ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist&reg;.com: Putin Punishes Georgia</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style2 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; } .style3 { height: 58px; } .style4 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> <table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr height="79"> <td width="133" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="7" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="482" height="79" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="1" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="79"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="300" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="624" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style3"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong>HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#149; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#149; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#149; <a href="teflon.html">THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#149; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com">REACTIONS</a> &#149; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="2"> <td width="133" height="2">&nbsp;</td> <td width="489" height="2576" colspan="3" rowspan="2" align="left" xpos="133" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <p class="style2">Bush Takes Fight to Pakistan</p> <p><b><font face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica">by John M. Curtis</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b><a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>(310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright October 3, 2008<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="style4"> G</span>OP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) blasted Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.) for daring to say he would pursue terrorists in Pakistan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>U.S. predator drones, flying from Afghanistan to Pakistan Oct. 3, attacked a safe-house, killing 12 suspected terrorists, underscoring the official U.S. policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When the two debated on Sept. 26, McCain indicated that Barack s policy would destabilize a U.S. ally, leaving Pakistan vulnerable to the Taliban and al-Qaida.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When Islamic extremists truck-bombed the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan s capital Islamabad Sept. 20 killing 50, terrorists expressed contempt for Pakistan new Prime Minister Asif Ali Zardari, widow of the late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>His wife was assassinated by extremists Dec. 28, 2007 in a brazen suicide attack against her armored motorcade in Rawalpindi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters have been on an unrelenting rampage, steadily increasing U.S. casualties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Sixty-five U.S. soldiers were killed in Afghanistan in May, June and July 2008, the deadliest toll since 45 died the same three months of 2005.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain and Palin have repeatedly said the Iraq is the  central front in the war on terror, citing former Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Yet both know that Iraq had nothing to do with Sept. 11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Both have acknowledged that Osama bin Laden is presumed hiding in Pakistan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>With the U.S. military unable to get Bin Laden, the White House has targeted the Northwest Waziristan region.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain, and his running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, refuses to acknowledge that it s official U.S. policy to kill or capture terrorists inside Pakistan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Despite White House actions, McCain pretends Obama is at odds with U.S. policy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Palin told CBS News anchor Katie Couric Sept. 29 that she would pursue terrorists inside Pakistan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When she realized it ran counter to McCain s criticism of Barack, she abruptly reneged, prompting McCain to blame the media for playing a  gotcha game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Palin insisted Oct. 2 at her debate with Democratic VP nominee Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) that Iraq, not Afghanistan, was primary terrorist battleground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>She said the U.S. was close to victory, blaming Biden for throwing in the white flag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Biden pointed out that al-Qaida was busy plotting the next terror attack not in Iraq but the rugged lawless region inside Pakistan, the likely lair of Osama bin Laden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Recognizing the Taliban resurgence, Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledges Sept. 16 that, due to personnel shortages, the Pentagon could not add troops until next June.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Until then, predator drone attacks will have to do. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Since former president Gen. Pervez Musharraf stepped down Aug. 18 and Zardari took over, the Pakistani government has gone after terrorists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Musharraf cut special deals with the Taliban and tribal leaders in Waziristan, essentially ceding terrorists including Bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar sovereign territory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>After his wife s assassination, Zardari knows his enemies are the same Islamic extremists that killed his Benazir Bhutto.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Pakistana s Interior Minister Chief Rahman Malik promised that he would go against jihadists until his country is  terrorist free. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Malik confirmed that the new government that came to power in February will kill or force terrorists to flee Pakistan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> There is no other option, Malik told Express TV News, describing the government s commitment to root out extremists in the wake of the deadly Sept. 20 blast at Islamabad s Marriott hotel.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Unlike Musharraf, the U.S. has a real partner in Zardari, committed not only to rooting out terrorists but to a Democratic Pakistan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>U.S. support of Musharraf, who ousted elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Oct. 12, 1999 in a bloodless coup, antagonized Pakistanis serious about Democracy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Musharraf played both sides against the middle but, in the end, lent support to terrorist operations in Pakistan s ungoverned tribal lands along the Afghan border.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> We will not stop any operation unless we reach its logical conclusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>That means that this war will continue until we make Pakistan terrorism-free, said Malik, indicating there s a new sheriff in town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When two U.S. missiles hit villages in North Waziristan Oct. 3, it signaled the government s commitment to eradicating terrorists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Zardari knows his government is in an implacable life-or-death struggle.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>McCain and Palin won t admit that the White House is actively engaged in cross-border attacks in Pakistan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> McCain says he ll follow Bin Laden  to the gates of hell but won t use predator drones to attack terrorists nests in Pakistan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Both know that the Afghan-Pakistan border is the real central front in the war on terror.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Iraq is long overdue for an exit strategy endorsed by Obama but strongly urged by Iraq President Nouri al-Maliki.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>As Biden staid in last night s debate, Iraqis must step up to pay and fight for their own sovereignty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Going after the terrorists in Pakistan responsible for Sept. 11 is a moral and national security obligation for the United States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> As Barack and Biden frequently point out, Iraq has become a dangerous distraction in the real war on terror.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>U.S. policy must change course, end the Iraq War and recommit to killing and capturing the terrorists responsible for Sept. 11.</p> <p><b><u>About the Author</u></b><br> </p> <p><b>John M. Curtis </b>writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He&#x2019;s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>.<br> </p> <p></p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td width="133" height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="133" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong>Home</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> || <a href="articlesindex.html">Articles</a> || <a href="books.html">Books</a> || <a href="teflon.html">The Teflon Report</a> || <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com">Reactions</a> || <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">About Discobolos</a></strong></font> <div align="left"> <p><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">This site designed, developed and hosted by the experts at</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> <a href="http://www.cmeonline.net" target="_blank"><img height="30" width="138" src="images/cmelogoANIM.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></a></font></p> </div> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">&copy;1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>