"The escalation in violence raised new doubt about the government's controversial policy of negotiating for peace with Islamic militants." Uh huh.
"Taliban claims bombing in Pakistan; up to 14 dead," by Riaz Khan for the Associated Press, August 12 (thanks to JE):
PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A roadside bomb destroyed an air force truck on a bridge Tuesday in Pakistan's volatile northwest and killed up to 14 people. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it "an open war" and retaliation for recent military operations in the region.The escalation in violence raised new doubt about the government's controversial policy of negotiating for peace with Islamic militants. Western officials say it has given Taliban and al-Qaida time to regroup and more freedom to operate. [...]
Taliban spokesman Maulvi Umar said the attack in Peshawar was retaliation for recent military operations in the border region near Afghanistan. "It is an open war between us and them," he told The Associated Press.
"We have done it in reaction to the government operations in Swat and Bajur," Umar said. "If this kind of operations continue against us in Swat and in the tribal areas, we will continue this."...
Pakistan being threatened by its own creation.
Aaah, the irony. (and a little schadenfreude!)
Imagine if this makes the government actually enter and clean out the heretofore inviolable "tribal areas". Who knows what we might find?
There's probably a lot to be said for a policy of just letting Pakistan and Afghanistan dissolve into a whole lot of warring "tribal areas". It might become a magnet for jihadists of all stripes; they could flock to the area from all over the Islamic world (and from the West, too) to fight for their chosen faction. Also, a weakened Pakistan might be an encouragement to India to take a stronger line with its Moslems. And some of the tribes spill over the border with Iran, so the Iranian mullahs might have something to keep them occupied close to home.
I like it. It should keep them busy for the next few hundred years.
Pull Pakistani funding now!
The rough & tough Taliban obviously felt the death of their leaders recently.
One needs to assess their communications capability to each other. We see on the television that they talk to each other by walkie talkie. But it's also possible that dispirate groups only find out of the matyrs death via the TV....now they are at the mercy of the media.
The Paks obviously want to hog the glory....and may say that their government defence forces did this.....when in fact it could have been one of the unmanned American drones....getting lucky.
Obviously now the Pak government forces get it in the neck ...all because of wrong info. They may wrongly celebrate the killings....
I think they need to look at this aspect before further attacks.
"The escalation in violence raised new doubt about the government's controversial policy of negotiating for peace with Islamic militants."
Follow our US example and do NOT negotiate with terrorists. No wonder you guys are so behind the times.
"open war"? Since when has Al-Qaeda been closed?
Follow our US example and do NOT negotiate with terrorists. No wonder you guys are so behind the times.
The US example was preventing the Israelis from destroying Hizbollah in 2006.
Friendly fire - very nice!
Things are coming to a head in Pakistan. Musharraf is about to be impeached. In my book, he has three options...
1) risk the constitutional process which will in all likelihood result in his impeachment
2) leave the country before the vote
3) institute a new military coup
#3 is unlikely - given the balance of forces inside the country - unless the NWFP erupts in major violence over the next week or so. The embattled President could use the specter of Civil War as a justification to declare martial law.
One thing is certain: Pakistan is on the precipice. One wonders who will inherit the nuclear arsenal.
So, who is really surprised about this?
As soon as everyone on our side wakes up and realizes there is a real war going on here, against an enemy who has sworn to lay all of their lives down in its cause, we will always come up short. The cave men are kicking our butts because we won't fight them on their terms.
hindenberg:
If the Pakistanis want all the glory, it's theirs. Isn't it better that everyone thinks the Pakistanis did this, rather than an American drone? Better they turn their guns on one another than have all the warring factions turn their guns on us.
..."The rough & tough Taliban"...
Rough and tough, they kill women and children, that really makes them rough. They are cowards.
..."One needs to assess their communications capability to each other. We see on the television that they talk to each other by walkie talkie."...
They use cell phones, you idiot.
..."the matyrs death"...
Martyrs do not kill women and children, hide behind civilians, outfit children with suicide belts, etc. They are criminal, cowardly animals.
..."unmanned American drones....getting lucky."....
Luck has nothing to do with it. It is a matter of rules of engagement. We have to be so careful of picking our targets, or we could get blamed for hitting another "wedding party"
The only real solution to this mess is to carpet bomb the entire area, followed by napalm, followed by more bombing. There is nothing there worth saving, destroy it all and let the pakistan gov'ment cry foul. We laugh, go home and it is over.
Later
Albert
Kilkenny Cats.
From French sociologist Jacques Ellul's little essay on 'Jihad' in Islam, written as foreword to Bat Yeor's "The Decline of Eastern Christianity Under Islam", I quote the following trenchant observation, which puts a different twist on the oft-repeated canard that jihad is an 'inner struggle':
"Since the *jihad* is not solely an external war, it can break out within the Muslim world itself - and wars among Muslims have been numerous, but always with the same features."
"Hence...the jihad is an institution and not an event, that is to say, it is part of the normal functioning of the Muslim world."
The sooner all non-Muslim strategists, diplomats, and political, religious and military leaders understand what M. Ellul understood 17 years ago, the better.
"I think they need to look at this aspect before further attacks.
Posted by: hindenberg "
they have looked into it and have discovered that the Muslims intend to kill no matter what they do...Maybe it is time to step up the attacks against the Taliban..
From Hindenberg above:
Obviously now the Pak government forces get it in the neck ...all because of wrong info. They may wrongly celebrate the killings....
I think they need to look at this aspect before further attacks.
You may be right Fred...have you contacted the Pakistan Army and explained it to them?
Sometimes those American drones do get lucky...
And maybe you should contact the Taliban as well, they may be over reacting to bad info...probably been reading in the Quran again...You know how that sets them off...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't they negotiate a truce a few years ago?
This is like deja vu all over again.
When will they learn, you can't negotiate with muslims? Course in this case, both sides are muslims, so it's just a matter of time before one side or the other violates the agreement.
Imagine the Taliban with nukes. Chilling.