Ian Speigel - Jun 20, 08
Geopoliticalmonitor.com
June 20, 2008
June 20, 2008
Summary
This week’s spectacular attack on a prison in Kandahar demonstrates the Taliban’s reconstitution in southern Afghanistan and presages a violent summer fighting season. NATO and the Afghan army will reduce the Taliban’s capabilities, but the Taliban will remain a robust force until their sanctuary across the border in Pakistan is eliminated – an unlikely event in 2008.
I believe President Karzai's request should be honored. It is not as though he is throwing his loyalty to the Taliban as an answer to the circumstances of the Afghan people.
Taliban talks off; Karzai tells NATO to pull back (click title to entry - thank you)
Updated 14m ago
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – The American campaign in Afghanistan suffered a double blow Thursday: The Taliban broke off talks with the U.S., and President Hamid Karzai demanded NATO troops immediately pull out of rural areas in the wake of the killing of 16 civilians....
The Taliban are taking their military stance back. President Karzai needs to be able to maintain control in order to prove his leadership as legitimate. So, this might be the time for the Afghan military to take their places with the people. If Karzai isn't respected by NATO he'll appear to be as much the problem as a rogue soldier. Karzai has to be able to guarantee the safety of the Afghan citizens otherwise the Taliban will appear to be their best option.
Taliban kills top Pakistani police officer (click here)
Published: Thursday, Mar 15, 2012, 20:04 IST
By Rezaul H Laskar | Place: ISLAMABAD | Agency: PTI
By Rezaul H Laskar | Place: ISLAMABAD | Agency: PTI
A senior police officer, known for his anti-Taliban operations, was on Thursday assassinated by a suicide bomber in Peshawar city in the restive northwest Pakistan.
Superintendent of Police Kalam Khan was killed and four others injured when the bomber detonated his explosive vest near the official's car at Pishta Khara Chowk in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
The official was on his way to work with his bodyguards and driver.
Khan was killed instantly while his driver, two bodyguards and a passerby were injured.
The wounded policemen were taken to a nearby hospital.
Taliban regrouping in Peshawar, Fata, says Iftikhar (click here)
PESHAWAR, March 13: Pakistani Taliban were regrouping in Peshawar and tribal areas to counter the impact of the security forces’ crackdown on them, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said here on Tuesday.
During the Khyber Union of Journalists and Peshawar Press Club oath-taking ceremony at the Chief Minister’s House here, the minister said the talks between US and Afghan Taliban had led to a deep split within the Pakistani Taliban.
“The growing desire among Pakistani Taliban for holding talks with the government has created serious differences among the terror outfit. Due to these differences, the Taliban leadership recently sacked their spokesman, Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, for openly supporting the idea of dialogue with the government,” he said.
Mr Iftikhar urged Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US to form a joint team for meaningful dialogue with Taliban leaders to achieve desired goals of peace in the region.
It is safe to say the chance of dividing the Taliban into two factions has ended with the attempt of some to dialogue with the governments.
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has split into two: Rehman Malik (click here)
Published: Tuesday, Mar 13, 2012, 20:59 IST
By Rezaul H Laskar | Place: ISLAMABAD | Agency: PTI
By Rezaul H Laskar | Place: ISLAMABAD | Agency: PTI
Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Tuesday claimed the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has split into two, a remark that comes amidst reports that commanders of the banned group were divided on the issue of holding peace talks with the government.
Malik, however, did not give further details or say why the militant grouping had broken into two factions.
Recent reports have said that commanders of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan were divided on the issue of holding peace talks with the government....
Pakistan parliament to discuss US ties next week (click here)
BY MUMIR AHMED AND CHRIS BRUMMITT
Posted on Thu, Mar. 15, 2012 06:47 AM
ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's parliament will debate new terms of engagement with the United States next week, a process expected to pave the way for the reopening of NATO and U.S. supply routes into Afghanistan, lawmakers and government officials said.Ties have been frozen since American air strikes accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at the Afghan border in November, complicating U.S. efforts to negotiate an end to the war in neighboring Afghanistan because Islamabad's cooperation in that process is seen as vital in that endeavor....
15 March, 2012
BANI GALA: An Indian Hindu guru may be the last emissary the Taliban expect, but Sri Sri Ravi Shankar would love to teach inner peace to the world's most notorious extremists.Visiting Pakistan for the first time in eight years, he basks in the diplomatic rapprochement that made the trip possible but his dreams of harmony couldn't be further removed from the suffering of millions worldwide.A man in his mid-50s, dressed in pristine white robes, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and described by Forbes magazine in 2009 as the fifth most powerful person in India, Shankar established the 'Art of Living Foundation' in 1981. It estimates it has 300 million followers....
The Taliban are the problem, it has to be a regional solution and for every incident of NATO error it strengthens their place among the people. If NATO is adverse to establishing peace and stability then they need to reassess the effectiveness of their mission.
IT IS MORE THAN STRANGE THOUGH, that the Taliban can execute people and never are they the problem among the people, while NATO goes to extremes to build good relations spending millions and billions of dollars trying to improve the lives of people but at every turn there is little to no loyalty. The Taliban are fantastic propagandists.
Ties have been frozen since American air strikes accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at the Afghan border in November, complicating U.S. efforts to negotiate an end to the war in neighboring Afghanistan because Islamabad's cooperation in that process is seen as vital in that endeavor....
BANI GALA: An Indian Hindu guru may be the last emissary the Taliban expect, but Sri Sri Ravi Shankar would love to teach inner peace to the world's most notorious extremists.
Visiting Pakistan for the first time in eight years, he basks in the diplomatic rapprochement that made the trip possible but his dreams of harmony couldn't be further removed from the suffering of millions worldwide.
A man in his mid-50s, dressed in pristine white robes, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and described by Forbes magazine in 2009 as the fifth most powerful person in India, Shankar established the 'Art of Living Foundation' in 1981. It estimates it has 300 million followers....
The Taliban are the problem, it has to be a regional solution and for every incident of NATO error it strengthens their place among the people. If NATO is adverse to establishing peace and stability then they need to reassess the effectiveness of their mission.
IT IS MORE THAN STRANGE THOUGH, that the Taliban can execute people and never are they the problem among the people, while NATO goes to extremes to build good relations spending millions and billions of dollars trying to improve the lives of people but at every turn there is little to no loyalty. The Taliban are fantastic propagandists.
The Taliban are the problem, it has to be a regional solution and for every incident of NATO error it strengthens their place among the people. If NATO is adverse to establishing peace and stability then they need to reassess the effectiveness of their mission.
IT IS MORE THAN STRANGE THOUGH, that the Taliban can execute people and never are they the problem among the people, while NATO goes to extremes to build good relations spending millions and billions of dollars trying to improve the lives of people but at every turn there is little to no loyalty. The Taliban are fantastic propagandists.
