Pakistani militants attack key NATO supply line

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

Do you think this might be where Obama gets "tested"? Obvious place for it I guess.

I don't know if I would consider it a test. We are still under the Bush administration and it seems that the Taliban is trying to gain as much ground as possible before Obama gets into office and make his goal of securing Afghanistan very difficult if not impossible. If there was a test I would expect it more from Russia or China. Although, those two countries could have great influence over the actions of militants in the Pakistan region so you can never rule anything out.

I'm not convinced Pakistan wants NATO out of Afghanistan. A militant Islamic Afghanistan is much more of a threat than a corrupt secular or moderate one. Or even, inshallah, a free stable democratic one.

Threat to who? I'm assuming Pakistan's views are very split. Some want Western presence, some want an Islamic Pakistan state, some want to split up the country. Besides the first answer, I don't see how a militant Afghan state would be a threat to Pakistan.

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

I'm assuming Pakistan's views are very split. Some want Western presence, some want an Islamic Pakistan state, some want to split up the country. Besides the first answer, I don't see how a militant Afghan state would be a threat to Pakistan.

I was thinking of the current moderate, pro-western govt, which is presently in power in Pakistan, and who I presume fear a militant Islamic Afghanistan.

Don't forget, also, that winter in Afghanistan is terrible and these people are grabbing territory now so they can hunker down during the snow. So on second thoughts BHO will probably not be "tested" in Afghanistan in late January, on account of the place being ice-bound.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

... I don't see how a militant Afghan state would be a threat to Pakistan.

Because Afghanistan poppys supply the Pakistan militant Islamics with a large part of their funding. They know that a NATO controlled Afghanistan would dry up that funding.