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India-Pakistan
Militants rule the roost in Waziristan: report
2005-12-13
WASHINGTON: Militants have begun to open recruiting offices in North and South Waziristan to recruit fighters against the Pakistan Army and US forces in Afghanistan, asserts a report appearing in an American newspaper on Monday.

The Christian Science Monitor reports from Islamabad that videos released by the militants, and sold in local shops as part of their recruitment drive, show militants training openly. The militants have even held public gatherings, the most recent in October to mark the year anniversary since the Pakistan military bombed a militant camp in Dela Khula, killing 40 of their comrades.
Maybe they should bomb them again.
“Music and TV have been banned. Women are confined to their homes. Shops must close five times a day for prayers, an edict enforced by armed religious police who patrol the streets.

“These changes, say local residents and reporters, have come just within the past few months to Waziristan 
 seen as a possible hideout for Al Qaeda leaders. Last year, under pressure from the US to clean up the semi-autonomous zone, Pakistan launched military operations that ended 10 months ago in a peace deal with some rebel tribes,” the report says.

The newspaper points out that the harsh edicts and an upsurge in violence suggest that Waziristan is far from pacified.
One might get that impression.
It quotes observers as saying that the area is slipping back into the hands of Al Qaeda and Taliban militants, despite the 60,000 Pakistani troops and paramilitary personnel garrisoned there. A journalist told the newspaper that since the deal the Pakistan government’s authority seems to have become weak, and the vacuum has been filled by the militants. More than 60 pro-government tribal and religious leaders have been killed, two local journalists have been gunned down, and hundreds have fled since February. A local newsman told the US newspaper, “They do what they feel like doing and there is no one to stop them. And it’s the foreign elements among them who are calling the shots.”

Senior Pakistani officials say it’s too soon to jump to the conclusion that terrorists were behind last week’s violence. “I don’t think it should raise eyebrows or concern. It appears these incidents are more related to local politics between the tribes 
 It is more related to that than terrorism,” according to ISPR chief Maj Gen Shaukut Sultan.
"Pshaw! It's just kids these days!"
However, writes the newspaper, “analysts point out that tribal battle lines have been drawn of late between groups that allied themselves with the army, and those who sided with the militants.” There is increasing evidence that Arab, Uzbek, and Chechen fighters linked to Al Qaeda are operating in the area, according to some.

As part of the February deal, militants pledged to renounce violence and end attacks in Afghanistan. Yet Afghan officials in the three provinces that border Waziristan told the Monitor that the frequency and sophistication of cross-border attacks have increased. “They launch suicide attacks, plant bombs, and launch ambushes. Increasingly, we see Arab fighters leading them,” Paktia police chief Aghul Suleiman Khan said.
Maybe we could train the Afghan army well enough to run some ops across near the border.
Posted by:Steve White

#2  I think that some above-ground nuclear weapon testing is in order, and this seems to be just the place to do it!
Posted by: remoteman   2005-12-13 15:57  

#1  Music and TV have been banned. Women are confined to their homes. Shops must close five times a day for prayers, an edict enforced by armed religious police who patrol the streets.

Wow. And yet we stand in the way of such paradises...
Posted by: tu3031   2005-12-13 13:07  

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