This should come as no surprise to those who closely watch Pakistan’s military operations in the tribal areas. According to a senior politician, the government is conducting a faux offensive against Baitullah Mehsud, the Taliban leader behind the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and scores of suicide bombings across the country that have killed thousands.
The military announced a combined operation consisting of air and ground elements would dislodge Baitullah’s forces from South Waziristan in mid-June. This offense has yet to materialize and instead the Pakistanis have conducted punitive strikes with air power. The military purposefully has excluded Taliban groups in North and South Waziristan who are considered “good Taliban” because they focus their operations in Afghanistan and don’t advocate toppling the government. But even after these “good Taliban” reneged on their peace agreements and began attacking security forces in the region, the military insisted the peace agreements are intact.
