True Wild West stuff

ARTICLE: "Taliban Hit Pakistan Town That Fought Back," by Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Pir Zubair Shah, New York Times, 29 December 2008.

Four months ago a FATA Pakistani village sends out a posse to hunt down and kill the Taliban that had previously killed local cops.

Then the baddies return to wreak their frontier vengeance. Suicide bomber kills 30 people standing in line for voting.

Comments

[Javaid Akhtar]

Some friends drove me to the FATA as a 'treat' a long time ago.We ended up in a little town with not a single girl or woman ( not even a burqa in sight) in the muddy marketplace.The place was teeming with men who all carried guns over their shoulders ...more naturally and with the same ease as we do shopping bags.The Wild West was the first thought that came to mind .I felt I was in a realistic western film.We ate a local delicacy...fresh apples... that really delighted my friends from the lowlands of Pakistan ( treating your guests with hospitality is a big big deal...and apples seemed to be the real deal).

More seriouslyIts sad about the suicide bombing....revenge and retaliation must have an eventual evolutionary societal benefit if both sides can resort to the same measures ( and they are intrinsic to these regions).Suicide bombing is certainly game changing.How do you co-evolve with that?