Pakistan: Taliban Defeated by Mid-December

Foreign Minister Says Militants in Afghan Border Region Are in "Disarray," Predicts Victory Before Winter Sets In

(AP)  Pakistan's armed forces hope to rout Taliban militants in the rugged mountainous region along the border with Afghanistan before winter sets in by late December, the country's foreign minister said Sunday.

"The operation so far has been very successful. The resistance that we were expecting initially did not come with the same swiftness we were expecting," Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters.

He is in Kuala Lumpur to attend a meeting of Islamic countries starting Monday.

Pakistan launched an offensive in mid-October in the South Waziristan area where the Taliban - including fighters from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Chechnya and the Arab world - have grown in power in recent years.

Osama bin Laden and many of his top al Qaeda aides are also thought to be in hiding along the border. The two militant organizations have formed linkages with Pakistan's homegrown Islamic militant groups blamed for bombings in other parts of the country including the prosperous Punjab province in the heartland.

"South Waziristan is an area which is very important in order to check criminal terrorist activity in Pakistan. Not just Pakistan, but beyond," he said.

Qureshi said the armed forces have surrounded the area and choked supply lines to the militants. They are "on the run. They are in retreat and there is disarray over there," he said.

He said it would be difficult to give a time frame for achieving total military success but "we would want to achieve our objectives as much as possible before the winter sets in."

"And it seems, as things are going on, that we might be able to do so ... I can't give you a date but that area becomes very cold (by late December). We want to operate and establish our foothold before that."

Qureshi's statement came as militants kidnapped and killed a prominent pro-government activist in another tribal area where the government claims to have near-total control.

Militants also blew up a girls' school in Karigar Garhi village in the Khyber tribal region(left), the latest in the Taliban's campaign against modern education that has destroyed hundreds of schools across Pakistan.

Qureshi dismissed suggestions that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's rebuke, during a visit to Pakistan last week, was an embarrassment.

Clinton had said it was hard to believe that no one in Pakistan's government knew where the al Qaeda leadership was hiding.

Qureshi said Clinton was not being "negative or sarcastic" but "objective" because she was speaking as a partner in the fight against terrorism.

"We are allies. We have shared objectives. We want these elements who have created havoc in Pakistan and who are potentially dangerous for regional peace and stability to be eliminated.

"We are moving with greater coordination. The more we coordinate, the more effective our operations will be on both sides of the border," he said.

[stn_sage]

So, the Pakistanis will have them out by mid-December, huh?

If, so...it suggests one of several things! 1. That the Pakistanis HAVE been 'holding out on us' contrary to their denials! 2. That they've been 'holding them close' to turn them over at an opportune time...it's close!
3. The Pakistanis don't know what THEY're talking about! 4. The U.S. was getting bad 'intel' from the C.I.A. and/or the military effort has been purposively misdirected?! 5. The U.S. military with all it's military might...doesn't know how to defeat a guerrilla army! 6. IF there're successful, Mr. Obama should consider 'keeping his word' expeditiously!

Finally, one or several of these factors might be 'at play'. Time should make that clear.

[aldon62]

That's a pretty good summation, let's see how it plays out. I personally beleive # one is most likely, but not enough to bet the bank on it.

[thesevenveils]

Does this victory include the two largest tribes of Taliban the Pakistan Army made a peace agreement with? If so Afghanistan will have a problem with that seeing as these two tribes are the most active foreign fighters on Afghan soil.

[stn_sage]

We shall see what we shall see!
I doubt there's any 'peace agreement' that CAN'T be broken 'in a pinch'!

[incog-nito]

Wait a minute. Weren't they already defeated?

[FauxNews]

Mid-December? Why not say the 15th around 3:23pm? What a moron. Didn?t the King of England say he would rid the colonies of those pesky rebels?

[missme4]

I got $50 bucks that says the Taliban won't be out by December.

[apachekid]

Pakistan: Taliban Defeated by Mid-December ....... Foreign Minister Says Militants in Afghan Border Region Are in "Disarray," Predicts Victory Before Winter Sets In.


BO & Hillary must have rattled their chains. Why this is what we wanted to hear, right? It still isn't clear. Taliban defeated by Mid-December before Winter Sets in. What Year and What Winter is all this suppose to happen??

