By now most Andrewbruss.com readers have heard the news that a NATO strike within Pakistan’s borders killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, causing an unparalleled diplomatic crisis.
Pakistan has closed off their borders to NATO, leaving our forces in Afghanistan without a direct supply rout. But what is not getting as much attention is that the Pakistani’s have told the U.S. that they are no longer allowed to use Pakistani airfields to launch drone strikes.
The C.I.A.-led drone program aims at targets inside Pakistan and is one of the worst kept secrets in the history of secrets. However, the fact that these drones were being launched from within Pakistan offers a groundbreaking new dimension to the complicated relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan.
These two nations actively work against each others interests but are still dependent on one another. Pakistan depends upon the U.S. for military funding, training and technology and the United States depends on Pakistan for intel and supply routs to Afghanistan.
Relations between the two hit an all-time low after Seal Team 6 killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan without informing the Pakistani’s that a team was being sent in. While it is news to the public that NATO had access to Pakistani airfields, the C.I.A. had been allowed to station agents in the country for some time. So this is not the first time we have learned that Pakistan allowed U.S. assets on their soil.
It is now irrelevant that we had drones in Pakistan because we aren’t allowed to base them there anymore. As eye opening as this fact may be, the unquestionable future of NATO supply routs to Afghanistan must be the biggest worry for NATO… aside from security of Pakistan’s nukes.
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