Iraq may be repeatable

ARTICLE:
Tide turns against the Taliban, By Owen Bennett-Jones, BBC, 21 May 2009

A very hopeful sign that the basic Iraq dynamics can be repeated: over-reach by fundamentalists, a strong demonstration of staying power (first by outside force to local one, then local to people, then people to radicals), and THEN the reconstruction ... MUST WORK for the people.

(Thanks: Mike Nelson)

Comments

[William Millan]

A little "Pollyanna" from BBC. We refuse to target the Imams. Until we do, they will just keep producing more fanatics.

Imagine a situation where we were being attacked by religious fanatics from the "Primitive Baptists" who were getting their financing from fellow members who owned Texas oil wells and they were indoctrinated by the Primitive Baptist Preachers. Do you think we would kill the Texas financiers and the Preachers? When it comes to the Muslim structure, "But Noooooooo!"

[Javaid Akhtar]

Most Immans are just into religion for a free meal ticket and are quite harmless ,just part of the umremarkable cultural landscape.The ones that have found a niche in Jihad can be easily rooted out as they are tied to their money making Mosques which unlike the hills that the insurgents hide in ......can be located ( taxed and regulated).Its just that the US involvment in AFPAK tainted the views of ordinary folks against the Government , with the US getting a 'bully' tag.( in the PAK the narrative begins with Osama as a US agent ,US invading for Oil ,and 911 a jewish plot).Musharraf had the impossible juggling act trying to convince joe public to allow tougher measures.( his dictatorship was quite shallow and could'nt survive ..and did'nt survive without public consent)The sea change in peoples attitude has been the vids /pics of Taleban terrorising folks for no reason ( no US aggression , no PAK aggression..just pure unadultered craziness from whacko's).As a PAK newpaper headline put it...."CRUSH THEM".

[Mark in Texas]

I am struck by the similarity between the Swat Valley and Fallujah. In both cases due to political pressure the national government forced the military to back off and leave the jihadis alone to run things. When they got that opportunity, they turned out to be such a malignant pack of psychopaths that when the military went back in, the public was in favor of military action and there was not much sympathy for the jihadis.

Maybe allowing the jihadis to show the world just how awful they are is an essential part of the process. Some people just have to touch the stove or they will never learn that it is hot.