A sinister idea to destabilise Pakistan

Notwithstanding the unmistakable indications that the new government at Islamabad is keener than its predecessor to please Washington and readier to acquiesce in its pressure to give up the pursuit of tackling militancy with peaceful means in favour of armed action, US strategists in increasing numbers are advocating that their armed forces take it upon themselves to eliminate Al-Qaeda and Taliban strongholds, which they believe have been set-up in the tribal belt along the Pak-Afghan border. They had been sceptical of the Musharraf government's commitment to get rid of these sores for fear of rocking the boat further because it had already been jolted by the US invasion of Afghanistan. And now that after his exit the scenario has not evolved to these policymakers' liking, they have come to believe the current set-up's inability to handle the job adequately, what with the contradictory strains of thoughts certain important components of the ruling coalition have in mind about dealing with hostile tribesmen and what with political parties' considerations for their voters' wishes.

A highly subversive idea aimed at 'putting an end to terrorism' emanating from the Pakistan's tribal areas has been put forward by one Robert Tracinski, Editor of The Intellectual Activist and commentator at website TIADaily.com. Ruling out "an invasion and occupation" of the country, he advises the US to "recruit Afghan proxies (and even Pakistani allies) to send into Waziristan to drive out the Taliban and their supporters", providing them training and intelligence, money and weapons. It would mark a change on the lines Charlie Wilson's War describes in the Afghan campaign, he explains.