistan, which worked with and harbored al Qaeda for years before 9-11 and refused to get out of the way after 9-11. Pakistan then harbored Osama bin Laden for years, all the while we were hunting for him. We go into Pakistan and get him. And the Pakistanis response is to hint that they will let another hostile power “take a look” at our downed tech.
It’s hard to see how all this ends well. But that has been true since 9-11-01.
hmmm…sounds to me like it’s time for another predator strike. This time on the area of compound where that helicopter crashed. If the Paks don’t like it too bad. Live by the sword,die by the sword.
Screw the compound, Naddy. Sounds to me like it’s time for a Predator strike on Islamabad, daily, for years on end. Let ‘em all get a good look at our tech, but only up-close.
Unfortunately for us and Pakistan, the problem there isn’t with “the regime.” Sure, they’re cheeky bastards, but they’re downright kin compared to the general populace. That’s uncomfortable for Americans, who have spent the last 20 years taking on “hostile regimes” and assuring everyone they’re only after Xland’s “government, not its people.”
Unfortunately, with Pakistan, a serious effort at eliminating the threat would have to start with a carpet bombing campaign.
If God were to give this planet an enema, Pakistan is where he’d stick the tube.
Screw the “Save Pak from Al-Q” crowd. It’s time we shored up relations with India and gave Pakistan a serious dose of Don Corleone Stew. If we can secure their nukes, we’d be a lot better off just wasting the entire top 20% of that country’s population and let the bottom 80% eat each other.
Oh You Silly Chinese,
When will you ever learn it’s bad luck to bring our downed tech into your embassies.
Pakistan’s ISI has done at least as much to harbor and finance terrorists as Saddam Hussein did.
Pakistan does not have oil, however. So I guess we will not be invading them.
Wow, that would be really insightful, except that — contrary to all that “Blood for Oil” B.S., we (of course) never took any of that oil, did we? In fact, Iraq is selling most of it to Europe and Russia. But don’t let that shake you from your single, all-purpose explanation.
Because if it did, then you’d have to try something like, “Pakistan has nukes, however, so I guess we won’t be invading them.”
DJ…putting all your politics and ideological biases aside, your premise is void of the historical facts.
In 1930 U.S. seismic geophysicist found Arab oil. From that beginning and as the oil fields expanded in the region, the U.S. has been actively involved in the geopolitics of the ‘oil producing’ Arab region. Since 1947 the U.S. has been involved in the governance of Saudi Arabia and more specifically nation building in Iran.
Long before (late 50′s) the misunderstood Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 to include the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, there was a classified strategic strategy to reserve America’s fossil fuel inventory and it remians highly classified to this day. Thousands of wells were capped and remaind capped today. Offshore was just being developed off Lousiana and there was no oil to speak of from Mexico or South America. The U.S. cut special direct deals with the Arab oil producers as they came online. Saudi Arabia the largest producer sold their oil to the U.S. for far less than the market price and constinued to do so after the formation of OPEC. Today, though our purchasing has shifted a great deal, the U.S. continues to be the global influence over the Arab oil producing nations as a strategic interest on many levels. Thats a minimal outline of the FACTS! How much Arab oil is left to facilitate the U.S. no longer having a strategic interest, is a matter that gets tossed around a bit these days but rest assurd it hasn’t reached such a point thus far.
Of the top ten global oil and gas reserves: Maybe you can connect the dots!
# 1 Saudi Arabia
# 3 Iran
# 4 Iraq
# 5 United Arab Emirates
# 6 Kuwait
# 9 Libya
And there are more in the top twenty.
As to Iraq, its oil production and agreements with the U.S. Iraq oil exports are way down to 1.89 million barrels per day and it will still be some time before they get back up to pre-war production and export. Iraq is left with few investors and hardly the economic resources to rebuild thei pre war oil industry. Their early agreement during the war years was for the U.S. to run and manage the oil production but member of the EU complained and that was that. In 2000 Iraq changed its oil reserve currency from the U.S. dollar to the euro. You think that is not a matter of great U.S. national security?
Oil is a very critical component of national and global security and as the leader of the world with our currency being the world currency, the U.S. has very direct strategic intersts in the Arab oil regions whether we need their oil or not.
Theres always more facts to an issue than what is portayed by all the populist and superficial rhetoric!
