A Dangerous Neighbor

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

As the situation in Afghanistan worsens, many military officials have come to see the growing safe haven for insurgent groups in Pakistan as the key to the Afghanistan war. Today Bill Roggio and I have an article at the Daily Standard examining how Pakistan's deterioration harms coalition efforts in Afghanistan:

The primary advantage that terrorist sanctuaries in northwestern Pakistan provide to the Afghan insurgency is the ability to operate with relative freedom in that country. The U.S. military is constrained in cross-border strikes and hot pursuit because Pakistan views the tribal areas as sovereign territory. Not only is Pakistan a U.S. ally, but there are also serious concerns that too heavy a U.S. hand in the tribal areas will destabilize the government and push more members of Pakistan's military and intelligence communities and civilian population into the extremists' camp.

Thus, the American military is handcuffed in its ability to respond to attacks when the enemy melts back over Pakistan's border. Reluctance to strike in Pakistani territory also prevents the U.S. military from disrupting the enemy's bases and supply lines. The safe havens in northwestern Pakistan give the Taliban and allied groups a virtually untouchable rear area, where they can recruit, arm, train, and infiltrate fighters into Afghanistan....

The second advantage that Afghan insurgents derive from Pakistan is the ability to train and gain combat experience. American military and intelligence officials have told us that more than 100 training camps are operating in the North-West Frontier Province and tribal areas, up from an estimated 29 camps last year in Waziristan. The camps vary in size and specialty, and some are temporary.

At these camps, a host of extremist groups--including local Taliban organizations, hardcore al Qaeda recruits, and Pakistani terror groups focused on Kashmir--are trained in a variety of tactics, techniques, and procedures. Training for the Taliban's military arm focuses on the fight against the Pakistani army or NATO forces in Afghanistan. Other camps focus on training suicide bombers or preparing al Qaeda operatives for attacks in the West. One camp exclusively services the Black Guard, Osama bin Laden's elite bodyguard.

The complete article can be found here.

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