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Subscribe to RSSQUETTA, Pakistan -- Hundreds of people took to the streets in Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad Thursday, to protest the NATO airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on Nov 26, NBC News reported.
Lawyers, union members, and others -- carrying Pakistani flag and signs reading "Go America Go" and "We Condemn Nato Attack" -- marched to the heavily-fortified diplomatic enclave. Police in riot gear stood behind barbed wire along parts of the route. A dummy marked "Nato" was burned outside the Parliament building.
A police official told Agence France Presse that 500 policemen were deployed around the diplomatic enclave to prevent any violence.
The protest came after assailants earlier torched more than 20 tankers in Pakistan carrying fuel for U.S. and NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan on Thursday, in the first reported attack since Islamabad closed the border to protest coalition airstrikes.
Several hundred trucks have been stranded at poorly guarded terminals around the country as they wait for Pakistan to reopen its two border crossings into Afghanistan. Around 40 percent of the non-lethal supplies for U.S.-led troops in landlocked Afghanistan travel across Pakistani soil.
Islamabad closed both frontier crossings into Afghanistan on Nov. 26, hours after airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition killed 24 Pakistani troops on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. U.S. and NATO officials have said the incident was a mistake, and have pledged to investigate.
Police officer Hamid Shakil says unknown men fired rockets at a terminal for the tankers close to the southwestern city of Quetta. He said at least 23 tankers were set ablaze. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Last year, Islamabad temporarily closed one of its Afghan crossings to NATO supplies after U.S. helicopters accidentally killed two Pakistani soldiers. Suspected militants or criminals took advantage of the impasse to launch many attacks against stranded or rerouted trucks carrying NATO supplies.
The deadly airstrikes at the border sent already tense relations between Pakistan and the United States to new lows, threatening Islamabad's cooperation in helping negotiate an end to the Afghan war.
It came amid political tensions in Islamabad following the resignation of Pakistan's ambassador to the United States following an outcry from the country's powerful military establishment, which is in charge of Afghan and U.S. policy. Envoy Husain Haqqani stepped down because of allegations he wrote a memo to Washington asking for its help to stop a supposed military coup.
President Asif Ali Zardari has been under pressure because of the scandal, and on Tuesday flew to Dubai for medical treatment related to a heart condition. His trip led to rumors that the 56-year-old was losing his grip on power.
Earlier Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the U.S. expected Zardari, an American ally, "will be able to return in full health in his duties" after receiving treatment. A statement for the presidency said Zardari's health was improving.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
Why the hell do we still give millions in taxpayer money to these people?
..because they're the least objectionable alternative to get stuff into Afganistan. But, the way they're spinning out of control latey, that could change.
Since 2001, Pakis were never reliable and they cost too much.
Pakis only did backstabbing and blackmailing!
Use alternate supply routes!
It is the USA spinning out of control. All this crap is because we can't see the American Empire is in decline. We really have to quit spreading our bases all over the world. World domination is a loser project.
How about we close our more than 800 bases and bring our guys home and spend the money here. We have enough aircraft carriers and submarines to destroy the solar system. No one is going to get serious about invading us. we don't need all the so-called defense that is really offense.
Terrorism is largely sparked by our foreign policy. Quick strike special forces are all we need to control them.
"We have enough aircraft carriers and submarines to destroy the solar system"
Our poor subs can't hit Pluto, time to upgrade...
How about we close our more than 800 bases and bring our guys home and spend the money here. .....No one is going to get serious about invading us.
No one will attack us here, so we should put all our soldiers here? ah, I see! Reverse psychology! They'd never expect us to defend ourselves!
"Terrorism is largely sparked by our foreign policy. Quick strike special forces are all we need to control them"
...and by having quick strike forces nearby they can strike quicker, mmkay?
Not to worry Rob. Pluto isn't a planet anymore. So our subs only need to reach Neptune.
There were blunders in foreign policies dictated by Saudi Arabia and oil companies.
Where were the needs for 1991 and 2003 Iraqi wars?
Afghanistan is the toughest battle field. Still to have 2003 Iraqi war was the most foolish.
One at a time is the way to go!
At least, key people should know about a place well before going to a war instead of idiotic Iraqi "mission accomplished."
Lets say I'm Pakistani; 15 years old. I live rurally with my extended family with few material belongings. One night our home is wiped out and so are my parents, half of my siblings, and livelihood. What shall I do?
Forgive and forget right? It must have been an accident.
Deja Vu ?? Could swear that this happened before. No doubt our allies defended the tankers vigorously (sarcastic). How long will it take us to realize, we do not have a over-whelming need to be in this theater ??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A52pAoUBLk
Drones can fly from anywhere. Use them to kill the bad guys. Tell Karzai good luck , and forbid him from running back here.
