THE PAK CIVIL WAR. ARMY V. TALIBAN: FAMILY FEUD

NY Post ^ | May 1, 2009 | Ralph Peters

[Scanian]

OUR diplomats and generals can't understand why Pakistan's million- man military avoids confronting the Taliban as the extremists tear into the country's flesh.

Admiral Michael Mullen, our chairman of the Joint Chiefs and a superb officer, spends almost as much time in Islamabad as in Washington. And his Pakistani hosts make endless promises.

But nothing much happens as the Taliban and their allies gobble territory. This week's "offensive" to retake Buner province -- almost within shouting distance of Pakistan's capital -- is a relatively small-scale operation.

Even Richard Holbrooke, our junkyard dog among diplomats, can't get the Pakistanis off the dime. Our best and brightest shake their heads: Don't the Pakistanis want to save their country?

For a big part of the answer, look to our own history. Along the Indus River, 2009 looks worrisomely like 1861 did on the Potomac.

After the attack on Fort Sumter, President Abraham Lincoln offered command of the Union forces to the most-respected officer in the US Army, Colonel Robert E. Lee. Lee was not in favor of secession. The man who would become the most distinguished Rebel wasn't a rebel.

[iopscusa]

Good post, the question RP asked that our idiot government has studiously tried to ignore: ‘There are powerful reasons why a military establishment with 650,000 active troops, 300,000 paramilitary members and more than a half-million reservists hasn't marched against the Taliban in full force’....I cannot fathom why we still consider the Paki ISI as anything other than an ENEMY!

[rbg81]

I actually expect Pakistan to fall to the Taliban. Its more like “Dawn of the Dead” than the Civil War, however. Recall in “Dawn”, the dumb but persistent zombies were able to take over because the “intelligent” humans were confused, disorganized, and primarily concerned with saving their own a$$. Substitute in “Taliban” for zombies and “Pakistani Government” for humans, and you have a perfect match.

[darth]

If the Taliban take Pakistan then India may well nuke ‘em. Its time to add potassium iodide and calcium tablets to your survival kit. The fallout will go worldwide. I wonder if India will strike when prevailing winds are blowing West towards Iran and Afganistan?

[Saberwielder]

Pakistan “falling” to the Taliban is like saying Tony Sporano “falling” to a life of crime.

Pakistan IS the Taliban or rather the Taliban are a product of the Pakistani military.

It is only to appease us and get an endless stream of cash that the Pakistanis pretend to fight the Taliban every now and then. When our pressure dies off, the Pakistanis and their Taliban buddies meet up, divide the shakedown money and party on like its 1999.

I once stayed in Pakistan working for a defense contractor and still keep in touch with the few secular minded ex-army officers from Pakistan. They all tell me that the ISI and the Pakistani Generals laugh at the ease with which they can push our buttons and extract more dollars, even as their own country goes to hell in a handbasket.

[rbg81]

Its really hard for me to believe that the leaders of the Pakistani military (many of whom were educated in the UK) want to live under the Taliban. There are also many middle class Pakistanis that don’t want it. If the Taliban take over, there will be mass killings and exodus the likes of which not seen since Rwanda. The world will see what really happens when Islamic radicals take over a pseudo modern country. Sadly, I think most of the elites will just shrug weakly.