Pakistan Gets Serious

By Ryan Mauro

The Pakistani military has launched a large offensive involving 30,000 soldiers into South Waziristan, one of the tribal agencies most hospitable to the Taliban and like-minded terrorists. Following frightening Taliban attacks on the Army headquarters and an air base suspected of storing nuclear weapons, the Pakistani government began a belated but aggressive campaign. In order for the Pakistanis to succeed, however, the U.S. must demonstrate a similar determination to rout the Taliban in Afghanistan by launching a comprehensive counter-insurgency campaign.

The U.S. has been secretly helping the Pakistanis carry out their offensive, providing them with intelligence from unmanned aerial vehicles and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of weapons and equipment. Up to 150 Special Forces are now in Pakistan training and advising their military, a two-fold increase over the past eight months. This assistance has significantly helped the Pakistanis trying to clear South Waziristan, but the U.S.'s inability to secure Afghanistan limits any gains. [more...]