Coalition of the Reluctant

Try to imagine what the situation would be like... if west-friendly Pervez Musharraf wasn't the guy... who's sorta driving the bus here.

Pakistani officials are insisting U.S. forces cannot hunt al Qaida fighters in the country, following a news report that senior U.S. officials are considering expanded covert military operations inside Pakistan's tribal areas.

Pakistan's top military spokesman, Major General Waheed Arshad, said U.S. forces do not carry out military strikes inside Pakistan now and would not be allowed to do so in the future.

And you've gotta love the naivety here...

Critics say U.S. forces conducting operations inside Pakistan would spark a popular backlash against President Pervez Musharraf.

Can anybody, at this particular point in time, name a less popular guy in Pakistan than Musharraf?

This geo-political pot is about to boil over... and if the "nuclear genie" gets out of the bottle... all bets are off.

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RELATED: So, we have a plan, right?

The debate is a response to intelligence reports that Al Qaeda and the Taliban are intensifying efforts there to destabilize the Pakistani government, several senior administration officials said.

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LAST WORD: Shsssshhhh...

You wanna give Taliban Jack a heart attack?

-- OTTAWA -- The Canadian military initially planned for a much wider involvement in the Afghan war than what it delivered in Kandahar, newly released documents show.

As a battle group of 2,200 soldiers was preparing to face the Taliban two years ago, the air force drew up plans in late 2005 to deploy eight CH-146 Griffon helicopters, specially modified as attack aircraft, and a fleet of CF-18 fighter-bombers.

The proposals were eventually set aside, despite NATO's plea for more aircraft, specifically transport and attack helicopters.