THE AL QUEDA REPUBLIC OF WAZIRISTAN

Villagers with Torches has an excellent summary of Pakistan's SHAMEFUL deal with the Taliban in Waziristan.

...ceding a region the size of New Jersey, with a population of about 800,000 to the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Waziristan is not the end of the Taliban's expansion, however. An intelligence source indicates similar negotiations between the Taliban and the Pakistani government are being held in the agencies of Khyber, Tank, Dera Ishmal Khan and Bajaur. The jihadi dreams of al-Qaeda's safe havens in western Pakistan have become a reality. And the gains made by the Coalition in Afghanistan have now officially been wiped away with the peace agreement in the newly established Islamic Emirate of Waziristan.

It strikes me that Pakistan is a very strange ally in the war on Islamic terrorism. It looks to me more and more like a schitzo enemy. But which of our political leaders has a plan to deal with this sort of lunatic behaviour? Giving Al Qu'eda a huge playground like this from which they can launch their evil missions seems so dangerous as to be completely intolerable. So why has the Bush administration kept so quiet about it?

Comments

[ed]

I was reading Steyn on the five year anniversary of the twin towers attack- not an article, merely the introduction to a piece from his archives. He said that the nearest comparison with today's war was the Great War. He said it would change te entire world order.

I think that explains why we have this strange Pakistani alliance- it's a war where people do change sides, where countries are mixed in their allegiance and we have to live with it. Pakistan at the moment is a partial ally, because it may in the future be an enemy. The enemy would be totalitarian, whereas the ally is a benign military dictatorship. It's a huge and varied muslim country, of course, which explains some of the schizophrenia.

Could we handle Pakistan the enemy, while Iran is also an enemy? The fact that we don't know the answer to that is probably why Pakistan sits on the fence so to speak.

[Cunningham]

>>The enemy would be totalitarian, whereas the ally is a benign military dictatorship.<<

So, ed, you mean that as long as it's an ally the military dictatorship is benign but it becomes "totalarian" when, and only when, it turns into an enemy.

You should go into politics.

[Hugh Green]

Ah yes, benign military dictatorships: my favourite kind of military dictatorship.

[andy]

Hugh
Hi. In fairness though there are different grades of military dictatorship. I think there were a couple in South America which were quite progressive in terms of land reform (obviously most were not).

As to the point of the post - massively worrying news. The question is - what can be done? Not sure how we could pursue a military option here without compleetely undermining Musharraf. And with him gone I'm not sure how well we could operate in Afghanistan.....

[Peter]

Britain has 700 troops in an area the size of Wales in southern Afghanistan. No wonder they're suffering daily casualties.

It's time France and Germany pulled their weight and committed some serious forces to Afghanistan. After all, they have as much of an interest as the UK in stopping the heroin trade and preventing Bin Laden's friends the Taliban regaining control.

[The Phantom]

--It strikes me that Pakistan is a very strange ally in the war on Islamic terrorism. It looks to me more and more like a schitzo enemy--

Correct.

--It's time France and Germany pulled their weight and committed some serious forces to Afghanistan. After all, they have as much of an interest as the UK in stopping the heroin trade and preventing Bin Laden's friends the Taliban regaining control.--

Also correct, but the heroin trade issue is puzzling. When the Taliban controlled the country up to 2001-2002, my understanding is that they clamped down on the heroin trade far more than any other regime. It was the one thing you could have praised them for.

When they were pushed out, I believe that the heroin trade under "our" warlords went way up. But now the Taliban have decided to fully accept the heroin trade so long as they get a cut? Sort of like our friends the FARC in Columbia?

[Colm]

How about doing a deal with the Taliban. let them back in control of most of Afghanistan (apart from Kabul) on condition they don't engage in terrorist support and clamp down severely on the heroin trade.

[The Phantom]

Colm

They were essentially made that offer in September 2001--to turn over bin Laden and be otherwise left alone--and they did not accept it.

Its now far too late. They wouldn't honor any such deal now anyway.

[Fascist fighter]

"...ceding a region the size of New Jersey,"

Stealing from US websites again David? Are you so yank-centred that you could not think of an appropriate area from your native Ireland, or from that foreign state you hold so dear over the water.

Deals are done like this all over. The Brits have had an "arrangement" with the local shiite militia for years. Sure didn't the criminal godfathers of greed supply all the dictaters with all they wanted when it suited them.

Shock horror from the fascist sychophants

[David Vance]

Fascist Imbecile,

Do try and learn to read before you comment! The quote is taken from Villagers with Torches indicated in the erm..first sentence! LOL - how high the moonbats fly!

Oh, and I don't live in "Ireland"!

[parcifal]

DV my message to pakistanis all over, and to afghans is simple :
Cricket or Jihad make your choice.