Then use our troops to fight narco terrorists on our south western border.
Here' we go again ! The Paks are playing both sides of the street and are proving their worthlessness as allies or even as friends. They prot4ect the Taliban. They protect Al Queda. They potected Bin Laden, until we changed that equation.
What are they good for exept as recipients of U.S. money that disappears into a corrupt state.
Since 47, Pakis know only hating, stealing, looting, killing, genocides of minorities, begging, blackmailing and backstabbing.
So protest marches on NATO killings are no surprises. It is their normal business!
Since 2001, half of NATO forces deaths are due to Paki backstabbings.
Main problem in Afghanistan is Pakistan and its support to Islamic militants fighting NATO forces.
To have such a double talking, double dealing and backstabbing bunch as allies is the most idiotic and an expensive blunder.
They should have sent the trucks somewhere else, because last time border was closed.The same thing happened.How many times can you make the same mistake , over and over?
Ummm? Here's how the supplies work.
Addition Fact - Afghanistan has no sea ports because (as the article points out) it's a land locked country
Definition of Land locked: Country not having any coastal provinces or land.
Next question: Why not drive it through another country? Well the only other countries on its border that are not land locked countries (see definition above) are Iran and China.
Question to you: Do you think that Iran or China will let NATO use ports in their cities and truck supplies across their countries?
Julie please note this article:
http://www.europeaninstitute.org/February-–-March-2010/new-supply-front-for-afghan-war-runs-across-russia-georgia-and-the-stans.html
Your forgetting Uzbekistan. The route the Russians used before.
You're right scar. I was only talking about shipping supplies. The problem is that we can't ship it all through Uzbekistan. It's too much.
Julie: 5. A large portion of supplies are stolen by Pakis.
If supplies can be routed through Pakistan, then supplies can be routed through Uzbekistan!
If we discard the Cold War era mindset and change with times, there are certainly other countries.
With Hillary Clintons, changes in mindsets are too slow and sometimes too late!
And the Uzbekistan route is VERY much longer. Even If we had full Russian cooperation. But, worse case scenario, it's an option. A better option is to get the hell out of there. What ever we do , China will win , not us.
You mean Ubeki-beki-beki-stan-stan? -Herman Cain
"the long war journal" has the truth about the NATO airstrike that killed 24 pakistanis......pakistan cleared the NATO airstrike before hand.
read it...its on there
I think they are draining the fuel and selling it, stealling all the supplies and then destroying the trucks that are in the worst condition and billing America for the loss of the vehicle. The Paki's are too greedy and corrupt to just waste something they can get money for and still claim insurgents did it. There is nobody making sure what they are saying is true. time to shut everything off to the supporters of terriorism or send troops to guard American property and place of cloud of aircraft to cover them while they move that property to Afcraptistan. Better yet, tell India they have all that stuff and watch the Paki's reactions. We still have the ability to issue a "you fly you die" ultimatum to the Paki Air Force.
KC 135s and C-17s with fuel bladders, f those Pakistanis and cut off ALL aid. Fuel the fleet air tankers.
India is no friend to America ... Russia maybe but definitely not the US. we keep shooting ourselves in the foot with this war against Islam ... actually the Pakistan soldiers who were bombed by us were actually trapping Taliban from Afghanistan but we came to their rescue. Such is the case often times for strange wars ... sometimes the enemy is within us.
Can the nation, which shelters Osama right near their key military complex be a friend or continue to be an ally?
Hope you know that most of the aids are routed by Pakis to Islamic militants fighting NATO forces in Afghanistan.
You are still Cold War day mindsets!
We don't need Pakistan if we get out of Afghanistan. This way we save money both ways, no expense in Afghanistan and no checks to Pakistan. Time to move out.
The Pakis don't like us anyways and they would rather spend the money on weapons instead of feeding the citizens.
Pakistan is a failed terrorist nation with too many Islamic extremist masters pulling in different directions.
Hillary Clintons may save Zardaris.
Even their own Allah, who is furious with Pakis for their sins, does not want to save Pakis.
Best idea of the day! We stop all aid to these low life paki muslim bastards, bring all our troops home tomorrow and let this failed, corrupt, dirty, worthless country fall into the dust bin of history!
Wishful thinking; thats "isolationism" to our beltway politicians. Perpetuating hositility is the name of the game.
with these kind of news, i rather have request my brother to shop and ship me with a new ipad 2 www . viaddress . com and have a vacation relaxation in the world's top hotels and spa...lol
Nuke 'em.
Problem solved.
And might as well clean up the other vermin in the area while we're at it (are you listening Iraq, Iran and all you other terrorist supporting scum?).
That should also help get rid of our stockpile of old nukes that we are decommisioning.
It's a WIN - WIN!!!!!!!!