Still, the almost certain disaster that will follow, which will compound the folly of invading/occupying Iraq, leaves me breathless in un-admiration.
.d.
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Afghanistan: Crossing the Rubicon
By Syed Saleem Shahzad
KARACHI - After the Pakistani army's failure in its recent operation in the South Waziristan tribal area to deal a significant blow to foreign resistance fighters poised for action in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States have concluded that they have no alternative other than to undertake "mission impossible": the capture of the "Shawal" base that straddles the border.
To date, US-led forces have respected the Durand Line that separates Afghanistan and Pakistan, waiting for Pakistani forces to drive foreign militants, Afghan resistance fighters and Taliban into their hands from across the border in a "hammer and anvil" approach.
This has proved ineffective, and security forces have told Asia Times Online that, with great reluctance and trepidation, Pakistan and the US will soon launch operations designed to secure the Shawal area.
As Asia Times Online has described (Afghan offensive: Grand plans hit rugged reality, March 20), "Technically speaking, Shawal falls on the Afghan side of the Durand Line that divides Pakistan and Afghanistan. (Editor's note: The border area inside North Waziristan is also called Shawal.) In reality, Shawal is a no-man's land, a place no one would want to go to unless he were as tough as the local tribespeople, a guerrilla fighter taking on the US, or, perhaps, Osama bin Laden. Shawal is a deep and most dangerous maze."
The Shawal area has for centuries given protection to people, explains Senator Syed Murad Ali Shah, one of the most low-profile Jamaat-i-Islami leaders, though he has been a major player in the region of Afghanistan and Iran since 1967.
"The reason why descendents of the Prophet Mohammed's family are found in huge numbers in Afghanistan and along the Indus river has an historic background. After the assassination of Husein in Karbala [in 680] and subsequent clashes between members of Prophet's family and the Umayyads [Husein's killers] several members of the family fled into what is now Iraq, and they also took refuge exactly in this area where Pakistani troops are fighting to arrest foreign fighters. The Arab armies failed to access the area, and later on the Afghan tribes struck a deal with Abu Mosa Ashari that these 'foreigners' under their protection would not move anywhere. The foreigners married into the local population and spread all over the region along the Indus," the senator explained.
Now US commanders believe they are capable of seizing this natural fortress of Shawal, where thick jungles and mountains can swallow many dozens of people without a trace.
[...]
full at --
<http://atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/FD10Ag01.html>