Taliban challenge Pakistani government

posted at 2:15 pm on April 22, 2009 by Ed Morrissey

The deal to allow the Taliban to administer shari’a law in Swat has produced predictable results.  Instead of pacifying the radical Islamists, they have grown emboldened enough to demand that Pakistan impose shari’a over the entire nation:

The Taliban in Pakistan have issued a direct challenge to the legitimacy of the Pakistani government, by declaring the country’s entire legal system “un-Islamic.”

“Let the judges and the lawyers go to Islamic university,” said Muslim Khan, a Taliban spokesman in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. “(After) they learn Islamic rules, Islamic regulation, they can continue to work.”

In a telephone interview Tuesday with CNN, Khan demanded the imposition of Islamic sharia law all across the country. He also called for the creation of jaziya, an Islamic tax, to be levied on all non-Muslims in Pakistan. And Khan denounced any Pakistanis who disagreed with his interpretation of Islam, calling them “non-Muslims.”

How’s that appeasement working out for you, Ali Zardari?  Feel any safer since allowing the lunatics to run the asylum in Swat?

The attack on the legal community is no accident.  The attorneys have pushed off shari’a for years, and have mostly defied the radicals.  That’s why Khan and his followers consider them their primary opponents, at least in the political sense — and maybe in all other senses as well, after the surrender in Swat by Islamabad.

However, as CNN reports, the legal community may have already begun to retreat.  They could not get a response on the record on Khan’s comments from any of the leading legal figures.  Once the government surrendered, they read the writing on the wall.

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JOHN KERRY: I don’t agree with that. But I think what we need to do is recognize what we all agree on, which is, you’ve got to begin to set benchmarks for accomplishment; you’ve got to begin to transfer authority to the Iraqis, and there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the — of — of — of — historical customs, religious customs, whether you like it or not. Iraqis should be doing that. And after all of these two and a half years, with all –

Johan Klaus on April 22, 2009 at 3:36 PM

How we handled Pakistan was terrible. Poor planning, poor military strategy, poor political strategy.

by saying this, I’m not saying that fighting the war was bad. We just have a lack of military strategists worth anything in the Pentagon these days.

Didn’t everyone play little war games when they were kids? Emphasize strengths? Surprise attacks? little plastic green guys with guns set up strategically on hills, in hiding places? Our military strategists need to find those kids who loved war games and studying military strategy.

We don’t have a Napoleon or a Robert E. Lee anywhere near the military today. It shouldn’t be close. We should be able to wipe these threats out ourselves without ‘coalition forces’. In fact, if we need ‘coalition forces’ I recommend we don’t fight.

ThackerAgency on April 22, 2009 at 3:36 PM

Baxter Greene on April 22, 2009 at 3:29 PM

Osama ditched that cell phone when that bunker buster hit him.

Johan Klaus on April 22, 2009 at 3:39 PM

HornetSting on April 22, 2009 at 3:02 PM

切捨て，御免！

(HornetSting, true 武家!)

DarkCurrent on April 22, 2009 at 3:41 PM

We don’t have a Napoleon or a Robert E. Lee anywhere near the military today. It shouldn’t be close. We should be able to wipe these threats out ourselves without ‘coalition forces’. In fact, if we need ‘coalition forces’ I recommend we don’t fight.

ThackerAgency on April 22, 2009 at 3:36 PM

Nor, a Patton. This PC crap is liable to get out of hand.

Johan Klaus on April 22, 2009 at 3:42 PM

But the USA has the meanest best equipped, most well trained fighting force in the world. We just don’t use it. We don’t need ANYBODY to fight our wars for us. We have the finest military machine in history. We don’t need NA. We didn’t need NA. And we could have defeated the NA, Al Qaeda, Taliban, AND Pakistan’s national army altogether.

We should have.

