Another (Not So Covert) War

I always have to chuckle when I hear the phrase "covert war". And here's why ...

Covert [adj. koh-vert, kuhv-ert; n. kuhv-ert, koh-vert] - concealed, secret, disguised

If the media can report on it (at will) then what makes it "covert"? There's not much disguise or secrecy there!!

And once again, we've found ourselves in yet another covert operation. In a remote part of the world. Fighting a moving target. Hmmm ... that Santayana quote "those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it" rings louder than ever.

Now don't get me wrong - I think there is a highly justifiable war on terror. This assumes, of course, that there are more nations than us involved and that they all pull together and pull their own weight in the equation. I think they call that a "united front". This becomes all the more important when this battle is waged inside another country without the specific goal of "occupation". Suddenly, there is no need for phraseology like "covert", since we're all in it together and we're all fighting the same enemy.

Case in point: Afghanistan ... and Pakistan.

And from this morning's news, a classic ...

"According to one senior Pakistani official, Pakistan's intelligence service twice in recent months gave the United States detailed intelligence about Mehsud's location, but, he said, the United States did not act on the information."

The rest of the article can be found here .

Question for the "senior Pakistani official": if you have the information about the whereabouts of Mehsud, why don't you go get him on your own - in your own sovereign nation - instead of waiting for the U.S. to do so (and putting the U.S. at risk of international scrutiny for their "covert operation")?

Get on with it! Seal the deal! If you take care of your part of the bargain, we can then take part in our own. It's called "a united front". It's when the U.S. (and other nations seriously involved in the resolution of this problem) need to step forward and be firm about "team commitment". Because if they don't, then there is an immediate scapegoat should public opinion in Pakistan (or whatever nation) change. We've seen it happen before, and I am sure we'll see it happen again. "They are our friends" becomes "we hate the Americans/British [insert nation here]" ...

With all the hidden agendas in the middle east, religious and otherwise, a united effort is critical to truly solving this and any other problem.