Interesting article in the respected New York Times showing how the militants have beat back the Army and effectively run the region, despite the efforts of the ISI, Commandos and thousands of soldiers
Salient points below, full article at the following link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/22/international/asia/22pakistan.html?hp&ex=1137992400&en=dfd2ae2562fc9b38&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Pakistan’s Push in Border Areas Is Said to Falter
Two years after the Pakistani Army began operations in border tribal areas to root out members of Al Qaeda and other foreign militants, Pakistani officials who know the area say the military campaign is bogged down, the local political administration is powerless and the militants are stronger than ever.
The tribal areas are off limits to foreign journalists, but the Pakistani officials, and former residents who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution, said the militants - who call themselves Taliban - now dispensed their own justice, ran their own jails, robbed banks, shelled military and civilian government compounds and attacked convoys at will.
Qaeda operatives are the driving force behind the local militants and are influencing their tactics, the officials said. The militants have managed this despite a hammer-and-anvil strategy in the region, with American military forces pressing from the Afghan side of the border. There have been three American strikes in the area in the past six weeks, involving missiles fired from remotely piloted Predator aircraft operated by the Central Intelligence Agency, but whether they were an expression of American frustration or the outcome of a burst of intelligence remains unclear.
Despite government denials, the officials said, the strikes may have had the tacit approval of Pakistan’s leadership, which has issued mostly pro forma condemnations. The officials asked not to be identified because their supervisors do not allow them to talk to the media.
Pakistan’s military has become more cautious about emerging from its bases in North and South Waziristan, and the civilian administration is so hamstrung that the senior government representative in South Waziristan does not even live there
