Pakistan army 'will retake Swat'

[Adsos Letter]

Source: BBC

Pakistan's army chief has pledged to restore government control of the Swat valley, which is currently controlled by Taleban militants.

Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani made the remarks to troops during a visit to the former tourist resort in the country's north-west near the Afghan border.

Troops were deployed in Swat after an Islamic insurgency began in 2007.

Hundreds have died in battles between troops and militants seeking to impose their austere version of Islamic law.

The BBC's M Ilyas Khan says Gen Kayani's remarks come at a time when military circles are talking of a new phase in operations against the militants.

The authorities are under severe pressure over the deteriorating security situation in Swat.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7856866.stm

[ConsAreLiars]

1. Well, the Brzezinski-Kissinger policy of funding/arming/organizing religious fanatics has

has certainly borne more toxic fruit. I visited that area a long time ago - there was snow, in August(?), and trees, and buildings made with wood and stone instead of mud, a refreshing contrast to the heat of a desert summer in the lowlands, and a film crew whose star wanted to have his picture taken with my companion. North of there was off limits. Once called Kafiristan - land of the unbelievers or infidels - a region that included parts of Afghanistan, as is does today, colonial maps notwithstanding.

The fostering of religious zealotry by Brzezinski-Kissinger plays a part in the resistance the US invaders and their semi-surrogate government in Pakistan encounter, but far more at the core is the system of loyalties and honor that earned the people of that region the label of "infidels." It is a family-based system. Neighborhood/village based. Clans. Tribal, but not like the "our tribe against their tribe" as promoted in the indoctrination programs in the US provided by sports competitions. The tribe there is just extended family - it is just a matter of coming together as "us" against whoever hurts any of us.

This is the same dynamic that underlies the resistance to the invaders in Afghanistan. To those who think that the resistance is about anything much more complex than the simple sense of honor and decency and self-respect, well, there is other stuff, but at the core, it is just a matter of family loyalties.

[cali]

3. I've been doing quite a bit of reading about that region

and though I agree, in part, about the fostering of radical religious groups, by the U.S. That is not the only contributing factor, and it is not chiefly about honor, decency and self-respect, or family loyalties. You don't blow up all the girls' schools, if that's the case. You don't torture all the women. you don't impose draconian and largely foreign (to the region) religious laws and restrictions).


This is a case of fundamentalism on steroids.

[ConsAreLiars]

4. You need to listen to Bill Moyers Journal tonight to understand

why I emphasized honor. http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2009/01/is_a_military_strategy_the_bes.html

"We’re dealing with a society that’s based on honor... They have to resist being invaded, occupied, bombed and killed. It’s a matter of honor, and they’re willing to die in unbelievable numbers to do that.”"

The video should be online tomorrow.

(edit to add quote from Pierre Sprey near the beginning of the program.)

[cali]

2. We'll see. Haven't they been saying that for a while?