October 12, 2010
Another crisis is roiling American-Pakistani relations after NATO helicopters mistakenly fired on a border post and killed Pakistani soldiers last month. Islamabad then closed a major supply line for NATO troops in Afghanistan; last week, extremists torched fuel trucks waiting at the border crossing. A new White House report said that Pakistan’s Army is refusing to go after Taliban groups targeting American forces.
After a joint Pakistan-NATO inquiry concluded last week that the Pakistani troops were “simply firing warning shots” when the Afghan-based helicopters crossed the border, the United States apologized. Pakistan has since reopened the crossing.
Still, making this alliance work is essential. Pakistan’s government is unraveling in the wake of its incompetent response to devastating floods. The United States needs to do more to help — and Pakistan’s military and civilian leaders finally need to admit that winning the battle against extremists, on both sides of the border, is essential to Pakistan’s security. The agenda is daunting:
Another crisis is roiling American-Pakistani relations after NATO helicopters mistakenly fired on a border post and killed Pakistani soldiers last month. Islamabad then closed a major supply line for NATO troops in Afghanistan; last week, extremists torched fuel trucks waiting at the border crossing. A new White House report said that Pakistan’s Army is refusing to go after Taliban groups targeting American forces.
After a joint Pakistan-NATO inquiry concluded last week that the Pakistani troops were “simply firing warning shots” when the Afghan-based helicopters crossed the border, the United States apologized. Pakistan has since reopened the crossing.
Still, making this alliance work is essential. Pakistan’s government is unraveling in the wake of its incompetent response to devastating floods. The United States needs to do more to help — and Pakistan’s military and civilian leaders finally need to admit that winning the battle against extremists, on both sides of the border, is essential to Pakistan’s security. The agenda is daunting:
