Taliban Giving Up? Not Likely.
Hm. This is interesting:
The Taliban on Monday urged civilians to return to the Swat Valley’s main city, promising they would not attack security forces battling for control out of concern for the safety of trapped residents.
The order allegedly comes from Maulana Fazlullah, the Swat Taliban leader, who has ordered his men to stop fighting the Pakistani […]
Ebbing Public Support for Offensive
Al Jazeera English is reporting ebbing public support for the Pakistani Army’s offensive against the Taliban in Swat, Buner and Dir. This fits with what happens with you turn an Army into a wrecking crew. Pakistan doesn’t really do population-centric operations.
Fighting intensifies in Pakistan
An interesting report from Al Jazeera English on conditions on the ground in Malakand as of yesterday. The soundbytes from the men of Buner are worrisome: the government and the military have very little support among the people they’re allegedly saving, indicating the army may attain short-term tactical gains, but continue to fail in its […]
Pakistani Army to Taliban: Game on
Welcome news if it’s followed up on:
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, May 7 (UPI) — Pakistani government officials Thursday said they would scrap a peace deal with the Taliban and undertake a more aggressive operation against the militants.
The military announced it would begin a major offensive in the Swat Valley, site of the faltering deal between the Pakistani military and Taliban […]
Interview with the Taliban
The New York Times has a fascinating story today. It’s an interview with a Taliban logistics tactician the Times has been working on for six months. He finally spills the beans on the Taliban plans for Pakistan and Afghanistan, the strategies they will use and what they fear.
He was clued into the Petraeus doctrine, used to good effect […]
Mullen: Afghanistan is New Strategic Focus
“Afghanistan has been an ‘economy-of-force’ operation for far too long,” Adm. Mike Mullen said. “The Taliban, aided by al-Qaida and other extremists and safe havens across the border, are recruiting through intimidation, controlling through fear and advancing an unwelcome ideology through thuggery.”
Operation Rahi-i-Rast: One Month On
Posted by Christopher Allbritton on May 27, 2009 at 12:27 am +0000 · 2 Comments
Yesterday marked the one-month mark for the Pakistani military’s offensive against the Taliban in the Swat region. How are things going? Let’s assess:
This weekend saw the beginning of the battle for Mingora, the valley’s administrative seat. The military is reported to be in control of about half of the city, but some Taliban fighters are […]
Filed under Analysis, Featured, Military, Pakistan · Tagged with Analysis, Army, Author, Bomb, Buner, Commentary, FATA, fighting, IDPs, India, insurgency, ISI, Islam, Islamabad, Jihad, Lahore, maulana fazlullah, Militant, Militants, Military, MINGORA, News, NWFP, Pakistan, Politics, Punjab, rss, security, South Waziristan, Strategy, Swat, Swat Valley, Tactics, Taliban, Tehrik-i-Taliban, Threat, TNSM, Troops, TTP, U.S., Unrest, Waziristan