Pakistan and the ISI

Pakistan and it's intelligence service, the ISI, have been accused of a grievous violation of international law. Today the Afghan Intelligence Service made it official and said that the ISI was implicated in the April assassination attempt on President Karzai. We have discussed before the problems with Pakistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Northwest Frontier Provinces that Al Qaeda and the Taliban use as a safe haven but this is an all together different situation. (Link to NY Times Article)

The ISI was the primary supporter of the insurgency within Afghanistan during the Soviet Occupation, and functioned as the primary conduit for many nations to support the fight against the Soviets. They also were one of the main supporters of the Taliban and the Islamic Extremist movements that took over Afghanistan in the post Soviet Era; not least of which was Al Qaeda. To this day many foreign policy experts believe that they are behind many of the support activities of the insurgency from within the little controlled frontier provinces of Pakistan. But as I said above this is completely a different situation.

This is not just giving a safe haven or arming the insurgency. This is not just funding and running the madrases to school the next generation of suicide bombers. If this is true then this is an agency of a sovereign government that just acted in, supported, and helped execute a plan to assassinate their neighboring countries leader. This is an unbelievable affront to the Nation of Afghanistan and if true would only serve to concrete and solidify President Karzai's plan to use Afghan troops more offensively on the border.

If there was ever a time for the United States to engage Pakistan on the matter of this and the problems with the border, it is now. Pakistan has long been touted as a critical ally in our Global War on Terror, well now is the time to engage them and find out what truly is going on. The insurgency within Afghanistan can never be fully defeated without taking away this safe haven they now enjoy across the border. The question becomes though, what happens from here, and what will Pakistan do to fix this situation?

God Bless America

Bryan

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/world/asia/26afghan.html?hp

Photo is from the NY Times Article and taken by Massoud Houssani / Agence - French Presse Getty Images. Sphere: Related Content