Nov 28 2007
The Main Front On The War On Terror Moves To Pakistan
With al-Qaeda now spent in Iraq the focus of the war on terror is moving to Pakistan. There had been reports that the Pakistanis (with possible help from imbedded US Special Forces against certain targets) would start to purge Pakistan of foreign fighters that have been massing in that country for some months now. It seems the battle has begun in earnest:
Pakistani troops say they have recaptured a strategic mountain peak from militants in fighting in and around the north-western Swat Valley.
A radio station run by the pro-Taleban fighters has also been shut down.
The fighting in Swat is the first serious insurgent threat from pro-Taleban forces in what is known as a settled area.
More here on the routing of the Taliban. And this is from a Pakistani newspaper editorial:
Finally the army has begun its ground offensive in Swat after days of sniping at the Al Qaeda militants from its helicopter gunships, killing 35 on the first day. Since the army went into the Valley, there has been a steady growth in casualty among the outsider elements and their local supporters. This is a change from the humiliating reversals which the militants inflicted on the paramilitary personnel earlier on, forcing one to come to the conclusion that that phase in Swat had done much to undermine the confidence of the local population and given heart to the planners of Al Qaeda and its Taliban minions to act as if they owned Swat. The beheadings carried out by “foreign-looking†terrorists had nearly convinced the Swatis that a new government had actually come into being, pledging to institutionalise what they had always demanded as “justice without delayâ€.
As the editorial notes (and this report from CS Monitor confirms) the people of Swat and Pakistan are ready to be rid of the brutal Islamo Fascists. The atrocities that come with al-Qaeda’s and the Taliban’s brand of Islam doesn’t wear well with the general populations in any area of the globe. It would seem that either the Pakistanis found their footing, or those US assets their to ‘help train’ are making a difference in the outcome of the battles. Let’s just hope these forces can surround and find al-Qaeda’s leadership if they are truly hiding out in Pakistan. That would be a great end to President Bush’s second term.
The atrocities that come with al-Qaeda’s and the Taliban’s brand of Islam doesn’t wear well with the general populations in any area of the globe.
Well, yes it does, not only in Pakistan, but in the majority of the middle east. But I guess it’s better to put your trust in the BBC and the CSM than other sources of information.
It would seem that either the Pakistanis found their footing, or those US assets their to ‘help train’ are making a difference in the outcome of the battles.
Yes, those U.S. “Assets” are also being used in “Palistine” as well:
U.S. to give terrorists anti-terror training courses
No, I am not making this up.
“Terror group told to prepare for U.S. training,” from WorldNetDaily.com (thanks to Doug):
Much of the senior leadership of the most active Palestinian terrorist organization in the West Bank recently received orders to prepare to enter U.S.-run security training courses, according to the author of a new book.
The courses, meant to train forces to fight terrorism, are to be reportedly stepped up following this week’s Annapolis summit.
WND’s Jerusalem bureau chief Aaron Klein, author of the recently released “”Schmoozing with Terrorists,” said yesterday he received information much of the senior leadership of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group were told they will be entering U.S. anti-terror training courses for security forces associated with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah forces.
The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Fatah’s declared military wing, took credit along with the Islamic Jihad terror group for every suicide bombing in Israel between 2005 and 2006. The Brigades is responsible for more terrorism from the West Bank than any other Palestinian Arab organization, carrying out thousands of shootings and grenade attacks.
Speaking to Klein through a translator, Yousuf said his American training was instrumental in attacks on Israelis.
“All the methods and techniques that we studied in these trainings, we applied them against the Israelis,” he said.
“We sniped at Israeli settlers and soldiers,” he said. “We broke into settlements and Israeli army bases and posts. We collected information on the movements of soldiers and settlers. We collected information about the best timing to infiltrate our bombers inside Israel. We used weapons and we produced explosives, and, of course, the training we received from the Americans and the Europeans were a great help to the resistance.”
Yousuf said the training included both intelligence and military tactics.
“In other words, a U.S.-trained police officer charged with stopping terrorism in Nablus is also the known head of the city’s terror group. Something smells a little wrong here,” writes Klein.
In his new book, Aaron Klein lists more such follies:
* The Bush administration has sent hundreds of millions of dollars worth of weapons per year to Palestinian militias without official congressional oversight.
* U.S. weapons have been used in scores of terrorist shootings, including against Israeli schoolgirls.
* U.S. intelligence has coordinated security with terrorists.
* The U.S. funds Hamas-run schools and a university in which the chemistry lab has been used to produce rockets and suicide bomb belts.
* U.S.-funded streets and sports stadiums have been named after enemies of America, including Iraqi insurgent leaders, suicide bombers and even hanged Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
There is a great deal more. http://www.jihadwatch.org or wnd.com
Take care folks. Lot’s to learn out there..
I thought this article from last week was the most honest.
The fact that Musharraf is launching an assault on Swat in response to American pressure is hardly reason for complaint. The notion that some Pakistani leader is going to decide, purely on his own, to press a long-term assault against the Islamists in the northwest is a utopian fantasy. Americans are inclined to think that a truly enlightened Pakistani leader ought to recognize the deeper threat of the Islamists, and go after them consistently and with enthusiasm.
But how can any Pakistani leader do this when the broader public, including sections of the army itself, see the Islamists as heroes, or at least not as enemies?
Pakistan’s long-term interest may well lie with the West, rather than with the radical Islamists. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s broader public hasn’t yet caught up to that view.
Given all this, Musharraf’s new offensive in Swat is a potentially significant affair. It’s certainly possible that the army will refuse to fight, in which case we will learn something of importance about the limits of any leader’s ability to forestall the Talibanization of Pakistan.
Yet the current offensive in Swat looks to be more than a quick effort to placate a visiting American diplomat. For one thing, Musharraf has replaced local government militias with 15,000 regular army troops, supported by Cobra attack helicopters. This means the assault is much more likely to be effective. It also means that Musharraf is risking the potential disaster of a refusal to fight, or even open rebellion, by Islamist sympathizers within the regular army itself.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MGIyN2JkMDg1OGYzNjY2MGRiZDMwMTU3ZTQ3MzE0ODA=&w=MQ==
Stanley Kurtz also wrote a great piece this week. It is still on the bottom of the home page at national review. Well worth everyones time.
Take Care
I am glad to see this happening, we need to do more of this kind of thing.
BTW, steve, there are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. If we make a point of treating them all like the enemy, AlQaida will have won.
Terrye,
There have been over 10,000 ISLAMIC Terror Attacks AFTER 9/11. Don’t ya just think that being only conserned about Al Queda is short sighted?
We need to be conserned about all of them, don’t we?