BAIT AND SWITCH:

Pakistan Defies U.S. on Halting Afghanistan Raids (JANE PERLEZ, 5/17/08, NY Times)

Pakistani officials are making it increasingly clear that they have no interest in stopping cross-border attacks by militants into Afghanistan, prompting a new level of frustration from Americans who see the infiltration as a crucial strategic priority in the war in Afghanistan.

On Wednesday night, the United States fired its fourth Predator missile strike since January, the most visible symbol of the American push for a freer hand to pursue militants from Al Qaeda and the Taliban who use Pakistan’s tribal areas as a base to attack Afghanistan and plot terrorist attacks abroad.

It's a nearly perfect system: Pakistan encourages them to cluster and then we f[ire on] them.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 17, 2008 7:44 AM