Goldie123--Nice to agree for a change. If the West sends in troops, I'd be shocked to see large numbers of Americans.
I don't think US interests would be served by trying to take Pakistan, but the US has made poor decisions in the past so who knows what it will do. Pakistan is too much like Afghanistan--not enough natural resources worth exploiting and difficult terrain.
I would think US interests would be better served by keeping Pakistan relatively destabilized--too weak to threaten India (with which the US is much closer and has more long-term interests) or continue developing its nuclear program but not so weak that it becomes another anarchy like Afghanistan. The best way to do this is to pressure the government and send in the CIA and black ops, which as you point out they are already doing.
My sense is that Nigeria will be the next hot spot the US seriously commits to in terms of military manpower. It's Africa's largest oil exporter, it's not in anyone's sphere of influence (so no major power gets annoyed), plenty of the oil goes to the US and US companies, and it's a mess. Most of the world won't care (the Muslim word tends to get more upset about Arab Muslims and Christians have not fussed all that much about sub-Saharan Africa). A free hand for the US is a dangerous thing.
Goldie123--Nice to agree for a change. If the West sends in troops, I'd be shocked to see large numbers of Americans.
I don't think US interests would be served by trying to take Pakistan, but the US has made poor decisions in the past so who knows what it will do. Pakistan is too much like Afghanistan--not enough natural resources worth exploiting and difficult terrain.
I would think US interests would be better served by keeping Pakistan relatively destabilized--too weak to threaten India (with which the US is much closer and has more long-term interests) or continue developing its nuclear program but not so weak that it becomes another anarchy like Afghanistan. The best way to do this is to pressure the government and send in the CIA and black ops, which as you point out they are already doing.
My sense is that Nigeria will be the next hot spot the US seriously commits to in terms of military manpower. It's Africa's largest oil exporter, it's not in anyone's sphere of influence (so no major power gets annoyed), plenty of the oil goes to the US and US companies, and it's a mess. Most of the world won't care (the Muslim word tends to get more upset about Arab Muslims and Christians have not fussed all that much about sub-Saharan Africa). A free hand for the US is a dangerous thing.