Comments on: Pakistani Taliban’s new chief:more ambitious, more ruthless?

By: Patrick

Patrick — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:34:44 +0000

The killing of Taliban militants, especially their leaders, is the best and most effective tool the U.S. has and we need to keep up the attacks. New information and improved technology will make them even more effective. Those who claim that the drone attacks are useless because another leader always pops up to take the old one’s place are missing the point. By killing the leaders as they pop up, the experience and quality of the leadership declines while many qualified leaders do not take the job because they see it is a death sentence. The infighting and search for moles after a leader is killed can create more disgruntled militants that can be recruited as informants, while the shuffling of responsibilities and personnel present opportunities for new informants to infiltrate and those already in place to move up. There are a lot of Pakistani civilians who have had relatives killed by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and want revenge, so moles are always a problem for them.We should not get discouraged when militant leaders are replaced. That is just the militant’s response to another defeat in a long-running battle. In the long run the killing of Taliban and Al-Qaeda leaders can only be to our benefit. I am sure there are a lot of people, besides me, including the Pakistan military, who do high-fives every time a militant leader is killed, whether it be by a drone or a bullet.

By: isiah obriant

isiah obriant — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:24:42 +0000

with so many people fighting over simple matters soon the world may be a sad place indeed only thing you hear on the news and watch on soap opera are violent acts.

By: Keith

Keith — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:50:56 +0000

I have been trying to know who gives weapons to talibans and how are they shipped? Can’t that be checked?- Posted by NickThe Gulf is awash with donors and sympathizers and Pakistan and Afghanistan are awash with weapons. Nobody is giving them weapons. They can get them at Pakistani bazaars that make western defence exhibitions look like Kindergarten ‘Show and Tell’.

By: rajeev

rajeev — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:03:17 +0000

@It is not the fundamentalism that is the problem. It is the violence borne out of it.- Posted by Wildbiker-The root cause of violence in question is “fundamentalism”, which in turn has its own root. Fundamentalism is everywhere in the world, but it is not creating terrorists and causing violence-at least NOT YET. But it is good to take care of it before it does.@That is just BS used to justify inhumanity in the name of a cause- Posted by Wildbiker-Kind of the same that Bush did in Iraq: Inhumanity (Shock-n-Awe) and Cause (WMD). Cause was a lie. Right?

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:02:30 +0000

Every minute a terrorist spends worrying about drones is a minute they are not plotting their next attack. Every new leader will likely be less competent then the guy before him. Drones are not the solution but they are part of it.

By: Nick

Nick — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 05:35:42 +0000

I have been trying to know who gives weapons to talibans and how are they shipped? Can’t that be checked?

By: Global Watcher

Global Watcher — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 03:09:57 +0000

Sad how this on the one hand feels right about fighting this faction, but on the other, the moment you cut off the ugly head of this monster, another one grows back.- Posted by Karzmatic–>The Taliban are like the The Hydra which is a multi-headed serpent beast. If you chop its legs off, it is irrelevant how many new heads pop up.@Aamir Ali, this is not collective guilt my friend, this is a collective responsibility. Admitting fault is the first step in taking responsibility. Do not be defensive.@WildBiker, killing should be not the final answer, it must also involve removing funds and resources and those who train, support and mentor them, morally or otherwise.

By: Wildbiker

Wildbiker — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:45:02 +0000

Hassan,It is not the fundamentalism that is the problem. It is the violence borne out of it.Others,Statistics are poor substitutes for facts. So, the stats about moderates are not the complete picture.Terrorism has at its core a strategy of attrition. The only way to mitigate it is kill them all. The only way to accomplish that is convince those who shelter, feed, and support terrorists it is not in their best interests to do so. (And, please! No crap about one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedon fighter! That is just BS used to justify inhumanity in the name of a cause

By: Aamir Ali

Aamir Ali — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:48:20 +0000

@Global WatcherYou are pushing collective guilt for Muslims, something I reject.Getting back to topic, Hakeemullah Mehsud is indeed aggressive and rash, but he is not the calibre of leader that Baitullah Mehsud was. This could be blessing in disguise and harm the Taliban in the long run.

By: Karzmatic

Karzmatic — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:34:48 +0000

Sad how this on the one hand feels right about fighting this faction, but on the other, the moment you cut off the ugly head of this monster, another one grows back.