Encouraging news from Pakistan
The New York Times reports that Pakistan is having some success in its spring offensive against the remnants of Al Qaeda and the Taliban in the Northwest frontier: The commander of American-led forces in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. David Barno, said Monday that Pakistan had successfully disrupted the Qaeda network in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan ...
The New York Times reports that Pakistan is having some success in its spring offensive against the remnants of Al Qaeda and the Taliban in the Northwest frontier:
The New York Times reports that Pakistan is having some success in its spring offensive against the remnants of Al Qaeda and the Taliban in the Northwest frontier:
The commander of American-led forces in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. David Barno, said Monday that Pakistan had successfully disrupted the Qaeda network in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan and had significantly affected its ability to support a suspected Taliban insurgency across the border in Afghanistan. In an interview in Kabul, the Afghan capital, General Barno commended the Pakistani military for its “bold moves” against foreign fighters in the Pakistani tribal area of South Waziristan in March. He said it had so far prevented an anticipated offensive this spring in Afghanistan by the remnants of Taliban fighters who are suspected to have taken refuge across the Pakistani border in tribal areas. “There have been some tough fights, so I give them great credit for making some bold moves over there,” he said. The Pakistani operation since January has been larger and more intense than the previous level of enforcement in the border area, he said. He added that it appears to have disrupted what had been a very stable area for Al Qaeda’s foreign fighters and senior leadership, where they are believed to have lived and operated for two years. “That has had a significant unsettling effect on their organization over there and to some degree on their ability to support the Taliban as well,” he said of Al Qaeda. “But clearly they are concerned about what is going on over there.”…. The Pakistani authorities estimate that 500 to 600 foreign Qaeda fighters are in the tribal areas, including top Qaeda leaders. In fighting in March, Pakistan said it killed about 60 people and captured 160 more, including Uzbeks and other foreigners. Nevertheless, there was no sign that any Qaeda members had escaped into Afghanistan, he said. American forces positioned on the Pakistan-Afghan border to catch any fighters escaping the Pakistani operation, in what the general has described as a “hammer and anvil” tactic, had seen little movement across the border into Afghanistan, he said. “Our sense is that anyone who is there, is still there,” he said. There was every sign that the Qaeda fighters would stay in the Pakistani tribal areas and fight, partly because they knew it was “extraordinarily dangerous” for them to operate in Afghanistan because of the presence of American troops, he said.
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
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