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The Coming Battle In Pakistan

Written by Diamond Dog on 19 October 2007.

In Osama bin Laden's latest video message to the west, he'd invoked Islamist militants to go on the attack in Pakistan. Yesterday, there was a suicide bomb attempt on the life of former Pakistani president, Benazir Bhutto.   Asia Times reports;  Pakistan plans all-out war on militants.   I really do not see how this can be anything but good news;  
An all-out battle for control of Pakistan's restive North and South Waziristan is about to commence between the Pakistani military and the Taliban and al-Qaeda adherents who have made these tribal areas their own.

According to a top Pakistani security official who spoke to Asia Times Online on condition of anonymity, the goal this time is to pacify the Waziristans once and for all. All previous military operations - usually spurred by intelligence provided by the Western coalition - have had limited objectives, aimed at specificbases or sanctuaries or blocking the cross-border movement of guerrillas. Now the military is going for broke to break the back of the Taliban and a-Qaeda in Pakistan and reclaim the entire area.
Since Osama bin Laden has often been thought to be hiding in this rugged, unmapped region filled with mountains and ravines and caves, it seems that this new offensive against terrorists might hold the possibility of flushing the leader of al Qaeda out of his hole where he might be captured or killed.