ThackerAgency on April 22, 2009 at 3:17 PM

I completely agree, if it were me that made the decision I would hae excluded the NA. Alas that’s not what happened, but I can tell you one thing for certain after they stabbed us in the back and let OBL slip out the back door while negotiating their faux “truce” I would have cut the NA off at the knee and made them pay for their back stabbing!

They outsourced the fighting to Afghan drug lords and cut and ran to invade Iraq.

getalife on April 22, 2009 at 2:50 PM

Odd, all this time it was my understanding the US teamed up with the NA…a group that had been fighting Taliban since they (the Taliban) infiltrated from Pakistan (with Pakistan support) to install their strict sharia law.

Tora Bora was the beginning. We stopped bombing because they called a ‘truce’ to sign a treaty. We almost had them. They were ready to give up. We stopped bombing, Obama escaped (surprise).

ThackerAgency on April 22, 2009 at 2:52 PM

Yep, the whole “truce” was a setup to give AQ/Taliban/OBL time to regroup in get into Pakistan with the help of the NA, further proof you can’t negotiate with any of these turds as they would sell out their own mothers!

At least the Bush administration towards the end was finally coming to realize you can’t negotiate with these turds, that negotiating with them is akin to trying to negotiate with the Terminator! Unfortunately we now have THE ONE that thinks a “koombaya-feel-good-lets all old hand and drink a coke” doctrine will tame our enemy’s savage heart and they will once again love us!

Our enemies have proven to us over and over they cannot be trusted at their word, that negotiations, peace deals, truces, etc are meaningless to them and they only use our good will to regroup, rearm, then kill us and to continue to think otherwise (like The Obambi administration does) is in of itself ignorant, arrogant, and suicidal!

Liberty or Death on April 22, 2009 at 3:43 PM

Do you ever make any logical sense? Why the heck wouldn’t you hope he fails? I guess you like the current track.

youngO on April 22, 2009 at 2:49 PM

getaclue lives in a world with zero complexity.
You either want Barry to fail in everything, or you want him to succeed in everything.

To the simple minded, there are no other options.

MarkTheGreat on April 22, 2009 at 3:44 PM

If I thought Barry really wanted to win the war on terror, then I would want him to succeed in that endeavor. I would still want him to fail in his efforts to force socialism onto this country.

However, Barry can’t even bring himself to say War On Terror. He has to used mealy mouthed euphamisms. He doesn’t want to win this war.

MarkTheGreat on April 22, 2009 at 3:48 PM

ThackerAgency on April 22, 2009 at 3:33 P

I see exactly where you are coming from but I am not going to declare defeat yet until I see how the President chooses to handle this.
Petraeus is still in charge so I have a lot of hope if Obama
commits to winning this war.

Micheal Yon (well known and respected if you have been really following the War on Terror) lays this out:

YON: Obama plan for Afghanistan, Pakistan short on bold
Michael Yon, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/02/obama-plan-for-afghanistan-pakistan-short-on-bold/

Most Americans know that Mr. Obama did not support the invasion of Iraq. But what should also be acknowledged, as long as some are dwelling on the past, is that Mr. Obama did not support the surge. Had we followed his advice, we would have lost the Iraq war. Other members in his current crew wanted to partition Iraq, an idea met with incredulity by the Iraqis.

This is a major point. Not only was Mr. Obama and crew appallingly ill-informed about the state of progress and possibilities in Iraq, but as late as July 2008 he was still opposing the troop surge, still trumpeting his wisdom in opposing the war, and in fact seemed to want Iraq to fail. Today he is careful in characterizing any success in Iraq, lest it be interpreted correctly that he was wrong about the facts, or worse still, understood the facts but misrepresented them. This administration carries severe credibility burdens concerning issues of foreign policy and national security.


Where’s the bold?

The proposal to spend $1.5 billion annually on aid and assistance to Pakistan might sound impressive, but we spend that much in two weeks on Afghanistan, and the costs are about to skyrocket with additional troops.

