U.S., Pakistani troops exchange fire

[Guest guest]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/080925/world/international_us_pakis

tan_usaint

Thu Sep 25, 7:42 PM

U.S., Pakistani troops exchange fire

By

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and Pakistani ground forces exchanged

fire across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border on Thursday, the latest

in a string of incidents that has ratcheted up diplomatic tension

between the two allies.

No casualties or injuries were reported after Pakistani forces shot

at two U.S. helicopters from a Pakistani border post. U.S. and

Pakistani officials clashed over whether the American helicopters had

entered Pakistan.

The incident follows a U.S. campaign of attacks on militant targets

inside Pakistan, including a September 3 U.S. commando raid on a

village compound in South Waziristan. Islamabad has protested those

strikes and warned it would defend itself.

" Just as we will not let Pakistan's territory be used by terrorists

for attacks against our people and our neighbors, we cannot allow our

territory and our sovereignty to be violated by our friends, "

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said in New York on Thursday.

But in Washington, Pentagon spokesman Whitman insisted the

helicopters had not entered Pakistan. He described the incident

as " troubling " and called on Islamabad for an explanation.

" The flight path of the helicopters at no point took them over

Pakistan, " he said. " The Pakistanis have to provide us with a better

understanding of why this took place. "

According to Pakistan's military, its soldiers fired warning shots at

two U.S. helicopters after they intruded into Pakistani airspace. The

U.S. military said the helicopters were protecting a patrol about one

mile inside Afghanistan when Pakistani forces opened fire.

UNCERTAIN BORDER

" The (helicopters) did not return fire but the ground forces fired

suppressive fire at that outpost. The Pakistani forces then returned

that fire. The whole exchange lasted about five minutes, " said an

official with U.S. Central Command, which oversees American military

operations in Afghanistan.

The U.S. forces were operating under NATO command.

Thursday's confrontation followed a dispute earlier this week over

reports of a downed U.S. drone in Pakistan. Pakistani officials said

a small unmanned American aircraft crashed in Pakistan, but U.S.

officials denied it, saying a drone went down in Afghanistan and was

recovered.

The rugged border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan is seen by

Washington as critical to its fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban.

The Bush administration considers Pakistan an ally in

counterterrorism but U.S. officials say Islamabad has not done enough

against militants there.

The uncertain border also complicates efforts, making it difficult

for forces to determine when they are in Afghanistan or Pakistan,

both U.S. and Pakistani officials concede.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, after meeting Zardari on

Thursday, said she believed he was strongly committed to fighting

militants.

" We talked about how we might assist Pakistan in doing what it needs

to do, but I think there is a very strong commitment. And after all,

it is the same enemy, " she said in New York on the sidelines of the

U.N. General Assembly.

(Additional reporting by Zeeshan Haider in Islamabad, Sue Pleming in

New York and Jonathon Burch in Kabul; Editing by and

Walsh)

[Guest guest]

" Pakistan is supposed to be an ally. Why are they firing upon us? "

Well, on the one hand, we should not cross their border to attack Osama

bin Lauin. But on the other hand, they will not take the necessary

steps to get rid of the terrorists within their borders either, and so

we do invade their sovereignty from time to time.

A question they would do well to ask themselves would be: " Which is the

worse invader? Us? Or terrorists? "

Administrator