US forces the terror issue with Pakistan

By Syed Saleem Shahzad
Asia Times online

KARACHI - The United States had been aware of North Vietnamese sanctuaries in Cambodia since 1966, but the US avoided attacking them due to possible adverse international repercussions. However, as the going got tougher in Vietnam, in 1969 president Richard Nixon extended the war theater to Laos and Cambodia, which only plunged the region in a quagmire and ultimately led to the conclusive defeat of American interests.

Similarly, in the South Asian war theater, Washington has been aware of Taliban and al-Qaeda sanctuaries in the Pakistani tribal areas for many years, but President George W Bush deferred to Pakistan to deal with them.

This has changed in recent months, given the Taliban's resilience in Afghanistan, largely made possible by their bases inside