Thursday, July 30, 2009

U.S. unsure on success of Pakistan's Swat offensive

This may be true ,the Taliban are pretty famous for sending their lower ranking monkeys into the fight first , you never really hear of the Main monkeys doing Any Fighting ,So , Pakistan has had a hard time finding and killing the big guys ! ( or they just don't want to !) this would enable the The Taliban to pop right back up anytime they want !


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It is unclear if Pakistan's offensive in Swat has killed off Taliban insurgents or simply scattered them, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday, adding a note of caution to U.S. praise for the effort.

After being accused by the United States of "abdicating" to a Taliban insurgency that has heightened concerns about nuclear-armed Pakistan's stability, the Pakistani government launched an offensive in Swat in late April and says it has since killed 1,800 militants.

Independent estimates are not available and critics say few guerrilla leaders have been eliminated, making it possible for the insurgents to regroup.

"We don't know exactly to what extent the Pakistani army dispersed or destroyed the enemy," Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told reporters after returning from a trip to the two countries.

"The test of this operation is, of course, when the refugees return. Can they go home? Are they safe? And we're just going to have to wait and see," he added.
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