August 10, 2007 (LPAC)--The August 4-5 Camp David strategy meeting between President Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai was centered around bringing the leadership of Pakistan's 3 million-strong Federally-Administered Tribal Agency (FATA) under the control of Kabul through a council of elders meeting, called the jirga. Subsequently, the two-day (August 9-10) jirga backfired with a bang when the Pakistani tribal elder and former Member of Pakistani Parliament, Malik Fazal Manaan Mohammad told the 700 delegates present that the presence of NATO and US-led forces in Afghanistan is a major cause of insecurity. "There is no need for the NATO forces. Bring Islamic countries' troops," said Malik Fazal of the Mohamand agency located within the FATA.
The jirga, which was scheduled to be attended by both heads of states, was attended by Afghan President Karzai. But, at the last moment, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf decided not to attend and instead, sent his prime minisrer Shaukat Aziz. While there could be a number of reasons why President Musharraf chose not to attend, what is evident is that the decision taken by the FATA's most-volatile Waziristan agency tribal elders not to go to Kabul was an indicator that the jirga would be a farce.
Lyndon LaRouche said in response to these developments that what the Pakistani tribal elder said was probably a fair policy comment, because as long as Cheney is in office and not ousted, this is the situation. The U.S. can get back in the situation if it drops Cheney. Then new options open up under which this issue can be discussed.
The consequences of the failure to do so is evident in developments in the field of battle. The day the jirga was convened, five Pakistani troops were injured and 16 went missing after the militants targeted army convoys in North Waziristan agency bordering Afghanistan, Pakistani security officials said. A dozen militants were also killed in a follow-up operation by the Pakistan Army. "The army killed up to a dozen militants in North Waziristan, and destroyed two compounds after the five soldiers were injured by a roadside bomb," said Pakistani Major General Waheed Arshad operating in Waziristan.
