The United States may mount special operations to strike Taliban and al Qaeda targets in Pakistan and also step up drone attacks against them in the near future, according to an American intelligence thinktank.
Contending that the bulk of al Qaeda leadership is now in Pakistan and not in Afghanistan, the Stratfor in its annual security forecast said, this could prompt “Increased cross- border US military activity ¿ mostly drone strikes, but also Special Forces Operations - will be a defining characteristic of the conflict in the area in 2010”.
Pakistan is near “breakpoint,” it said as both jihadist and Americans were now operating on its soil, and “thus it is here, not Afghanistan, where the nature of war is shifting”.
“US actions will force Pakistan’s military to expand the scope of its counterinsurgency offensive, which will turn heretofore neutral militants against the Pakistani state.
“The consequence will be a sharp escalation in militant attacks across Pakistan, including deep into the Punjabi core,” the global intelligence think tank said.
Even a moderate increase in US action, it said, will be notable to the Pakistanis among whom the US efforts in Afghanistan are already deeply unpopular.
Bron: Stratfor /
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/US-might-mount-SPL-Forces-Strikes-in-Pak-in-2010/563664/
11/02/2012 | 02:38 uur
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