Admiral Mullen and General Petraeus
Islamabad in relation to the Northwest Frontier and the Taliban
Pakistan Nuclear Facilities .
This story broke last night and was reported in the Daily Telegraph by Isambard Wilkinson. In a bit of what if and if it happens, what caused it will accelerate the debate that we took our eye off the ball, when we turned our attention to Iraq, then in a fit of hubris tried to solve the problem by borrowing against the farm and eating our seed corn as we stumbled on for three years, like a blinded elephant in Iraq and let the Taliban and AQ reconstitute themselves in sanctuaries in Pakistan. Now we are faced with the potential of having to escalate the war to a degree not seen since Vietnam or Korea to prevent Pakistan's nuclear weapons from falling into the hands of those who would not hesitate to pull the trigger and escape to paradise. Talk of what we might do is too sensitive for open discussion, we can only stand by and wish General Petraeus, Admiral Mullen and finally President Obama the vision and wisdom to make the right decision.
American officials have watched with growing anxiety as Taliban fighters have strengthened their grip on north-western Pakistan.
Militants advanced to within 60 miles of Islamabad, the capital, last month and were pushed back only when the US put pressure on Pakistan to launch a counter-offensive.
Gen Petraeus, the head of Central Command, which covers all US forces in the Middle East and south Asia, is reported to have said that “the Pakistanis have run out of excuses” and now accept that tough action has to be taken to guarantee the government’s survival.
Gen Petraeus, who oversaw the American troop surge credited with quelling the insurgency in Iraq, is reported to have wearied of Pakistan’s excuses for failing to take on the Taliban.
Read more: Petraeus: we have two weeks to save Pakistan
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