Strap yourselves in, world; it's gonna be a bumpy ride!
Related: Pakistan Battlefield Has Been Prepared
"With tensions on rise, Pakistan moves troops; Some headed to border with India" by Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Salman Masood, New York Times | December 27, 2008
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan has begun moving some troops away from its western border with Afghanistan and has stopped soldiers from going on leave amid rising tensions with India, Pakistani officials said yesterday. Two of the officials said the troops were headed to the country's border with India in the east....
By late yesterday there was little to indicate that the troop movements constituted a major redeployment. One senior Pakistani military official said the decision to move forces and restrict furloughs was made "in view of the prevailing environment," namely deteriorating relations with India since the terrorist attacks last month. He added that the air force was "vigilant" and "alert" for the same reason.
With few details being presented, including how many soldiers were involved, it was unclear yesterday whether the troop movements reflected a serious fear of attack or were intended as a warning to the Indian government. Several senior American officials said they had not seen evidence of major troop movements. Still, the developments prompted high-ranking administration officials to call Pakistani officials to urge restraint....
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Some of the Pakistani officials who spoke of the redeployment said it was partly a response to new intelligence that suggested India could launch an attack inside Pakistan by early next week. All of them spoke on the condition of anonymity.
One senior Pakistani military official who said troops were being redeployed from the areas where government forces were engaging the Taliban, added that the soldiers who were leaving were "being pulled out of areas where no operations are being conducted," or where winter weather had limited their ability to maneuver. He called the number of soldiers being moved "limited."
He and another senior Pakistani military official interviewed yesterday about the troop movements chose their words very carefully and offered few details. They said nothing harsh about India, even though they were speaking anonymously. But two Pakistani intelligence officials - one from military intelligence and one from the country's premier Inter-Services Intelligence agency - described the situation in graver terms, and said troops along the border with India were on the highest state of alert.
One of those officials said new intelligence intercepts had created worries that India could launch a strike inside Pakistan within three to four days. Another Pakistani official said the air force had been in a "point defense" posture for one week, prepared to defend specific key defense installations and cities - including Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore - as well as the Kahuta nuclear weapons laboratory. Pilots are sleeping in uniform with their boots on, the official said.
Pakistani news media reported troops were being sent near the boundary that separates Pakistani- and Indian-controlled Kashmir, as well to the area surrounding Lahore, Pakistan's second-largest city, about 20 miles from the border with India. In public, Pakistani leaders have vowed in recent days not to attack first or be the aggressor in any conflict, but have warned India that it should not believe it can get away with launching even a "surgical" strike inside Pakistan....
The Indian foreign minister, Pranab Mukherjee, met with his counterpart from Saudi Arabia, among Pakistan's staunchest allies, as part of India's worldwide diplomatic campaign to put pressure on Pakistan to quash terrorist groups operating on its soil.
"Instead of diverting attention from the real issue, they should concentrate on how to fight against terrorism and bring to book the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack," Mukherjee said.
Indian officials have said privately in recent weeks that they are reluctant to strike Pakistan, and that even a limited strike on terror training camps would invite swift retaliation.--more--"
That article a whole lot of nothing and speculation, isn't it, filled with contradictions.
You smell something?
