That's is why i used the word try, as in this place would be little difficult to do such thing. But just to clarify, majority of the Mehsud tribe were living out of fear, as their main elders got killed and they had no place else to go, so they had to live there and support them.
i disagree most of these are with the taliban because if they dont their families will be killed and they will be brutally murdered. Once they realise that the pakistani army is here to stay they will work with the army just as the people did is Sawat.
We talk of coercion, fear... but to what extent. Forget religion, what about ethnic loyalties? It's something that one is constantly thinking of lately.
Army adopted many strategies in the past operations, this one was planned in very detail, by looking at all the previous operations.
Taimi, how do you compare it with the ones they applied in the earlier operations in the
a) SWA,
b) Bajaur,
c) Mohmand
d) Khyber
e) Swat
vis-a-vis (i) military strategy and (ii) tactics.
And let's not bring in the "political" bit into it. Will keep it short that way.
Yes, i do agree reason being a multiple axis operation also stretches the resources of the militants, they can't concentrate their forces on one side of the battle, knowing enemy is coming from all the sides makes them in a confused mind of state. If you look at the weapons being captured, the passports and pictures of the people, computers and their traveling bags, i believe militants were not even expecting something like that. They ran in haste leaving behind such things and many useful weapons, just look at the number of AA guns captured so far. Instead of staying and fight they resume to running in the confusion. They may be hardened fighters but they can't win a conventional war that also when army coming from multiple sides.
But this isn't standard warfare. Guerrillas never engage in pitch battles. This is what has been happening for the last 8 years or so and this where the army has been criticised for treating it like conventional warfare. The insurgents have mastered "hit-and-run" attacks, that's their arena.
So between making the insurgents run and them leaving behind laptops/guns, what is important. The reduction in their numbers (by killing them, capturing them or surrender) or taking over their supplies?
And as for security analysts, Sir as many mouths as many would be theories. Army planners are not stupids to have done such strategy. Issue in such operations are not known to people who have not participated in such operations. Its very easy to say to drop soldiers and it can be done too, but how many resources are available to do that ??
Really, most of the analysis one has read and seen on television is by former army men. Or may be as they say, there are very few retired army men who are on good terms with the PA.
Need helicopters for that, not some but many, same helis would be needed in other places too, wear and tear would be more as we have limited resources. Once you drop the soldiers, then you need a constant supply channel using the helicopters on daily basis nearly. There would be dozens of such peaks, just see how much resources would be needed to keep them supplied.
Such tasks can be done effectively by SSG, but they have been already used a lot, plus its just the start of operation, many hard battles are still to be fought, SSG would be needed in future.
Lol... the last time blain2 was telling me how the SSG spearheads all operations, wherever and whenever they happen.
You see that's what doesn't make sense. And this isn't only about the PA or the current operation. You move people from three directions, you are busy fighting on three fronts, you are spending a lot of money. Why not consolidate one area and then move to the next? So you focus on one target, get over it and then spread outwards.
As for Swat i don't think there is any resurgence, rather with each passing day we are seeing more arrests and army controlling more area and more area coming into the controlled and cleared area.
The operation ended two months back and the army is not controlling more and more area now
Same thing happened in Swat, people who got registered and then did not came back and army got info that who they real were, army and police know their names, ID card numbers and last known place of residence and relatives and friends, many were captured from other cities, still many getting captured too.
Yes, that is what one pins their hopes on as well. Intelligence has to be the backbone more than firepower.
If you deny insurgents a base to operate from then they can't challenge you in force and with passage of time will die down. It was done in Swat, they now don't have a place to meet and train and plan. scattered and surrendering or getting killed.
They don't die down as the US is learning the hard way in Afghanistan. They wither away and then come together and attack you again and again. You have Britain in Malaya, the US in Veitnam, the Tamil insurgency, the attacks in Lebanon during the 1980s and then there were the attacks on the Israeli Defense Forces... classic COIN at play. The insurgents don't need to come together en mass. Just the "brains" that "guide" them have to working.
Plus, the cities and towns are not their hideouts, It's the mountain tops and caves. Did you see that one long tunnel that the army found in a mountain in Swat. Who'd have thought it was there even.
In my opinion it is practically not possible to move in without capturing the heights and that's exactly how the operation is conducted.
Not right now. There is ground battle first, towns and cities are the priority. Later will they go to securing the mountains.
, had no clue to that.
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