Toads, 2006 just called. They want their meme back.
Honestly, THAT’S the best you can do? Can’t you bring up more current stuff than that?
What do you mean we? You ever serve our country in any capacity? Taking cheap shots at your own country is a cowardly act only a self-loathing democrat would do. Can you name one country that has done more to defend freedom and democracy in the last 100 years? Especially one that has not received nor taken anything for the gift of our lives and treasury. And has been willing to do so even in the defense of despicable trash like you.
So then… does Pakistan have *any* friends left in the world who would raise more than an eyebrow if something terrible bad awful and radioactive should happen to the whole entire mob of them? I can’t believe China would care too much one way or the other, and what would Iran and/or North Korea actually do about it if they could raise anything more than a huff and a chuff?
India’s good to go and so is Afghanistan. I’ve thought for years that the Pak’s simply aren’t very smart, and they seem to keep proving it over and over again.
The only thing that gives me hope is that our president, Barack Hussein Obama, is so good in making friends and influencing people. He will persuade Pakistani leaders to do the right thing – in no time…
Well played, sir.
I guess it’s time to very loudly and publically invite India for a tour of some of our high-tech military manufacturing locations.
And all this only occurred to you now? Have you been in a cave in Tora Bora for the past decade?
We should be fast friends with India. We should have always been fast friends with India.
When the cold war was still going on with the USSR, India tended to be socialist, and fairly cozy to the USSR, while Pakistan was anti communist, so it made some sense to take an even handed approach between Pakistan and India. I agree that now that India has gone democratic capitalist, while Pakistan is moving toward Islamicist, it is time for usa to move more toward India.
To those who want to level Pakistan, while Pakistan has not been very helpful, they haven’t been actively hostile either, unlike Iran, who has been actively hostile. So if you want to level anybody, I hope you start with Iran first.
AGREE completely! The greatest message the entire Arab/Muslim region could receive is the U.S. UK and France taking out Iran’s hierarchy by whatever means. Then the barking kitty-kat Clinton over at Statre could send dispatch a commique to all the rest of the regions bums simply asking….”WHOSE WANTS TO BE NEXT.”
Theres plenty of ‘friendlies’ on the ground there to do the needed intel!
It’s high time we ceased to pretend that we can be friends with an Islamic regime. But we can count on Barack Hussein Obama to apologize to the Pakis for littering their wasteland with our high-tech stuff.
They have nukes, they have 100s of thousands of US men next door. (Is that Afghanistan or Iran I speak of?)
I don’t know why anyone thinks we can’t get along with a country whose capital city is called “Islamabad”. They sound like marvelous chaps over there, simply marvelous.
I personally have had it and favor the KevinM7137 solution.
Compound + MOAB = No Problem
At which point we pull all foreign aid to sad little nuked-up Pakistan and watch as the Pakistanis wait for the Chinese rush to provide billions of aid dollars, or yuan.
In the future perhaps telling them about the anthrax we seal into the fuselage will make people less curiouser and curioser.
Anthrax-infused pig fat.
Pakistan has nukes, we may have violated their border on this raid, they are a corrupt third world nation.
Thus I suspect while on the ground the lads did some destruction on the ruined helicopter to prevent most of the useful stuff from being scavenged. Willie Pete or something that doesn’t go out and melts through nearly anything.
So the Chinese got a look at the stealth coated exterior (which they have had since the Kosovo gig) but they were gonna get that anyway. It’s not as if the Pakistani’s couldn’t slip a few pieces under their coat while handing back the rest.
WRONG! That airframe section represents far more R&D propietary assests than than your speculated stealth coating.
That we left some pieces behind just reminds us of how tight the timelines were on the OBL raid.
Now Pakistan will wave the shattered pieces of helicopter, to provide distraction.
Pakistan needs to decide whether their future is linked to terrorism, both inside their cities and worldwide or peace. That would include peace with India. Historically that is a hard decision to make, but there it is.
What do you expect from a weasle command-in-chief and a politicized military? T’was a day when such assets would have been taken out, assessed and action(s) taken to finish the job until confirmed destroyed.
Looks like the great strategic ‘detail’ planner Obama dropped the ball…or did he? Maybe he has NO concept of how propietary assests are a matter of grave national security….?