The fact that Mr. Obama’s strategy included Pakistan makes sense, but the idea is old. Mr. Obama is eager to make distinctions between his strategy and that of his predecessor (he didn’t resist taking rhetorical swipes at former President George W. Bush), but often those are distinctions without a difference.

We have some short term memory going on here.I saw Bush go through hell just to keep Iraq/Afghanistan funded because of total opposition from the democratic party that choose to use the difficulties of war as a battering ram to undercut him and the war effort for political gain.

Where was he supposed to fit going into Pakistan in this equation.

He!! he was ridiculed for the “axis of evil” speech that has turned out to be so true today.

There is no doubt that no victory in Afghanistan is going to be achieved without Swat and the other Taliban controlled territories in Pakistan being wiped out of the jihadist.

Obama,Hillary,and the rest of the liberals just won the House,Senate(had this since 06),and White House telling everybody about their
“smart power” and that they could solve these problems better than big ol’ dumb cowboy Bush.

So far every threat (N.Korea,Iran,Pakistan the primary ones without our troops there) has escalated while Obama travels around the World getting photo ops but no combat troops.

We have heard a lot of liberal bragging,now let’s see a plan besides “It’s Bush’s fault”.

Baxter Greene on April 22, 2009 at 3:50 PM

I support our Commander In Chief .

getalife on April 22, 2009 at 3:00 PM

You support this commander in cheif, a year ago you were on the other side of that fence.

MarkTheGreat on April 22, 2009 at 3:51 PM

Baxter Greene on April 22, 2009 at 3:29 PM

Osama ditched that cell phone when that bunker buster hit him.

Johan Klaus on April 22, 2009 at 3:39 PM

Still no reason to publicize intel.
What about tracking the next guy.

Baxter Greene on April 22, 2009 at 3:53 PM

In fact, if we need ‘coalition forces’ I recommend we don’t fight.

ThackerAgency on April 22, 2009 at 3:36 PM

The only reason to get “coalition forces” is to appease the liberal press and politicians in DC. It’s really pathetic how far on the side of the enemy the progressives have gone.

kirkill on April 22, 2009 at 3:57 PM

Nor, a Patton. This PC crap is liable to get out of hand.

Johan Klaus on April 22, 2009 at 3:42 PM

Yep, Patton was another brilliant military mind, Sherman too.

These guys could take an army that was outmanned and outgunned and win a victory. The USA is not outmanned, the USA is not outgunned, yet we snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory because we don’t want to hurt anyones’ feelings.

Watch 300 again. Imagine the 300 is America and the 10,000 is the Taliban/AQ. Would America have been as successful with the mere 300 as they were in that film? They lost, but strategy emphasized the strengths that they had and isolated the weaknesses.

We are so concerned with coalition building that we can’t figure out that when fighting a war, the number one goal is to WIN. WIN first, then gradually ALLOW THEM to shape their own destiny. We want to let the enemy shape their destiny before we’ve won anything.

I wish we’d be more imperialistic. But that puts me closer to the category of Dr. Strangelove. I’m just tired of wasting our men, women, equipment and money on wars that aren’t designed for us to win.

Try to stay out of war #1. If you do go to war, Fight with everything you have until you have your boot on their neck and they say ‘what do you want’. Then tell them if they make a wrong move, you will kill them. Tell them to clean everything up as you gradually leave and give them sovereignty back. Seriously Machiavelli’s THE PRINCE people. Human nature doesn’t change.

ThackerAgency on April 22, 2009 at 4:00 PM

getaclue lives in a world with zero complexity.
You either want Barry to fail in everything, or you want him to succeed in everything.

To the simple minded, there are no other options.

MarkTheGreat on April 22, 2009 at 3:44 PM

Yep, for people like get-a-clue it’s either black or it’s white, no shades of grey or room for critical thinking, logic, reason, or facts, all things that are very important in fluid situations like the war against fascist Islam.

