There really is no such thing as a free lunch and the two billion dollar repast that the US just gave the military was bound to have a price. Long overdue, a military operation in North Waziristan, albeit one limited in scale, now appears to be around the corner. Opposition to this particular operation is manifold, not just in the conservative segments a sizeable section of the press but also within the armed forces themselves.
Several issues. First, any argument against the operation that comes from the military is going to be viewed with suspicion by the west. The reluctance of the army not to go after the Haqqani network fans such suspicions. So even seemingly valid arguments like the perils of stretching our forces too thin in the tribal areas are rejected. To be fair, even these arguments have their problems. The operation in South Waziristan has simply led to a tactical shift within the militants towards the North. It became a safe haven. This can be testified by the fact that the drone attacks have been occurring in the latter agency, particularly in the Dattakhel area, where gross violation of national sovereignty aside, they have been rather successful in flushing out the militants. This is a point to ponder by the local pundits. If there is a wish for the drone attacks to end, perhaps the military should start operating in the areas where they take place. But this would be yet another dictation? Of course not; the eradication of religious extremist militancy from these areas is the declared stance of the Pakistani government. A step like this should in no way be construed to have taken place under American pressure.
A war against terror (as opposed to The war against terror) is not the wests war. It is not even, as purported by some Pakistanis, the wests war which has now become our war. It is, rather, our war that has become the wests war. The sooner we own up to this and grow up, the better. The eradication of terror networks from the region is in our own interests.
