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| India-Pakistan |
| Foreign militants |
| 2010-10-08 |
| [Dawn] American drones rain down missiles in record numbers in North Wazoo Agency, the stamping ground of the Haqqani network, Al Qaeda and sundry foreign snuffys. The US issues a travel advisory to its citizens travelling to Europe, urging them to be cautious in public places because of the possibility of an attack by Al Qaeda. On Monday, eight snuffys, including several 'Germans', are allegedly killed in a drone strike in Mirali, North Wazoo Agency. Do the dots connect cleanly or is this just another series of data points that can be connected in myriad ways? To be sure, a US travel advisory concerning Europe is rather unusual. Europe is not Pakistain or some place the average American travels to infrequently. Then again, The Wall Street Journal had this to offer on Monday: "Several intelligence officials have privately challenged the quality of the US information, describing the US alert as an overreaction. One intelligence official said the decisions to issue the alerts were based in part on the bureaucratic need to 'be on record with an alert to the threat' rather than a belief that a threat is imminent." What is clear is that Fata generally and North Wazoo in particular continue to play host to foreign snuffys. The most well-known and numerous group consists of the Uzbeks, who attracted the ire of the Pak state because of their desire to attack it. Other, western and European, nationalities are also believed to be operating here from Turks to Germans. They do not consist just of men of Pak or Arab or other Mohammedan origin, but also of converts to Islam. The German Eric Breininger, who died earlier this year, and the American Adam Gadahn, Al Qaeda's 'spokesperson' and media manager, are two of the most famous converts believed to have made their way to Fata. Al Qaeda, which fights against both the Pak state and western nations, is also believed to be active in the agency. Here foreign cut-throats are not limited to a few areas or the Haqqani network-controlled swathes of territory, they are believed to have fanned out across the agency, including Mirali, where the Germans were alleged to have been killed. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Pak state appears to have few ideas about how to tackle the menace of foreign snuffys. Enforcing a uniform, zero-tolerance policy towards foreign cut-throats in Fata is difficult because local commanders and groups often make use of the services of foreigners and offer them protection in return. But doing nothing is not an option: a strike in the West traced back to Pak territory could have devastating consequences for us. |
| Posted by:Fred |