Memogate - Fact, Fiction and Political Lies Essay

Memogate - Fact, Fiction and Political Lies - Essay Example Analogous to Vietnam, the American troops and their allies dug into the urban areas using fortified structures that were seen as impenetrable for organized Taliban and Al-Qaeda troops. This had one major impact – conventional warfare was not possible in Afghanistan anymore as the Taliban and Al-Qaeda could not mount infantry or artillery attacks. Given the limited choices to act, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda turned over to guerilla tactics with special emphasis being placed on suicide bombing runs inside US bases in Afghanistan. Rising causalities inside the US bases as well as on roads throughout Afghanistan forced the US to act once more. In order to deal with the challenges at hand, the military’s top brass and the hawks in Washington decided to escalate troop levels in order to pursue a policy of â€Å"boots on the ground†. The rising troop levels and the enhanced military activity on ground meant that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda needed new places to hide. This was an obvious response from the Taliban and Al-Qaeda as they needed bases to train troops, plan and execute operations, plan for longer term strategies and the like. However, space in Afghanistan was running out for both the Taliban and Al-Qaeda who were on the run given escalated military activity. As a response to this, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda moved over into neighboring Pakistan’s tribal belt. ... The closely knitted extended family structure in the region which sponsored tribalism was also able to help the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in finding shelter. Even though it was obvious where the enemy was stationed, the US troops and their allies could not operate inside Pakistan as they had in Afghanistan. The sanctity of an international border was far too great to be desecrated along with the sensitivities of the Pakistani side. The US was quick to bring in drones to attack targets inside Pakistani territory but this had only limited effect as the results of surgical strikes are incomparable to the results of entire infantry and artillery movements. Consequently the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies were brought in to deal with the situation in the border tribal regions. The US and its allies expected compliance with their goals but the Pakistani intelligence structure had its own objectives lurking under the guise of cooperation. Continuous failure on the part of the Pakist ani military brass led the US and its allies to limit information sharing. As relations became more and more strained, the cooperation between the US and Pakistan came to an all-time low (Kronstadt). The military regime of Musharraf was replaced in time by a democratic government in 2007 that was looking for protection from the US from the very start. As the democratic government leaned towards the US and its objectives, results began to arrive. The Osama bin Laden raid in Abbottabad helped to effectively end the threat for once and for all. However such cooperation by the democratic government put it in direct opposition of the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies. Soon a new controversy in the form of the Memogate