Pakistani
troops return from Kaloosha near Wana
Government
Ended Up Embarrassed, Cowed in Wana Tribal Operation
By
Juliette Terzieff
ISLAMABAD:
Now that the military has pulled back from the tribal areas near
the Afghan border after a battle that left more than 100 people
dead, Pakistani authorities are hailing the operation as a success
and vowing to continue their pursuit of al Qaeda and Taliban fugitives
on Pakistani territory, but many doubt the government's upbeat
assessment.
"Certainly
some objectives, like disrupting a terrorist haven, have been
achieved, but overall it's a bit bold to characterize the undertaking
as a success," said Islamabad-based defense analyst Mohammad
Bokhari.
Others
were more blunt in their assessments. "It
was a first-rate fiasco," said Pakistani political columnist
Ayaz Amir. "Instead of a 'shock and awe' campaign with the
climax of a high-profile arrest that authorities kept hinting
at, the government ended up embarrassed and cowed."
Paramilitary soldiers moved in to surround the house of a local
tribesman believed to be sheltering foreign fugitives March 18.
By the day's end, 15 soldiers were dead, and another 10 had been
taken prisoner. As the military rushed reinforcements into the
area, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf unleashed a storm of
speculation by stating his belief that 400 to 500 fighters were
protecting a "high-value target," and attention quickly
focused on al Qaeda's No. 2 man, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Military officials
vowed that no one would escape.
But
four days later, military officials reluctantly conceded that
many of their prey might have escaped through a complex of tunnels
discovered by military personnel. What began with a boom ended
in a whimper as Pakistani officials spent the next week laying
the groundwork for a withdrawal.
"Musharraf
blew it," says Michael O'Hanlon, a military affairs expert
at the Brooking Institution in Washington. "(He) did his
commanders no favors by raising expectations that Zawahiri was
cornered."
"If
(the operation) did nothing more than kill a few militants, then
it was certainly not a success," he continued. "But
if diplomacy with the tribal leaders led to a new attitude about
providing sanctuary to militants and foreign fighters, then perhaps
it could be called a success."
Pakistan's
tribal agencies have enjoyed broad autonomy since the country
was created in 1947. It was the impoverished Pashtun tribesmen
from these areas who stepped forward to help fight against the
Soviet occupation in neighboring Afghanistan, and from their ranks
emerged the Taliban.
Last
year, after several rounds of negotiations, the Pakistani army
entered the tribal areas for the first time to seal off the border
and prevent any terrorist attacks from originating there. In exchange,
tribesmen received guarantees of development projects, including
roads, schools and hospitals.
But
the autonomous territories, including South Waziristan, where
the latest battle erupted, continue to serve as a refuge for Taliban
and other Islamic militants, as well as drug lords and arms traders.
Indeed,
the presence of foreigners in the tribal areas along the Afghan
border was not a shock to government officials, who now admit
they knew that large numbers of militants had been operating for
months in villages just 10 miles from a major Pakistani military
base.
"These
men were leftovers from the Afghan jihad with nowhere to go,"
said Amir. "Many of them married into the local community
and were known elements. If they were al Qaeda supporters or (Osama)
bin Laden loyalists, then why didn't the government act against
them before?"
Information
Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed conceded last week that the government
had been soft on the militants.
"We
admit that we started this operation late," he told journalists.
"We kept showing them hospitality and offering them amnesty,
and they kept strengthening their positions."
But
that changed as the government reacted to two assassination attempts
on Musharraf in December and, some say, growing pressure from
the Bush administration to crack down on militants.
In
a briefing for journalists Monday, military spokesman Maj. Gen.
Shaukat Sultan laid out the South Waziristan operation's achievements,
including the death of 63 militants, the demolition of 50 houses
believed to have been used by militants, the seizure of weapons
and bomb-making components and the detention of 167 suspects -
94 local tribesmen and 73 foreigners. But
it has come at a high cost.
"This
operation reeks of American pressure and indifference to our domestic
concerns," said defense analyst Bokhari. "Going in guns
blazing and costing civilian lives does nothing more than enrage
Pakistani people and weaken our society. Where was the planning?
What was the strategy? We still have no answers."
As
the operation played out, Musharraf was under increasing pressure
from across the political spectrum for failing to take political
parties into confidence before launching the operation. While
most Pakistanis support the war on terror, the deaths of more
than a dozen civilians, the destruction of homes and the pervasive
feeling that Islamabad was merely doing Washington's bidding led
to mounting anger on the Pakistani street.
"We've
done enough service to America," Amir said, referring both
to Pakistan's Cold War alliance with the United States and its
help in the war on terror. "Our national interests should
come first, and anti-terror operations should be conducted with
that in mind."
It
is a delicate balancing act, and many observers say Musharraf
is increasingly trapped between the demands of the United States
and those of his own citizens.
"The
US position is that after what happened in Afghanistan, we really
cannot tolerate a no man's land where terrorism can fester,''
said Vali Nasr, professor of national security affairs at the
Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, adding that South Waziristan
might be the last place as lawless as Afghanistan used to be.
"Either
it has to police itself, or somebody has to police it,'' he said.
"But Pakistan is unwilling to talk about pacifying South
Waziristan because it would have to brace itself for a mini civil
war."
Faced
with such choices, observers say, Musharraf has failed to strike
the delicate balance necessary to satisfy both international and
domestic demands.
"There
needs to be a clearly defined strategy that we have not seen articulated
yet," said retired Pakistani Lt. Gen. Talat Masood. "Right
now, all most Pakistanis see is that this was done to help Musharraf's
international reputation and George Bush's re-election campaign,
not to help us be rid of a scourge that plagues our society."
- San Francisco Chronicle
