I’m so fascinated by the whole sidestory about US troops doin’ some GWOT Biz inside of Pakistan. As an IR geek, there’s just so much drama when you mix up semi-failed states, egg shell diplomacy, tenuously legitimate state leadership, semi-autonomous regions, nukes, and age-old rivalries…. Stir and you get something like this -
MIRAMSHAH (North Waziristan), July 16: Thousands of emotionally charged tribesmen, raising anti-US slogans, buried on Saturday 24 suspected militants killed inside Pakistan by US forces operating from across the border in Afghanistan.
And, of course, the standard retort / backlash -
…These 24 people are martyrs and our entire Waziristan region is ready for jihad (holy war), Maulana Abdur Rehman, a local prayer leader, said at the funeral of two suspects.
Open, combat ops within a non-combatant state. What a world. Stratpage gives us an idea of what this this looks like from the front line -
July 18, 2005: Heavy losses have caused most Taliban fighters to flee into Pakistan, where Pakistani troops are becoming more active in going after them. But the Taliban refuges in Pakistan are still largely intact. Once the Taliban reach their camps, which are usually under the protection of local tribes, they are still safe. But if the Pakistani troops catch the Taliban in transit, it’s another story.
