Is the US trying to start a war with Pakistan?

[spartan]

I mean the signs are there if you look not to hard enough.

We have the US puppet Musharraf who was recently forced from power and ever since (well actually before when it was becoming increasingly obvious that Musharraf wouldn't be hanging onto power for long) the US has been increasingly hostile/critical of Pakistan and it's fight with it's own citizens (who make up a large portion of the recruits who fight for the Taleban in Afghanistan) in the border tribal regions of the country.

The US wants to conduct operations within Pakistan on the border regions with Afghanistan as this is where the Taleban and Al-Qaeda are strongest (recruits and bases) and retreat to regroup after fighting in Afghanistan.

However the new Pakistan president Zardari is saying no to these US overtures as he thinks it will inflame the situation (not to say the least the Pakistan political situation which is very unstable) amongst other things.

As such this issue (militants in Pakistan and the US's inability to engage them in combat) has been seeing more news coverage than normal (perhaps the media trying to justify a future US attack in this region?).

Then we also have the nuclear issue as Pakistan is a nuclear power which means that it's weapons (in a nightmare scenario) could fall into the hands of Islamists who would then use it against the west or to stop western attempts at dominating the region (Afghanistan and Pakistan).

There is also the fact that, by and large, the Pakistani people don't like their country's alliance with America as they see it as the primary cause of all their country's recent problems (i.e. dictatorship, Islamists, suicide bombings, assassinations and civil war, etc).

At the very least I think the US is trying to deliberately destabilise the political situation in Pakistan so it then has an excuse to go in and "restore democracy" whilst at the same time being able to open up a new front against the Taleban/Al-Qaeda which it has been dreaming of doing since the Taleban resurgence a few years back.

[Dean]

I mean the signs are there if you look not to hard enough.

We have the US puppet Musharraf who was recently forced from power and ever since (well actually before when it was becoming increasingly obvious that Musharraf wouldn't be hanging onto power for long) the US has been increasingly hostile/critical of Pakistan and it's fight with it's own citizens (who make up a large portion of the recruits who fight for the Taleban in Afghanistan) in the border tribal regions of the country.

The US wants to conduct operations within Pakistan on the border regions with Afghanistan as this is where the Taleban and Al-Qaeda are strongest (recruits and bases) and retreat to regroup after fighting in Afghanistan.

However the new Pakistan president Zardari is saying no to these US overtures as he thinks it will inflame the situation (not to say the least the Pakistan political situation which is very unstable) amongst other things.

As such this issue (militants in Pakistan and the US's inability to engage them in combat) has been seeing more news coverage than normal (perhaps the media trying to justify a future US attack in this region?).

Then we also have the nuclear issue as Pakistan is a nuclear power which means that it's weapons (in a nightmare scenario) could fall into the hands of Islamists who would then use it against the west or to stop western attempts at dominating the region (Afghanistan and Pakistan).

There is also the fact that, by and large, the Pakistani people don't like their country's alliance with America as they see it as the primary cause of all their country's recent problems (i.e. dictatorship, Islamists, suicide bombings, assassinations and civil war, etc).

At the very least I think the US is trying to deliberately destabilise the political situation in Pakistan so it then has an excuse to go in and "restore democracy" whilst at the same time being able to open up a new front against the Taleban/Al-Qaeda which it has been dreaming of doing since the Taleban resurgence a few years back.

The U.S. Doesn't have an interest in starting a war with Pakistan. They have too much diplomatic interests to risk destabilizing the government and inflaming the people there. The U.S. will likely court Pakistan with economic aid incentives and bully their leaders into following their advice.

[spartan]

The U.S. Doesn't have an interest in starting a war with Pakistan. They have too much diplomatic interests to risk destabilizing the government and inflaming the people there. The U.S. will likely court Pakistan with economic aid incentives and bully their leaders into following their advice.
It's just the increasing media coverage of Pakistan and it's border with Afghanistan.

The media are always trying to (not to subtlety) promote the view that a Pakistan without Musharraf is unable to fight the Islamists in the autonomous border tribal region and that this is hindering the allies in their fight against the Taleban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.

Plus we have the US demanding to be allowed to conduct operations in this region so...

[jake williams]

Moreover the political change in Pakistan that's going on right now isn't totally trivial, and one has to be aware of its complexities. It seems quite likely both that the newish Pakistani administration is pro-American, and that Americans wouldn't be quite so foolish as to start a war with Pakistan. It would be a disaster for them. I suspect the cross-border raids to be something between immediate tactical concerns - military on the ground really believes that this is the right thing to do to catch the folks they're trying to catch - and political concerns focused on posturing as tough boys for the election.

[spartan]

Moreover the political change in Pakistan that's going on right now isn't totally trivial, and one has to be aware of its complexities. It seems quite likely both that the newish Pakistani administration is pro-American, and that Americans wouldn't be quite so foolish as to start a war with Pakistan. It would be a disaster for them. I suspect the cross-border raids to be something between immediate tactical concerns - military on the ground really believes that this is the right thing to do to catch the folks they're trying to catch - and political concerns focused on posturing as tough boys for the election.
Perhaps not a war, but the US wants to bring the fight to the Taleban into Pakistan's border region which Pakistan wont allow them to do.

Thus it would be in the US's intrest to effectively destabilise Pakistan which would give the US the excuse it needs to conduct cross-border operations (as well as replacing the government with one which is more reliable, i.e. doesn't say no to US demands).

[Hiero]

The US wants unrestrained access to Pakistani's territory especially the North Western areas, they have already breached Pakistan's sovereignty by sending troops into these areas.

I doubt they want war with the Pakistan government, but I think they fear that Pakistan might try to deal with the tribal areas through peacefull means. That is the US' biggest fear in my mind, that the people of Pakistan have turned more anti-American under the Musharraf regime and things are going to change.

There has been alot of talk, especially by Obama, and even here in Australia by the government about extending the war in Afghanistan over the border into Pakistan. I am not sure what the US will do if the Pakistani government makes a clear stand against this.