[Hosheen]

Oh yeah, "Mission Accomplished". Where have we heard that before?

[ToolMangler1]

Not from the pakistanis. That is the shrubs line, remember
Maybe the Pakistanis will succeed, who knows, They live there...

[geosota]

The Taliban-e-Pakistan will be dead in mid-December! Hoo-ray!! Interestingly, Lockerbie-bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, who the Scottish courts said was supposed to die of prostate cancer on Halloween, is out of his wheel-chair and doing amazingly well! Now we hear the Democrats' lock on congress will be dead next November... So I'm going to start a betting website, WhoDiesFirst.com. Sorry, but if all three are still alive next November, the house keeps all wagers.

[Mkw789]

Taking military pressure off gihadists in their home regions is not a good idea. Neither is a Vietnam-style escalation to prop up a corrupt regime. The only answer left is for NATO to be the harasser of the Taliban element, not the occupier of Afghanistan -- saw a cool site; Balkingpoints ; awesome satellite view of earth

[thesevenveils]

If there was any truth to Pakistans success in uprooting the Taliban there'd be a mirror image of this assult from NATO troups on the Afghanistan side.

Pakistan made treaty agreements with two of the largest anti-American, anti-Western Taliban tribes in the area. If they hadn't Pakistan would have be mired in a drawn out war with these rebels.

What this says is the Pakistan military is out manned and out gunned by criminal organizations.

Is there a similarity between Mexico and Pakistan here?

[askagain]

It makes sense that Pakistan might defeat the Taliban by the end of December. They know the language, the culture, the tribes, the land, the enemy, and where to find the enemy. Americans have a huge disadvantage in countries like Pakistan. We are not accustomed to the culture, traditions, and many factions in countries such as Pakistan. If the Pakistani Army is up to the challenge and the government and its people are determined enough, they should be able to tame the wilder parts of Pakistan and to extend government control over all of Pakistan. Most of us would rather let the Pakistanis do the work and risk as few American soldiers as possible.

[askagain]

Americans do not like to see our soldiers die. It is almost as if we expect to fight a war with no casualties. Therefore, we rely on drones and a remotely controlled war as much as possible. Practically every American city has murders daily yet we go berserk when our soldiers are killed in action. Other countries do not necessarily value their soldiers like we do. If we look at the history of war, we find that thousands of warriors/soldiers were killed in various battles. How can a country win a war if it can't tolerate losses in soldiers and what are the implications for winning wars in the future?

[worldcitizen1]

A good strategy for war would don't fight them, It takes much more intelligence to avoid wars than to fight them. The Vietnam war should have avoided along with Iraq. Avoiding the enemy for 7 years in Afghanistan has made bringing those responsible for 9/11 highly unlikely. Occupying Afghanistan is a huge mistake. The US seems to use the US military to deal with "US interests" making money, instead of dealing with real threats to our safety. Interfering in the middle east because of oil is unwise and dangerous. 9/11 was a response form those in the middle east that resent US meddling in their countries.

[williamhill2]

i was never a big fan of hillery clinton , but i'm impressed with her
engaging visit to pakistan's media, schools atc... this is a very refreshing change to diplomacy as we have grown to know it. for all concerned. this is what we hoped for when we spoke at the ballet box. new directions.

[kbbpll]

The only thing missing here is the "Mission Accomplished" banner.

[mav547166]

At least they have the will to win vs wringing their hands.

[edgy44]

An enemy that destroys girls schools is an enemy that must be wiped-out from the womb. Sterilize the women and kill all the babies. In 20 years the Taliban will be old men in rocking chairs.

[wyodutch]

You go girl.... Lots of vacancies available... just waddle on down to the nearest military "career center".

[bubbadubba]

<<<Qureshi said the armed forces have surrounded the area and choked supply lines to the militants.>>>

Their generals are a lot better than US generals. All US generals know how to do is set up remote outposts, go on patrols, parade through the streets, look for a single guy to take out with a predator, hand out candy, try and make friends with everyone they meet, and get a bunch of our guys killed in the process.
I think we should send our military leaders to Pakistani schools for training.