5:10 pm
What’s Up in Waziristan
Posted by Garance ()I asked a source with expertise in the region for thoughts about the David Ignatius Waziristan column that we’ve been discussing [on Tapped] today. The reply:
Nothing in there that’s new. I don’t think Washington is lacking for disgruntled ex-gov’t employees with ideas how to solve this crisis or that… of course, Crumpton is smoking crack if he thinks that aid agencies can simply waltz into Waziristan or anywhere else in FATA and immediately deliver electricity and all sorts of other developmental goods. And it’s similarly unclear why outsourcing the dirty work to the tribal militias will do the trick, when the current model of outsourcing to the Pakistan Frontier Corps has proven such an unmitigated disaster. Remember - foreign militants by and large only reside where they are welcome in the tribal areas. So the only tribes that would conceivably go along with an American strategy would be ones that are not currently hosting foreigners. Which would mean that, in order to score the US foreign policy objective, they’d have to be asked to basically invade other tribes’ territorial abodes - not something I see happening in the Pashtun frontierlands…
It might sound like a good idea to use the tribes to fight Al Qaeda, but using proxies to fight our wars for us can be a lot harder than it looks, and the prospect of success will depend a great deal on the specifics of the on-the-ground situation. That said, Ignatius deserves a lot of credit for casting the spotlight on this simmering issue, and for raising public awareness about how important what’s happening in the area is to America’s long-term safety.
–Crossposted from Tapped.
August 1st, 2007 at 9:40 am
I find it peculiar that America’s media calls the troubled region of Pakistan by a different name. It seems that America doesn’t want to call a spade a spade so instead of calling al-Qaida’s new digs *Pakistan* (our good friend in the Global War on Terror), it’s called a new name, *Waziristan*. I bet 90% of Americans think Waziristan is it’s own country, a rogue nation and not part of Pakistan. That’s the way our leaders want it to be. So, what we have is a terrorist safe haven in the country of Pakistan and Pakistan is supposed to be helping us fight the *Global War on Terror* against al-Qaida. What we also have in regard to Pakistan is a nuclear armed country who’s leader took control in a coup. Let me say that again cause it doesn’t add up… Pakistans government was overthrown in a coup by Pervez Musharraf, and he’s now president and head of the military as well as an ally of America. So as we invade foreign lands (Iraq) and claim to be bringing freedom and democracy into the Middle East, remember who our allies in that area are… Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypy… it seems we could care less about real freedoms and democracy of the people in that part of the world. What America cares about is *corporate interest*… U.S. hegemony. The threat of terror is a tool used by GWBush and the U.S. government to create dubious alliances in which good and bad are blurred beyond recognition.
As our U.S. corporate media tell us about Waziristan, I say the GWBush administration has been waging a war on terror while not actualy hitting the terrorists where they are. Instaed of going after terrorists in Pakistan we invade Iraq and create new terrorists due to said invasion. Iraq, a country with no ties to terrorism was invaded and occupied yet Pakistan is our good lil’ buddy. If it were Iran that controlled the area known as Waziristan, GWBush would have bombed the place years ago. We’re coming up on 6 years since 911 and we’re (U.S. Corporate media) just now asking about Waziristan (Pakistan)… go figure ;-(. Have a look at a map and see how far Waziristan is to Tora Bora. Anyone remember Tora Bora back in 2002? You’ll notice Waziristan and Tora Bora are basicaly the same area.
The way GWBush is waging the *War on Terror* is madness unless the goal is to prolong the war… perpetual war. That would explain why GWBush ended the pursuit of bin-Laden in the mountains of Afghanistan and instead sent our soldiers to invade and occupy Iraq.
Yeah, let’s use caution before we send toops into the mountainous tribal area of Pakistan but with Iraq it was full steam ahead, Baghdad here we come. Madness!
August 1st, 2007 at 9:58 am
Good point, Dion - I hadn’t thought about it that way before. In reality, the “Waziristan” moniker is a bit of a red herring anyway, since the groups the US is out to get are strong all over the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) as well as Northwest Frontiers Province (NWFP). For example, there has been considerable violence (including the almost entirely non-reported sectarian Shia-Sunni slaughter) in other Agencies, such as Kurram, Bajaur and Khyber agencies. Or, of course, the fact that some of the most virulent madrassas are located right in the heart of Peshawar, not two miles away from the headquarters of the Federal Political Agent!
September 14th, 2007 at 1:51 am
the reality is that pakistan is getting more advantages. it gets any and every type of aid from the west in the name of war on terror, it gets moral support of some redical sunni groupos giving them the senctuery in waziristan and deply shia militia in this rigid sunni area and give them informations of their Convoy movements to the terorists thus the war is going on while pakistan is getting rid of shia FC Forces and creating enmity between shia and sunni tribes and west is happy to have a liable friens as pakistan. this is a very terriable fact that most of the militia forces compelled to face the sunni terror grooups are shia and their sunni collegues are with the terrorists but in the mean time when the government of paistan is free it create war on the shia tribes in kohat, tirah and kurram and at this time most of its soldiers are from the same area.