Pakistan gives Osama a free pass

"We rely on our allies." How many times have we heard that in the past four years?

Do we now?!

Read this.

The central government and tribal elders signed a peace agreement on Tuesday that will allow militants to operate freely in one of Pakistan’s most restive border areas in return for a pledge to halt attacks and infiltration into Afghanistan.

The deal is widely viewed as a face-saving retreat for the Pakistani Army, which has taken a heavy battering at the hands of the mountain tribesmen and militants, who are allied with the Taliban and Al Qaeda. But the government may have in effect ceded the militants a sanctuary in the area, called North Waziristan.

In one of the most obvious capitulations since it began its campaign to rout foreign fighters from the area, the government said foreigners would be allowed to stay if they respected the law and the peace agreement. Osama bin Laden and other leaders of Al Qaeda are believed to be among the foreigners who have taken refuge in the area.

In other words, if Osama and his band of followers are lodged in North Waziristan they have nothing to fear from Pakistan. They get a pass... as long as they live within the bounds of the "agreement".

An agreement that isn't worth the paper it was printed on.

Pakistani soldiers immediately began to leave checkpoints in the region, handing them over to the local tribesmen.

The government also agreed to release all detainees and the militants pledged not to attack government forces or property or set up a parallel administration. Both parties agreed to return weapons and other equipment seized during the fighting.

The agreement appeared similar to an earlier one signed in South Waziristan, which essentially allowed the militants to remain armed and at large in return for not attacking the Pakistani military.

Is your head spinning yet?

Go back a few days and look at this then.

Pakistan is expected to push Canadian Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor for help with obtaining Canadian nuclear power technology today, as he visits Islamabad for talks about the rising Taliban insurgency in southern Afghanistan, a Canadian newspaper reported on Friday.

O’Connor flew into Islamabad last night and enjoyed a late dinner at the upscale Serena Hotel with Secretary of Defence Lieutenant General (r) Tariq Waseem Ghazi, the Globe and Mail said.

The first evening of the three-day visit was spent talking about Afghanistan and regional security, according to a source, but the Canadian delegation is likely to hear demands for nuclear assistance during today’s scheduled meetings with defence and intelligence officials, the newspaper said.

Analysts say nuclear technology could be a key bargaining chip in Canada’s increasingly urgent diplomatic efforts to win Islamabad’s support for the war against the Taliban.

The Inter-Services Intelligence agency has deep historical links with the Taliban movement, and some experts accuse the ISI of quietly fomenting the insurgency.

So, NATO is expected to waste lives, time and substantial resources sorting out a significant problem that Pakistan is complicit in promoting. While the Pakistan army withdraws. And, Pakistan presses Canada for a nuclear technology transfer in return for providing additional pressure and security in the Waziristan region.

Well done!

Oh yes... and we're to believe Osama and his crew haven't been in Waziristan, with the knowledge of the Pakistan government, since the attack on Tora Bora, when the Pakistanis failed to close the Khyber Pass.