This may come as a shock, so brace yourselves. Pakistan wants us to leave them the hell alone. Gee… I didn’t see that one coming.
John Glaser reports on AntiWar:
The Pakistani Parliament just released their Guidelines for Revised Terms of Engagement with USA/NATO/ISAF. It states flatly that “Pakistan’s sovereignty shall not be compromised.” And that includes no more drones.
The US footprint in Pakistan must be reviewed. This means (i) an immediate cessation of drone attacks inside the territorial borders of Pakistan, (ii) the cessation of infiltration into Pakistani territory on any pretext, including hot pursuit; (iii) Pakistani territory including its air space shall not be used for transportation of arms and ammunition to Afghanistan.
Raise your hand if you’re surprised.
I don’t see many hands…
“But we got Osama there!” Right. That’s reason enough to violate the sovereignty of another nation, right? Wrong.
On November 26th of last year, 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in an airstrike. Military supply routes to NATO troops in Afghanistan have been closed to the U.S. since then.
President Obama restarted the drone program in January, which Pakistan has consistently condemned as “unlawful.” And guess what… they are right! We have no authority to violate the sovereignty of another nation, despite our “best intentions.”
This is what happens when you fight a “war without borders.” You end up violating… borders. And that has a tendency to piss people off.
As always I’m interested in your thoughts. Comment below.
Aaron Graves
Aaron Graves is a veteran and a staunch libertarian, consistently breaking ranks with his Conservative friends on social issues, and with his Liberal friends on economic issues. He is also the guy that wrote the crap that you just read. Sic Semper Tyrannis
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Respecting sovereignty and leaving a country alone are very different things.
Pakistan has huge educational, cultural and economic ties with the USA. Many people in both countries are open to investment, development and mutual aid.
Most of our allies don’t want to be “left alone.” Respecting the sovereignty of Pakistan is a good start toward building a stronger relationship.
Very true Seth, perhaps I shouldn’t have said “left alone.”
The idea is we should definitely respect the sovereignty of Pakistan (and indeed any country).
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