Waziristan
It may seem hard to believe, but a nuclear-armed power has made peace with al-Qaeda. I know, with the Bush administration’s stunning competence, as demonstrated in the aftermath of Katrina, in keeping gas below a dollar a gallon, in containing Iraq while keeping North Korea from getting nuclear weapons, it’s hard to believe that they’d miss something important like a nuclear ally signing a peace treaty with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
Go read “Pakistan’s Peace Deal with Terrorist Factions a Major Blow to U.S.,” at the CounterTerrorism blog. Go read “Pakistan Cuts and Runs From Waziristan.” When you’re done, wonder which of the party faithful will be getting the Medal of Freedom for our stunning success in convincing al Qaeda to get a territorial base which we can bomb, just as soon as our military gets dis-entangled from Iraq.
Speaking of Iraq, see “Situation Called Dire in West Iraq” in the Washington Post, and Michael Froomkin’s “Political Stalemate in the Iraq Endgame.”
See also the Wikipedia articles on Waziristan and the recent troubles there.
Oh that is a little worrisome, and a more relevant concern to my fellow Canadians who are engaged in a worsening situation in Afganistan. This conflict is starting to become more tangible for us, and I’m not sure we are happy about it. Watching your president the other night was a chilling experience, perhaps because it was so clear that he has to resort to patronizing platitudes because there seems to be no concrete strategy or endgame. But then I realize that in a few years you guys will vote some more responsible folks into power who will fix everything, right? Right?
Since this blog changed from security to politics it’s a lot less relevant to my work. I’m outta here.
just take a look at the history of the state everyone’s concerned about, specifically Waziristan. My Grandfather was stationed there in the last century, a sergeant in the British Army. If you follow the thread, several western intrusions and a Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979-1989) have resulted in thousands of modern, heavily armed “infidels” losing their lives. And for what? So we could end a war on drugs, find Osama Bin Laden? Where does the hunt end? A recent poll in Canada finds little support for participation in the Afghan conflict, but we’re internally conflicted – we support our troops, or so we’re told. Pay close attention to the history of the region.
They don’t want us in their country. Period. Let them determine their own fate, quit blaming our problems on others, smaller nations.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”