Intelligence Review-Volume 9

FAILURE TO ADDRESS PAKISTANI STRATEGIC FEARS AND APPREHENSIONS ABOUT US PRESENCE IN AFGHANISTAN US politically failed to address Pakistani strategic fears and apprehensions about US mission in Afghanistan. Pakistans General Musharraf feared being cracked like a nut between a US and Indian set of pincers and outwardly claimed that he was a US ally while secretly supporting Taliban. If Pakistani fears had been addressed and generous US financial and material incentives offered US could have saved far more than the losses that it later suffered in Afghanistan. Ambassador Chamberlain was particularly a major failure. So was the US DIA and CIA staff in Pakistan. STRATEGIC FAILURE NUMBER TWO-FAILURE TO SECURE THE SOUTHERN BORDER AND TO CONTROL TALIBAN INFILTRATION FROM PAKISTAN A simple combined with a 1000 metres deep surveilled by drones and covered by a mobile divisional size force could have most effectively checked Taliban infiltration.This was however not done.Possible reasons can be lack of strategic vision but as per reports from US military sources desire not to disturb the contraband/drug smuggling mafia which was seen as a US asset.