Pakistan: Not in our backyard!

The Pakistanis are not happy campers. Pakistan's top general is declaring his intention of defending the country's borders "at all cost." Pakistan's government of the hour is now stuck with the conundrum of what to do since it wasn't told beforehand of the loosened rules of engagement. This comes in the wake of the Sept. 4 attack by the coalition forces in South Waziristan and allegations that Team Bush signed off on a secret plan authorizing attacks by special forces against the enemy hanging out in Pakistan's tribal region. The new orders seem to be driven by a mistrust of Pakistan's security apparatus, though the revelations may have forced the Pakistanis to kick it up a notch. Admiral Mike Mullen has probably provided the most honest appraisal of the war in Afghanistan, which will almost certainly get him sacked. He has noted that Afghanistan and Pakistan are linked in the current violence and that Afghanistan's problems run deep and wide. "We can't kill our way to victory."