| Submit your comments on this article |
| India-Pakistan |
| A test Pakistan has failed before |
| 2009-05-10 |
| As soldiers again square off against the Taliban in Swat, an influential US newspaper writes, Pakistan faces a test it has often failed before -- fighting an insurgency while caring for those displaced by the conflict. Military officials say they are determined to continue the current offensive until they control the 400-square-mile area. But it is far from clear that the army will do any better this time than last when it was ground to a halt by the Taliban. "Everyone here believes they [the Taliban] are coming back," a 21-year-old in Takht Bhai told the paper. People fleeing the daily bombardment said Taliban fighters were blocking roads with rocks and trees. Some of those making it out said the Taliban were sneaking out with them. On Friday, Pakistani Army said it had lost 13 men and killed 143 Taliban. There was no word on civilian casualties. But front-line officers reported only slight gains in Swat, Buner and Lower Dir. "This is going to be hard fighting ... These miscreants know the terrain. They are formidable," said an army major. Over the past four years the military has struggled through a series of campaigns against the Taliban in the mountains. Most, like the battle in Swat, ended in a standstill. US and Pakistani officials say the Americans will provide night-vision goggles and more helicopters. There are also plans to train Pakistani soldiers in counterinsurgency doctrine and wean them away from their reliance on artillery and air power. Still, US officials privately question whether Pakistan's top brass are committed to reorienting their forces. "Look at what they're doing right now," said a US official in Washington, referring to the airstrikes and artillery bombardment. "This is why they keep losing." Fleeing residents said innocents were being killed in the military's bombardment. "We saw many bodies rotting," said a farmer who had fled to Dargai from Mingora. |
| Posted by:Fred |