For years, Afghanistan’s military and political leaders have been urging the Obama administration to go after Taliban chiefs who can kill U.S. and Afghan troops one day and then eat in restaurants in southwestern Pakistan a day later. And for years, President Obama has apparently resisted that call, mindful of the United States’ complicated relationship with Pakistan.
Despite their shock five years ago when Obama sent the U.S. military into Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden, Pakistani leaders believed they were largely sheltered from U.S. drones and warplanes. There was an agreement — a red line, as Pakistani leaders refer to it — that restricted U.S. drone strikes to Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt in the northwestern part of the country, they said.
But over the weekend, Obama again pulled the trigger, ordering the strike that killed Taliban leader Akhtar Mohammad Mansour in Baluchistan, far from the tribal belt. Now, some Pakistani leaders are rattled, saying they fear the United States is gearing up to bring the war in Afghanistan closer to Pakistan’s home front, the Washington Post said Tuesday.
“It was the first drone strike in Baluchistan, and no doubt it was the crossing of the red line by the United States,” said Khalid Hussain Magsi, who represents that area in Parliament. “It’s a clear message that the U.S. can do such strikes wherever they feel is required.”
On Monday, while confirming the death of Mansour, the White House did little to soothe the undercurrent of anxiety.
“We will continue taking action against extremist networks that target the United States,” the White House said in a statement. “We will work on shared objectives with Pakistan, where terrorists that threaten all our nations must be denied safe haven.”
At the same time, officials said the location and nature of the strike reflect a shifting calculation in the U.S. relationship with Pakistan, one that is less driven by the need for counterterrorism cooperation from Islamabad.
Several U.S. officials said that Obama authorized the mission in a way that would essentially confront Islamabad publicly with Mansour’s presence and presumed protection in a region of Pakistan that has been off-limits to CIA drones.
Bashir Bezhen, a Kabul-based political analyst, said Obama’s decision has helped “change the mind-set of the world and Afghans who thought that America is not serious in fighting terrorism.”
But Saifullah Mahsud, executive director of the Pakistan-based FATA Research Center, which monitors militant groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan, warned that both of those countries will soon regret Obama’s decision.