Sovereignty Of Pakistan & Mexico: And Terrorists

There are those who maintain that US and allied forces may not enter those parts of Pakistan in which the Taliban and other terrorists have taken refuge and which they use a as bases-of-operation for their attacks on other lands, especially Iraq. These persons maintain that to attack those terrorists in Pakistan would be a violation of that nation's "sovereignty".

I think it reasonable to ask: "Does the central government of Pakistan have "sovereignty" in those areas?". Does it maintain police or military control in those areas? Do its courts effective function there and enforce the laws enacted by its (More or less democratic) central government? Does that government collect taxes there as it does in other parts of Pakistan? Is that government taking full and hopefully effective measures to enforce its sovereignty in those border areas? It appears that the answer to all of those questions is "NO"!

Pakistan no more exercises "sovereignty" in those areas than did the governments of Great Britain, France and Spain did over the pirate (Buccaneers if you will) controlled islands and other areas of the Caribbean the 1600s and early 1700s. As is well established in international law, such pirates (And today's terrorists) are the enemies of all humanity and may be attacked and physically destroyed at any time and by any recognized government.

I see no reason, in international law, why the USA or any other government should not covert the bases of those terrorists in Western Pakistan to a series of craters.

At this time Mexico appears to be making some reasonable effort to reestablish its control and sovereignty along its border with the USA. If it fails to do so (By the tests noted above), it may be necessary and will be allowable for the USA to (As it did in 1916 to a smaller attack by Mexican outlaws than are now the ongoing actions of this era) to enter Mexico and "take out" the drug lords there.

"Those who fail to learn from history will be condemned to repeat it."