Article

2008-08-19 India-Pakistan

Pakistain: Tribesmen decide to take on militants

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Posted by Fred 2008-08-19 00:00|| || Front Page|| [6 views ] Top
File under: Taliban

#1 In Anbar what was the reason that the locals turned against alQaeda?

Two part answer: we capitalized on their friction with alQaeda in competition for who actually ran the province...the local Sheiks and elders OR alQaeda. We saw a need we could fill and we paid the elders a little on the side and took some of the local boys aside and paid them too....funny what a little spare change in your pocket will do for a Moslem.

alQaeda got upset and killed a few of the locals and the bad feelings went a long way. We paid for the funerals and send cards to the families and wished we had been there. We paid a little more money to people with a grudge. Then things started getting ugly between one Moslem and another. Too bad for that.

A little way down the road we got Moslems liking being on the payroll and could you help us get this pothole fixed down at City Hall.

alQaeda dont do potholes . So we buried their butt in one and kicked in his hat.

The rule seems to be that locals dont like being told what to do by alQaeda and they can use the spare change. And when alQaeda pops a local we can say keep the change and aint it a shame you didnt deserve this shoddy treatment. And then make them a offer backed up by helicopters and a real big smile.

Its cheaper to set a little aside for the elders and let them convince the boys for you. Then look for the grudges and feed it. Feed the family at the funeral and sign up the cousins. alQaeda pops a few and threatens others and we sign up a few more. Intell makes us doing a daily map with grease pencils. Eventually we get us a location and then its just a matter of making a time for overlay.

Of course you cant trust them forever, all you have to do is get their panties off and la-di-da.
alQaeda has to bend over somewhere, pay someone to tell you where big butt lives. You dont need to march all over, just pay a local and make a movement map. The pattern will tell you the rest.
Then call in an airstrike. Find 'em, Fix 'em, fight 'em, forget 'em.

We did it in Anbar. We can do it in Afghanistan and Pakistan too. Hey, Abdrool, how would you like to make a little easy money?

Posted by Angleton 9 2008-08-19 08:02|| 2008-08-19 08:02|| Front Page Top

#2 Very much a case of micro managed divide and conquer tactic really . Works large and small , us Brits used it to good effect for centuries , until we lost the balls to be affective .

Posted by Mad Eye 2008-08-19 08:06|| 2008-08-19 08:06|| Front Page Top

#3 You really think we caused this, Angleton 9? I do like it better than Candidate Obama's plan to level the country.

Posted by trailing wife ">trailing wife 2008-08-19 08:11|| 2008-08-19 08:11|| Front Page Top

Posted by Slavick Black9560">Slavick Black9560 2008-08-19 08:53|| aic3xz1nrz]">[aic3xz1nrz] 2008-08-19 08:53|| Front Page Top

#6 At any rate they probably don't like the army poking around their village, asking questions and pocketing anything that isn't nailed down and painted. So the practical turban might come to this conclusion himself.
Plus they're bad guys, they put the nix on any fun at all, like marriage parties and maybe a little music at night. And when you live in a shitbox like Bajaur, there probably isn't much fun to begin with.

Posted by bigjim-ky 2008-08-19 08:53|| 2008-08-19 08:53|| Front Page Top

#7 Clearup on aisles #4 and #5 !

Posted by Mad Eye 2008-08-19 08:57|| 2008-08-19 08:57|| Front Page Top

#8 TW, in all fairness Obama didnt say hed level the country. He said hed bomb HVTs without permission. Which I think we all agree is the right thing to do. How and when the Chosen one said it was somewhat naive, and raised concerns about his lack of experience, but the substance was reasonable.

As for what we did in Anbar. Yup, thats now textbook counterinsurgency. But what was the proportion of US troops to population in Anbar? Compared to Paki troops in FATA (or even all NWFP) Not to mention that Paki troops are less competent than Americans. And maybe not real motivated on this.

Posted by liberalhawk 2008-08-19 11:33|| 2008-08-19 11:33|| Front Page Top

#9 TW, in all fairness Obama didnt say hed level the country. He said hed bomb HVTs without permission. Which I think we all agree is the right thing to do. How and when the Chosen one said it was somewhat naive, and raised concerns about his lack of experience, but the substance was reasonable.

As for what we did in Anbar. Yup, thats now textbook counterinsurgency. But what was the proportion of US troops to population in Anbar? Compared to Paki troops in FATA (or even all NWFP) Not to mention that Paki troops are less competent than Americans. And maybe not real motivated on this.

Posted by liberalhawk 2008-08-19 11:36|| 2008-08-19 11:36|| Front Page Top

#10 Correction noted, liberalhawk. My long-term memory has been a bit problematic for things like that, so I'd be grateful if you continue correcting my errors of fact. Separately, the article does not say the Pakistanis followed the pattern Angleton 9 described; in my ignorance I'm quite certain the Pakistani troops are incapable of it for a variety of reasons involving the national culture and the Pakistani military training at all levels. I was asking Angleton 9 if 'twas our guys had done this in the Bajaur agency.

Posted by trailing wife ">trailing wife 2008-08-19 11:58|| 2008-08-19 11:58|| Front Page Top

#11 The Paks are not going to be able to implement effective COIN in the tribal areas because their troops are not disciplined enough to carry it out. There is too much of a cultural gap, IMO, and the Pak troops will bully, steal and act like they are the new boss in town. The locals will hate them.

We are not going to do this in Pakistan because we don't have the troop strength to do it. Since neither we nor that Paks are going to do the nice step by step coin program in the tribal regions, we can only expect to keep killing them in A-Stan in bunches.

Posted by remoteman 2008-08-19 13:18|| 2008-08-19 13:18|| Front Page Top

#12 Actually, I think what's finally turning the "locals" is that more and more, Pakistani Taliban are Punjabis or Sindis, not Pashtuns. The Pashtuns don't like outsiders sniffing around their wives, daughters, and favorite goats. Even the Afghanistani Pashtuns are considered "different". There may well be an "Anbar Awakening" movement in the Tribal Areas, and not one funded or controlled by the US.

Posted by Old Patriot">Old Patriot 2008-08-19 17:50|| http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/]">[http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/] 2008-08-19 17:50|| Front Page Top

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