Good Grief! Pakistani And American Troops Trade Fire At Afghan/Pakistan Border

Just this morning I blogged here about the possibility of U.S., Afghan and Pakistani troops working together to patrol and conduct joint operations along the Afghan/Pakistan border and now, this breaking news that Pakistani troops at an outpost are trading small arms fire with American troops after the Pakistani military fired on U.S. Apaches.

Here's the breaking news from Breitbart:

A U.S. military official says American and Pakistani troops traded gunfire during a five-minute skirmish on the Afghan-Pakistan border.
The official says the exchange began when Pakistani forces fired on two American helicopters escorting Afghan and American ground troops along the volatile border.
The official says American forces responded with small-arms fire directed at the outpost, and that the Pakistani forces returned fire against the ground units.
There were no casualties reported in the exchange. The official said the helicopters were flying about a mile inside the Afghan border. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information.

Below, you will find more of the article posted where you can see the reporting about the Pakistani firing on the U.S. AH-64's.

But I'm at a loss here - does anyone in the Pakistani military know what the others are even doing? Is there ANY communication from top levels on down on how to handle these American airships? I've basically had it with trying to report any kind of consistency with the Pakistani government and military - it's chaos over there in more ways than one and if I was the U.S. military command in Afghanistan, I'd be rethinking any operations into Pakistan until we get some bloody commitment from Pakistani officials. I refuse to see one of our crews go down in flames because we risked the orders of a Pakistani outpost. And besides that...you can't tell me the U.S. can't navigate into Pakistan without zooming past one of these outposts - shit, there are 20,000 Taliban walking from Pakistan into Afghanistan and back in and not getting shot at...and our helicopter gunships are getting shot at every day????!!!

US, Pakistani troops trade gunfire at border

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A U.S. military official says American and Pakistani troops traded gunfire during a five-minute skirmish on the Afghan-Pakistan border.
The official says the exchange began when Pakistani forces fired on two American helicopters escorting Afghan and American ground troops along the volatile border.
The official says American forces responded with small-arms fire directed at the outpost, and that the Pakistani forces returned fire against the ground units.
There were no casualties reported in the exchange. The official said the helicopters were flying about a mile inside the Afghan border. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP)—Pakistani troops fired at American reconnaissance helicopters patrolling the Afghan-Pakistan border Thursday, heightening tensions as the U.S. steps up cross-border operations in a region known as a haven for Taliban and al-Qaida militants. Pakistan's president said only "flares" were fired.
Two American OH-58 reconnaissance helicopters, known as Kiowas, were on a routine afternoon patrol in the eastern province of Khost when they received small arms fire from a Pakistani border post, said Tech Sgt. Kevin Wallace, a U.S. military spokesman. There was no damage to aircraft or crew, officials said.
"They did not cross the border and they did not fire back," Wallace said.
The Pakistani military disputed that assertion, saying troops fired warning shots after the helicopters crossed "well within" Pakistani territory.
"On this, the helicopters returned fire and flew back," the Pakistani military said in an English-language statement.
In New York, Pakistan's new president, Asif Ali Zardari, said his military fired only "flares" at foreign helicopters that he claimed had strayed across the border from Afghanistan.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said his forces fired only as a way "to make sure that they know that they crossed the border line."
"Sometimes the border is so mixed that they don't realize they have crossed the border," he told reporters before he began a meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The Pakistani military said the matter was "being resolved" in consultations between the army and the NATO force in Afghanistan. A NATO statement said the militaries were "working together to resolve the matter."
The U.S. has stepped up attacks on suspected militants in the frontier area, mostly by missiles fired from unmanned drones operating from Afghanistan. The incursions—especially a ground raid into South Waziristan by American commandos Sept. 3—have angered many Pakistanis.
Pakistani army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said last week that Pakistani field commanders have previously tolerated international forces crossing a short way into Pakistan because of the ill-defined and contested nature of the mountainous frontier.
"But after the (Sept. 3) incident, the orders are clear," Abbas said. "In case it happens again in this form, that there is a very significant detection, which is very definite, no ambiguity, across the border, on ground or in the air: open fire."
On Wednesday, Pakistan's army said it had found the wreckage of a suspected surveillance drone in South Waziristan, but denied claims by Pakistani intelligence officials that troops and local people shot down the aircraft.
Abbas said Pakistan's military was awaiting a full report from Afghanistan on Thursday's shooting, but that Pakistani units had "very clear" orders not to fire across the border. "We are getting it investigated," he said.
In Washington, Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said the coalition immediately requested an explanation from Pakistan for what he described as a "troubling" incident.