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India-Pakistan
Cry "Havoc" and beat The Drums of War
2007-04-03
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan, April 3 (Reuters) - Pakistani tribesmen beat their drums of war for the first time in three years on Tuesday to raise a force to rid their lands on the Afghan border of foreign al Qaeda-linked militants.
"Callin' out around Wazoo,
are you ready for a brand new beat?
Spring's here and the time is right
for killin' in the street."

Ethnic Pashtun tribesmen in Waziristan have not beaten their traditional dhol drums since 2004 because the Islamist militants who have been living in their midst disapproved of music, residents said. But the tribes of Waziristan have united to form a lashkar, or army, to fight and expel the foreign militants they had until recently sheltered. "Drums are being beaten in Wana bazaar to mobilise people for the lashkar. People are dancing, they are in high spirits and very enthusiastic," Noor Ali, a shopkeeper in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, told Reuters by telephone.
"There'll be dancin', they're dancin' in the street.
This is an invitation, across the nation,
A chance for folks to meet.
There'll be laughin' singin', and Uzbek's swingin'
Killin' in the street"
Thousands of foreign militants fled to the semi-autonomous tribal lands on the Pakistani side of the border after U.S.-led forces defeated the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, and were given refuge by the tribes. Fighting broke out between the foreigners, most of them believed to be Uzbeks, and tribal fighters last month in South Waziristan after the militants tried to kill a pro-government tribal leader.

Government officials say more than 170 people have been killed, most of them Uzbek militants, although residents of the rugged land of rocky mountains and forest say the toll has been lower. Thousands of Waziri tribal elders, many of whom support the predominantly Pashtun Taliban in Afghanistan, gathered in Wana on Monday and vowed to expel the foreigners and punish any tribesmen helping them.
"Oh it doesn't matter what you wear,
just as long as you are there.
So come on every guy, grab a gun,
Everywhere, around the world"
Mullah Nazir, a tribal commander leading the campaign, said about 1,500 tribesmen had enlisted in the lashkar in response to his call for jihad or Muslim holy war against the foreigners, who still have some supporters among the tribes. "We will take action wherever we find the foreigners. We will blow up their hideouts and will take the same action against anyone harbouring them," Nazir said by telephone.

Pakistani security forces tried to clear the lawless tribal areas of foreigners but after bloody clashes, authorities struck pacts with tribesmen in different areas on the border in the hope of driving a wedge between them and the foreign militants.
I love it when a plan comes together
Critics say the pacts have given militant tribesmen who support the Taliban free rein and led to creeping Talibanisation, or the expansion of Islamist influence. The military says it has not been involved in the fighting which it says shows the government's policy is working.

Residents of South Waziristan said many villagers had been moving out of areas where the fighting has been heaviest, fearing more clashes. The double-sided dhol drums, made of wood and animal hides, are traditionally beaten with two sticks to raise a lashkar in times of emergency.
Posted by:Steve

#11  Aye on Van Halen. Yeah, I AM dancing to this music also. "Pakis clean it up" sounds like a brand name that worked with India. Ahhh Spring and - oh happy Passover BTW.
Posted by: newc   2007-04-03 23:10  

#10  Dead fan here too - they might've covered it, but Martha Reeves and the Vandellas did it first, along with Van Halen and MANY others. Nice rewrite, Steve
Posted by: Frank G   2007-04-03 19:13  

#9  Well that's the first time I've seen Dead lyrics at the Burg. Love it.
Based on what I read this focuses only on the Uzbeks as "foreigners". What about those nice Saudi boys with the soft hands? What about the Egyptians, Yemenis or other "Arabs"?
Posted by: remoteman   2007-04-03 18:58  

#8  Eggscellent Steve!
Posted by: RD   2007-04-03 18:16  

#7  Mo-Town goes Muzzie: should it be Mosque-town, Pak-town, or does Mo(hamed)-town still work????
Posted by: USN, Ret.   2007-04-03 17:16  

#6  Ok, I am confused. Which ones are with Minas Morgul and which ones are from Orthanc again?
Posted by: Excalibur   2007-04-03 16:23  

#5  I hope it's true, but it is from Reuters and I don't trust them, even when the news is good for Western Civilization.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2007-04-03 15:47  

#4  Loved the inlines too!

Pakistani tribesmen beat their drums of war for the first time in three years on Tuesday

Although the ganja smoke is probably just as prevalent, it's not exactly your Daddy's dreadlocked, hippy-dippy drum circle, is it?
Posted by: xbalanke   2007-04-03 15:25  

#3  I take it all the Uzbekis are stone deaf.
Posted by: Seafarious   2007-04-03 15:21  

#2  This is actually pretty amazing. The Pashtunis in PakiWakiland are kicking out their non-pashtun co-religionists into the waiting hands of the NATO Crusaders to be slaughtered? And yet they are still anti-Crusader? Amazing.

I hope this means that the area is finally cleaned up of foreign jihadis and the pashtuns can go back to what they do best...kill each other. We can only hope!
Posted by: Brett   2007-04-03 14:45  

#1  LOL! Great in-line, Steve! i be dancin'!
Posted by: Brett   2007-04-03 14:36  

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