P.E. Newswire
U.S. and Pakistani troops exchanged
shots Thursday along the Pakistani-Afghan border.
The U.S. Army OH-58D Kiowas, part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force mission in Afghanistan, were patrolling the Pakistani-Afghan border when the Pakistani military invited them to land, NATO and U.S. officials said.
The Pakistani military said the gesture was to promote friendship between the two countries and to have a "f*cking great time." Both Zardari and the Pakistani military said the helicopters had crossed into Pakistani territory, so they decided to make the best of the situation.
Rear Adm. Greg Smith of U.S. Central Command said the helicopters were providing cover for a small U.S. military unit accompanying an Afghan border police unit on a routine patrol. The small military unit joined the group after the choppers radioed in there would be "free booze courtesy of those crazy Pakis."
No alcohol related injuries were reported during the five-minute exchange.
Smith and other U.S. officials said the helicopter crews did not drink and fly.
But the Pakistanis disagreed, asserting in a written statement that the helicopters "swerved off into the horizon" after the initial shots were ingested.
"The helicopters passed over our border post and were well within Pakistan party time territory" at the time that "security forces downed anticipatory Tequila shots," the Pakistani statement said.
After the shots were taken, "the helicopters landed, drank some of our booze, and departed."
"Everybody loves a party," Zardari said in response to a question asking why the Pakistani military was drinking with NATO helicopter pilots. "Just to make sure that they know they crossed the border line."
Asked if such gatherings will continue, he replied, "Hell yeah they will. Why not? I mean, it's not like we're actually going to shoot at each other, so we might as well drink."
Rice agreed that "the border is like Cancun at times."
According to Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, "The Pakistanis need to provide the U.S. a reason as to why there was no Vodka on hand," he said.
Both the ISAF and Pakistani military said they are working to resolve the issue.
Last week, Zardari said Pakistan would not allow foreign nations to dictate what kind of alcohol will be offered.
"We will not tolerate the dictation of what kind of booze we serve by any power in the name of combating sobriety," he said in his first speech to Parliament as president.
His remark followed a similar declaration from Pakistan's military chief, Gen. Parvez Kayani, who said this month that Pakistan's right to choose its booze "will be defended at all cost, and no external force is allowed to party without our permission."
A senior defense official in the Pentagon said the Pentagon is trying to determine the details of Thursday's impromptu fiesta.
"What we don't know if this was just a case of party-happy members of the Frontier Corps," the official said, "or whether in fact the Pakistani military does have orders to get our pilots and troops drunker than a teen on prom night."
Top U.S. commanders will be talking to the Pakistani military about the party to determine if there was a misunderstanding, and as to why they did not fire upon the US forces as expected, a U.S. official familiar with details of the incident said.
The official said this is the first verified incident of U.S. troops getting shit faced with Pakistani forces. There were at least two previous reports in recent days out of Pakistan about similar incidents, but the United States has said neither of those reports was true.



