Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Tribal Wars II or: How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love Islam
More on the hunt for Zawahiri, this time from the Asia Times. A couple key points:
"The way in which Islamabad has alienated the Pashtun tribals suggests that the whole operation may end up as a complete fiasco. The Pakistanis had to arrest the wives of some mujahideen to extract some kind of intelligence. Peshawar sources tell Asia Times Online that average Pashtun tribals have been the main victims all along. Local trucks and minibuses have been nowhere to be seen for days. The roads are sealed. Electricity has been cut off. Families fled heavy bombing of "strategic targets" - on foot for dozens of kilometers. Villagers were hit by mortar fire. The Pakistani army used 15 Cobra helicopters, two F-17 fighters and dozens of artillery batteries. Contrary to Islamabad's version, the mujahideen were not cornered in one area - but in eight villages around the cities of Wana and Azam Warsak: Kluusha, Karzi Kot, Klotay, Gua Khua, Zera Lead, Sarahgor, Sesion Warzak and Wazagonday."
"Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, chairperson of the Pakistan People's Party, grumbled that elected tribal leaders were not consulted about an operation which had been planned for three months: "Every high value target was allowed to escape months in advance while the tribal population was used as a sacrificial lamb to satisfy the power lust of the regime." Benazir added that "even the international media were duped into believing that al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri was besieged, when in fact Chechen and Uzbek fighters were said to be holed in the area."
A Parliament Member, from the tribal area believes this would lead to "more terrorism in reaction to the persecution of innocent civilians".
Like I said before, I'm glad Pakistan is taking some action, but how come any action we, or some of our allies, take, leads to an increase of terrorism? I can't help but think of what Richard Clarke said on 60 Minutes on Sunday night, regarding Bush's list of most wanted terrorists. He said something along the lines of: "I can picture Bush sitting in front of a fireplace, grinning as he crosses off another killed/captured member of the most wanted list, not realizing that another just takes his place." Killing or capturing the bad guys is great, but not letting the next generation to become terrorists is priceless.
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"The way in which Islamabad has alienated the Pashtun tribals suggests that the whole operation may end up as a complete fiasco. The Pakistanis had to arrest the wives of some mujahideen to extract some kind of intelligence. Peshawar sources tell Asia Times Online that average Pashtun tribals have been the main victims all along. Local trucks and minibuses have been nowhere to be seen for days. The roads are sealed. Electricity has been cut off. Families fled heavy bombing of "strategic targets" - on foot for dozens of kilometers. Villagers were hit by mortar fire. The Pakistani army used 15 Cobra helicopters, two F-17 fighters and dozens of artillery batteries. Contrary to Islamabad's version, the mujahideen were not cornered in one area - but in eight villages around the cities of Wana and Azam Warsak: Kluusha, Karzi Kot, Klotay, Gua Khua, Zera Lead, Sarahgor, Sesion Warzak and Wazagonday."
"Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, chairperson of the Pakistan People's Party, grumbled that elected tribal leaders were not consulted about an operation which had been planned for three months: "Every high value target was allowed to escape months in advance while the tribal population was used as a sacrificial lamb to satisfy the power lust of the regime." Benazir added that "even the international media were duped into believing that al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri was besieged, when in fact Chechen and Uzbek fighters were said to be holed in the area."
A Parliament Member, from the tribal area believes this would lead to "more terrorism in reaction to the persecution of innocent civilians".
Like I said before, I'm glad Pakistan is taking some action, but how come any action we, or some of our allies, take, leads to an increase of terrorism? I can't help but think of what Richard Clarke said on 60 Minutes on Sunday night, regarding Bush's list of most wanted terrorists. He said something along the lines of: "I can picture Bush sitting in front of a fireplace, grinning as he crosses off another killed/captured member of the most wanted list, not realizing that another just takes his place." Killing or capturing the bad guys is great, but not letting the next generation to become terrorists is priceless.