Prior to 1/20/09 in get-a-clue’s world it was possible to dissent and question your government’s decisions/actions and still be patriotic and supportive of your government, but after 1/20/09 you cannot question or disagree with the government and still be supportive and patriotic!

Most anyone with a shred of honesty, integrity, and not blinded by their hateful ideology would be able to see the obvious hypocrisy in this yet get-a-clue doesn’t, so what does that tell you about get-a-clue…

Liberty or Death on April 22, 2009 at 4:01 PM

How will our troops engage when Obama has already shut them out of Pakistan? Obama rules out American troops in Pakistan
.
canditaylor68 on April 22, 2009 at 2:48 PM

.
Given Obama’s track record in keeping promises I assumed he was already planning to invade Pakistan

darktood on April 22, 2009 at 4:01 PM

Tough love.

MB4 on April 22, 2009 at 3:17 PM

Man, you sound just like my father did.

Johan Klaus on April 22, 2009 at 4:01 PM

I guess this is one way to get Nuclear weapons. Didn’t the Taliban hear that Barry wants to get rid of all nukes. Once the Taliban have control they will march over to India and once they have control of that it will be back over to Afghanistan & Iraq……then Turkey……you think China or Russia will do anything???

izoneguy on April 22, 2009 at 4:03 PM

Liberty or Death on April 22, 2009 at 4:01 PM

The one constant in war, is that plans change.

Johan Klaus on April 22, 2009 at 4:03 PM

Remember,
While the jihadist escalate their quest for the New Caliphate,

We are changing the words “terrorist attack” to “man made disasters”.

Debating whether we should pour water over the face or stick caterpillars into cells of the most lethal terrorist in the world

.

We no longer use the words “War on Terror”.

We are bragging about getting rid of Bush’s policies that have been proven successful.

We have just gone around the world apologizing for how terrible America and Bush has been,more concerned with how Hugo,Castro,Putin,and Ahmadinejad “feel” about us than getting concrete results in foreign policy(nothing done in the UN concerning N. Korea,no NATO combat troops, are good examples).

Bragging about closing down Gitmo while the international community that cried about it so much won’t take in a soul.
So we are basically moving it to Afghanistan.

Watching Israel tell Obama “you do something about Iran or we will”.Answering them by telling them to get out of Jerusalem and bend over to Hamas that Obama just gave over 900 million dollars to.

Besides sending 17,000 troops to Afghanistan,Obama has shown the international community nothing but appeasement and capitulation.

Baxter Greene on April 22, 2009 at 4:07 PM

Still no reason to publicize intel.
What about tracking the next guy.

Baxter Greene on April 22, 2009 at 3:53 PM

I certainly do not argue with that. In fact I think that people should have been prosecuted over that disclosure.

Johan Klaus on April 22, 2009 at 4:09 PM

hey, thackeragency, you sound great! keep pushing it! maybe somebody in washington will hear you.

kelley in virginia on April 22, 2009 at 4:09 PM

We have heard a lot of liberal bragging,now let’s see a plan besides “It’s Bush’s fault”.

Baxter Greene on April 22, 2009 at 3:50 PM

Bush, and don’t forget the Jews.

Johan Klaus on April 22, 2009 at 4:12 PM

Bush, and don’t forget the Jews.

Johan Klaus on April 22, 2009 at 4:12 PM

Dam#!!
I am slipping.
Thanks.

Baxter Greene on April 22, 2009 at 4:13 PM

Only 60 miles from the capital now.

koolbrease on April 22, 2009 at 4:15 PM

I certainly do not argue with that. In fact I think that people should have been prosecuted over that disclosure.

Johan Klaus on April 22, 2009 at 4:09 PM

Man I can think of a lot of prosecutions that should take place after these last 8 years.

I would start with this one:

Senator Reid On Iraq: “This War Is Lost”
Democratic Majority Leader Says Troop Buildup Is Not Working
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/20/politics/main2709229.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_2709229

Then move to Murtha,Pelosi,Feingold,NY Times,Washington Post…..on down the line

Baxter Greene on April 22, 2009 at 4:18 PM

Think nukes, this is a big problem.

