Some Interesting Thoughts

With COIN warfare being the chic today people thinking there is no fighting and killing that needs to be done. This however is incorrect in the take and hold phases an area or city must be taken from opposing forces. Taking these areas involves kinetic operations which kills the other team. The next phase is security which looks to defend the people against further insurgent or terrorist attacks. Victor Davis Hansen brings an interesting perspective to this argument. There is no telling how many jihadis were killed in Iraq in the years leading up to the success of the surge.

Counter terrorism and counter insurgency involve fighting and killing as well as taking the jihadists that are captured off of the streets forever which will involve incarceration at a facility such as Gitmo for a very long time. The reason for this incarceration is that the released jihadis are going back to their fighting ways.

Problem with Pakistan

As I have stated in the past the hub of jihad terrorism is Pakistan, with the arrests made over the last few weeks one would assume that the Pakis would be happy to turn over some of the Taliban leaders to the Afghanis or U.S. authorities. Well in a decision made this week Pakistan's courts have ruled that there will be no hand over of the Quetta Shura members

Arrests

Over the last couple of weeks Pakistan has arrested some very senior Afghan Taliban leaders including the second in command to Mullah Omar. However Pakistan as usual is not doing this out of a sudden need to crack down on its own child. Pakistan is still seeking its all important strategic depth and needs the needs to play a role in any negotiation between the Taliban and Afghanistan for political reconciliation. Without an Afghanistan that is not partially influenced by Pakistan there is the feeling in Islamabad that they are again surrounded. This is the situation that resulted in the initial Taliban onslaught. The problem with the Pakistanis is of course now they have their own terrorist problem from the Pakistani Taliban. This group of Taliban however are not seperate from the Talibs that operate primarly in Afghanistan nor is it seperate from the remains of al-Qaeda and there is the rub. Pakistan needs the Talib to continue the jihad in Kasmir so a complete crackdown on any of these groups is out of the question. There is an interesting article in Dawn that explains this a little more.