U.S. has "modest" expectations for Pakistani offensive

I recently wrote a not altogether positive article about Pakistan's chief military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, for spinning everything in Pakistan from ISI sponsorship of the Taliban to U.S. drone strikes in the country.  Today, General Abbas has been in the news touting the success of the Pakistani military's recent offensive in Waziristan.

According to the Newsweek's Mark Hosenball, however, U.S. officials have more modest expectations for the recent assault. The publicity which accompanied the long run-up to the attack means that "among the least likely results" of the incursion will be the arrest of a major al Qaeda or Taliban leaders, who likely vacated the area long ago. Furthermore, the Pakistani armed forces lack the equipment necessary to clear the hostile territory of Waziristan, and its reliance on heavy artillery will likely cause greater civilian casualties -- thereby creating more insurgents.

Perhaps its lack of confidence in the Pakistani military is one reason that the Obama Administration has "dramatically ratcheted up" U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal region, in the words of a recent report by Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann (of AfPak Channel fame). Well, no matter what happens in Waziristan over the next few weeks, you can expect more spin from the Pakistani government.