History Guy Weblog

Pakistan’s Waziristan War is Once More in the News

I wrote about Pakistan’s Waziristan War a few months ago on www.historyguy.com, and commented on how this conflict on Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier is an extension of the War on Terror and the War in Afghanistan.  To summarize, Pakistan is fighting the Taliban and al-Qaida in the border region near Afghanistan.  Late in 2006, President Musharraf signed a peace treaty with the local tribes, supposedly ending that conflict, much to the dismay of the Western allies, who saw this as a Taliban/al-Qaida victory. 

Now, a week or so after the Red Mosque battle, the militant Islamists are again beating the war drums along the frontier; killing dozens of Pakistani troops in recent days.  Musharraf made a big mistake in giving the enemy a breather from the cross-border pressure the Pakistan army and the Western Allies were giving them.  Let’s hope he responds vigorously and works with the U.S. and the other allies to hurt the Taliban and al-Qaida.

For more information, see:

www.historyguy.com/waziristan_war.html

And for background info on Britain’s problems in that region as a colonial ruler, see:

www.historyguy.com/waziristan_revolt_1919.html