asia

=HAWK'S EYE on ASIA=

**Week of September 15, 2008**: **Pakistan & Thailand**


 * By Rémy**


 * Bush Said to Give Orders Allowing Raids in Pakistan**

News broke this week that in July, President Bush secretly approved orders giving American Specialized Operations troops permission to carry out ground assaults in Pakistan without the consent of Pakistani government. Such an order is unprecedented; previously, the CIA has fired missiles directly at militants from aircraft, but no unapproved ground raids have been launched. According to one American official, this is all under the pretense that the “situation in the tribal areas is not tolerable” and that “we have to be more assertive” (he is referring to the stronghold of the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the Pakistan/Afghanistan border region, which remains in turmoil). American frustration stems partly from ex-President Pervez Musharraf’s failure to sufficiently address these issues during his presidency. Furthermore, some intelligence agencies have suspected ties between Pakistan agencies and militant groups. Unfortunately, regardless of the legitimacy of these sentiments, it is still unclear as to which legal authorities and government officials approved of the mission, and Pakistan released a statement last week saying that it “will not tolerate American incursions [and] will protect sovereignty at all costs.’” Generally, Bush’s seemingly impetuous approach has raised many concerns.

What it all means is that, after the U.S. has worked amicably with Pakistan for seven years in a joined effort to combat militant groups and their strengthening support in Pakistan, it has suddenly felt the authority to take matters into its own hands. Thus, our important alliance with Pakistan is fraying and strained, subsequently placing friction on our already precarious status in the Middle East. Our first ground raid, in which two dozen Navy Seals swooped in and killed about two dozen suspected fighters in a quick and dirty attack, was unsuccessful, and it only intensified anti-Americanism in tribal areas where al-Qaeda and the Taliban are already hard at work recruiting and training terrorists. An important thing to take into account when analyzing this event is the question of what rights the U.S. has to intervene in this scenario (particularly when it does so on the grounds that the Pakistani government is simply acting insufficiently). In such a delicate but important interplay from the standpoint of international relations, it’s essential that everyone is diplomatic and conscientious of the boundaries (and this is a two-way street, although Bush’s actions seem to be a bit more overtly tactless).

Other links: http://www.usip.org/on_the_issues/afghanistan_pakistan.html

Work Cited Mazzetti, Mark, and Eric Schm itt. “Bush Said to Give Orders Allowing Raids in Pakistan.” World News. 11 September 2008. The New York Times. 12 September 2008. .


 * By Lexie**


 * Security Forces Kill 16 Militants Raising Five-Day Toll Above 100**
 * Summary:** Pakistani military forces wounded 25 unsuspecting civilians while foreseeing their plot to kill 16 militants, raising the death toll for the last five days above 100 victims. The murders are reportedly the cause of suspecting the Bajur Tribal area as a hide-out for Al Qaida leader, Osama Bin Ladin. Igbal Khattak, a government official providing the feath and wounded tolls, informed, “security forces used helicopter gunships, fighter jets and heavy artillery to attack suspected militant positions in Loi Sam, Rashakai, Tang Khata and Gollokass areas of Bajur.” Many residents who were returning from relief camps are forced to flee once more. One resident claimed, “this is more fierce fighting than before, and we don't know who is killing whom, as no big figure has been killed as yet, only innocent civilians."
 * Analysis: **  There are many other articles discussing the same exact event which clearly demonstrates the corrupted governments running many different countries. Because the civilians are claiming that they don’t know who is fighting who, viewers can determine that the main issue the fighting used to be addressing is no longer the main issue anymore.

Bangkok, Thailand was finally lifted from a state of emergency, which means that all citizens are suspended of all civil liberties and constitutional rule is abandoned. Acting prime minister at the time Samak Sundaravej decided  to initiate the state of emergency when two parties both pro and anti government broke out into physical violence, leaving one dead and 40 injured. The reason that Samak was able to issue the state of emergency is because as prime minister you are given the right to issue a proclamation. Samak was later lifted of his rule after being charged for violating the constitution because of a paid performance on a cooking show. Current prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat was appointed September 2008 decided that it would be best to lift the state of emergency due to a great lose of tourism and the political unrest. Samak used his power to obtain military control which almost always takes a toll for the worse. When a country is run and enforced through military, citizens become outraged and overtaken by government. To have successful running country citizens must have all rights and freedom or there will be outrage. A very influential reasoning for the tension between political parties was most likely due to outrage of the corrupt prime minister. He tried to amend the constitution so his friend Thaksin could be dropped of any charges. This is a complete abuse of power, and when there is an abuse of power anger erupts. Using a TV show as an excuse to bring forth a new prime minister shows how desperate the people were to get rid of Samak. ü  In order to have a successful country you must have reasonable leader otherwise you are bound to lose money in some aspect and citizens will be unhappy. http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/14/thailand.pm/index.html?iref=newssearch
 * By Angelique**