My bet: Obama will hide. Millions will die. Left crys: cool man cool, the One is so cool!

allrsn on April 22, 2009 at 4:37 PM

More confidence building on the super smart liberals going through the “international community”,UN Sanctions are the way to go,and “smart power”:

(via Instapundit)
The Administration’s Pathetic Piracy Policy, or Freezing Asses
[Eugene Kontorovich, guest-blogging, April 22, 2009 at 9:20am]
http://volokh.com/posts/1240406450.shtml

Indeed, as I’ve recounted elsewhere, since the beginning of the piracy epidemic last summer the United Nations has passed five Security Council resolutions on the subject– all under its binding Chapter VII authority. No other issue, not even the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (to say nothing of the bloody civil war in Sri Lanka or the ongoing genocide in Darfur) has commanded as much of the Council’s attention. Yet the piracy epidemic has only increased apace. In the days after Obama announced that the U.S. would be getting tough on pirates, as if to mock his words several more vessels were seized, including another American ship.

This after liberals spent days bragging about Obama’s success on the high seas that the military actually carried out.

Rwanda,Iran,Iraq,Darfur,and the piracy issue are good examples of the failures of the UN and supposed “smart power” going through the international community in dealing with terrorist and dictators.

But Obama is such a good speaker and is really popular.
That will keep Pakistan’s nuclear weapons out of the Taliban’s hands.

Baxter Greene on April 22, 2009 at 4:39 PM

We’d better have some plans to destroy those nukes if Pakistan falls…

Illinidiva on April 22, 2009 at 4:52 PM

I wonder if this will the Obama version of the Iranian revolution of 1979. Feel sorry for any embassy staff and aid personnel out there. What if half the Pakistani army is Islamist and they refuse to fight their fellow Muslims? Does anyone know what the Shah’s armed forces did?

Fortunata on April 22, 2009 at 5:11 PM

*will be* oops.

Fortunata on April 22, 2009 at 5:12 PM

I have no sympathy for the Pakistani’s. You lay down with dogs, you’re gonna get fleas.

GarandFan on April 22, 2009 at 5:22 PM

The Pakistani’s do not want the taliban like people in power. In the last election they were a about to elect a western educated woman (Benazir Bhutto) to be head of state. Also in the last election the religious parties lost parliamentary seats..

Marc01 on April 22, 2009 at 5:59 PM

Yup, Hillary sounded the alarm today.

getawife on April 22, 2009 at 2:35 PM

Hillary also assured us before we went into Iraq that they had WMDs. Was she lying then as well?

Del Dolemonte on April 22, 2009 at 6:28 PM

Our troops will engage and real Americans will support them and their Commander In Chief

getawife on April 22, 2009 at 2:43 PM

This is the troll who just last week admitted voting for Jeanne-Claude Kerri in 2004.

You remember JC, he said only idiots join the military?

You’re having a bad day, sweetie.

Del Dolemonte on April 22, 2009 at 6:30 PM

I support our Commander In Chief .

getawife on April 22, 2009 at 3:00 PM

Only when a Democrat was elected to fill the position.

Del Dolemonte on April 22, 2009 at 6:36 PM

Tough love.

MB4 on April 22, 2009 at 3:17 PM

Man, you sound just like my father did.

Johan Klaus on April 22, 2009 at 4:01 PM

I am your father and if you don’t get off the internet and get back to your medical school books I am going to disinherit you!

MB4 on April 23, 2009 at 1:08 AM

Extraordinary rendition A.Q. Khan immediately.

Along with all Paki nukes.

Then allow the Pakistani government fight the Taliban themselves ~with conventional weapons.

They deserve the Sharia sh*tstorm they invited.

Let them learn how it tastes.

profitsbeard on April 23, 2009 at 1:51 AM

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