The battle lines are drawn in Pakistan
Like Captain Ed says "Zawahiri wanted a fight, and now he'll get one." From the BBC:
Pro-Taleban militants in Pakistan's North Waziristan region say they have ended their truce with the government.
In a statement issued in Miranshah, the main town, the militants accused the government of breaking the agreement.
It came as Pakistan deployed more troops in the area, fearing "holy war" after the storming of the militant Red Mosque last week left 102 dead.
More than 60 Pakistanis, including soldiers and police recruits, have died in three attacks in the past two days.
There really wasn't a need to make any such announcement. Taliban and AQ forces ended the truce long ago, shortly after it was established, and it ended the moment those militants spear-headed an assault into North Waziristan; an area they promised in the agreement was off limits to them. So much for the word of Islamic radicals. Besides, these guys have been carrying out bombings all across Pakistan, and notably within Islamabad itself for months. Perez Musharraf has been under siege from these animals long enough, and with growing tension from Pakistanis, his hand's been forced. He had to act.
This is a two-fold win for him. First, he can calm down his people that weren't sympathetic to the Taliban, and suspicious of him, if he truly takes the fight to these people. That is apparently happening. Musharraf has sent thousands of his loyal troops into the tribal regions to hopefully stem the tide of the "holy war" the Taliban is calling for. But they never have quite gotten the average people in Pakistan to back them. Sure, they can get the radicals, but the average citizen in Pakistan is vehemently opposed to a Taliban-like regime forcing shari'a on the populace.
Zawahiri has made a critical error in this strategy, whcih brings me to the second part of the two-fold strategy. That involves NATO and coalition forces in Afghanistan, and a deal that might be reinforced should Musharraf give the green light for those forces to begin going after pro-Taliban/pro-AQ forces int he tribal regions. For months, cross-border raids have been conducted against NATO and coalition forces. They have always been handcuffed with the overt warning not to enter Pakistan. If Musharraf were smart, he'd broker a deal with the forces in Afghanistan to sweep over the border to deal with his enemy, and ours.
It was a mistake to even concoct a deal with the radicals, but Musharraf did it in hopes of calming down the radical elements in his country. Now he knows the folly of his mistake. From this point on, there will be no more deals between him and them. They wanted a war. Now they've got one.
Publius II
Pro-Taleban militants in Pakistan's North Waziristan region say they have ended their truce with the government.
In a statement issued in Miranshah, the main town, the militants accused the government of breaking the agreement.
It came as Pakistan deployed more troops in the area, fearing "holy war" after the storming of the militant Red Mosque last week left 102 dead.
More than 60 Pakistanis, including soldiers and police recruits, have died in three attacks in the past two days.
There really wasn't a need to make any such announcement. Taliban and AQ forces ended the truce long ago, shortly after it was established, and it ended the moment those militants spear-headed an assault into North Waziristan; an area they promised in the agreement was off limits to them. So much for the word of Islamic radicals. Besides, these guys have been carrying out bombings all across Pakistan, and notably within Islamabad itself for months. Perez Musharraf has been under siege from these animals long enough, and with growing tension from Pakistanis, his hand's been forced. He had to act.
This is a two-fold win for him. First, he can calm down his people that weren't sympathetic to the Taliban, and suspicious of him, if he truly takes the fight to these people. That is apparently happening. Musharraf has sent thousands of his loyal troops into the tribal regions to hopefully stem the tide of the "holy war" the Taliban is calling for. But they never have quite gotten the average people in Pakistan to back them. Sure, they can get the radicals, but the average citizen in Pakistan is vehemently opposed to a Taliban-like regime forcing shari'a on the populace.
Zawahiri has made a critical error in this strategy, whcih brings me to the second part of the two-fold strategy. That involves NATO and coalition forces in Afghanistan, and a deal that might be reinforced should Musharraf give the green light for those forces to begin going after pro-Taliban/pro-AQ forces int he tribal regions. For months, cross-border raids have been conducted against NATO and coalition forces. They have always been handcuffed with the overt warning not to enter Pakistan. If Musharraf were smart, he'd broker a deal with the forces in Afghanistan to sweep over the border to deal with his enemy, and ours.
It was a mistake to even concoct a deal with the radicals, but Musharraf did it in hopes of calming down the radical elements in his country. Now he knows the folly of his mistake. From this point on, there will be no more deals between him and them. They wanted a war. Now they've got one.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 5:16 PM
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