"There was not a single civilian left in either place yesterday, only a few stray donkeys grazing here and there among the rubble of ruined mosques, shops, and schools.
I'm in tears as I type this. Not a SOUL in SIGHT!
Yes, they had to DESTROY the VILLAGE to SAVE IT!!!!
WHERE HAVE I HEARD THAT ONE BEFORE?!!
Army officials said the villages’ inhabitants had fled long ago, many even before last month’s fighting. But they added that once the region is secure, they hope the government can attract people back with new roads and development projects"
Oh, HOW NICE OF THEM! After RAZING the PLACE and turning EVERYONE into REFUGEES they are going to "rebuild."
Only Pakistani soldiers were in evidence among destroyed and damaged buildings yesterday in Sararogha, in Pakistan’s troubled tribal region of South Waziristan. (Anjum Naveed/Associated Press)
You know, the IRAQIS are STILL WAITING (never mind next door in Afghanistan)!
And now the SADNESS with which I read the next quote:
“I do not see an end to this war’’
What more is there to say, really?
"Pakistan says Taliban fled 2 villages; Army trumpets its successes in Waziristan" by Pamela Constable, Washington Post | November 18, 2009
Ah, the Washington Post! The CIA 's newspaper!
You can be sure you are getting the straight agenda here.
SARAROGHA, Pakistan - A toy car booby-trapped with explosives, Arabic-language chemistry and electronics texts, and handwritten case notes from a Taliban courtroom were among the debris left behind by fleeing Islamic militants in this remote village in the conflicted tribal region of South Waziristan.
Toy car bomb? They are just so in-your-face with the outrageous propaganda it defies description.
The now-deserted village, retaken by Pakistani Army forces two weeks ago and viewed by journalists yesterday for the first time, had been a stronghold of Taliban forces for nearly five years. Army officials described its capture as a military and psychological milestone in their month-old operation to flush militants out of the region.
Oh, so this is a PR campaign!
Press all over it now that they got a government tour.
“This place was a fountainhead of terrorism. All government authority was expelled, and the Taliban leaders even had press conferences here,’’ said Major General Athar Abbas, a military spokesman, standing on the roof of a mosque that overlooked the rubble of the local market, school, and stone military fort that were destroyed in five days of heavy fighting.
All kept quiet by the MSM here in AmeriKa (or at least New England's largest daily). Just see my Pakistan labels. I look for war reports and that is what they have been giving us the last few days..
Army officials said they had killed 180 Taliban fighters in Sararogha, bringing the total of enemy dead to more than 550 since the Waziristan operation began. Yet the officials acknowledged that hundreds, perhaps thousands, more had melted away into the vast desert scrub and craggy hills surrounding this remote outpost, postponing the fight for another day and testing the army’s will to continue pursuing them.
Okay, if that is a body-count lie, then it's a lie.
If it is the truth, that is 550 more innocent souls removed from this world. WHATEVER you think of them, THEY NEVER DID ANYTHING TO US because 9/11 was an INSIDE JOB!
The Obama administration has been pressing Pakistan to move more aggressively against the Taliban forces, a message that national security adviser James Jones was reported to have carried to Pakistani officials during a visit last week.
Oh, THAT SURE WAS KEPT QUIET over here -- and won't be heard of gain in this post!
In particular, US officials have urged the army to move into neighboring North Waziristan, where most Taliban fighters are believed to have fled.
Yes, the MASS-MURDERING NOBEL PRIZE WINNER'S MESSAGE is EXPAND the WARS and KILLING on the basis of LIES!!!!!
But Pakistani officials immediately bristled at the suggestion. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi declared Monday that Pakistan “will not be prodded by outsiders’’ into conducting particular military operations.
Better be careful there, guy. You may find your government removed.
Remember what happened last time when the Army complained about the aid conditions? Got a wave of "terror" attacks, right?
Although Pakistan and the United States cooperate closely in the war against Islamist terrorism, the partnership has been fraught with resentment, frustration, and clashing strategic goals.
I thought we were friends?
For my part, I HAVE NO RESENTMENT for the Pakistani people in ANY WAY!!!
As a matter of fact, I feel quite the opposite!
I can OFFER NOTHING BUT my APOLOGIES for being UNABLE to STOP THIS MADNESS!!!
Amid the signs of bilateral military frictions, army officials seemed eager to portray the recent capture of Sararogha, and another longtime Taliban stronghold in the village of Laddha about 20 miles north, as proof that their Waziristan campaign is moving ahead successfully. The army flew a group of journalists to the region by helicopter and gave them a tour.
Yeah, after KEEPING THEM OUT for so long!
And consider this: The army is CALLING THIS a SUCCESS!!!!!!
In Laddha, a town perched on a high ridge, army officials said Pakistani troops discovered a huge arsenal of weapons and ammunition, as well as piles of Islamic literature, military manuals, chemicals to make explosives, tiny circuit boards for remote-control devices, and handwritten notebooks with religious and military instructions.
So WHO PLANTED the STUFF?
Or did they ROLL UP a CIA or BLACKWATER SITE, huh?
Related: ARE BLACKWATER MERCENARIES RESPONSIBLE FOR FALSE FLAG BOMBINGS IN ORDER TO UNLEASH CIVIL WAR IN PAKISTAN?
Here's another opinion by someone in the know:
[There has never been an army like the Pak Army--they always leave the escape door open, when allegedly going after their militants, you know the ones, sometimes they are "miscreants," sometimes (when they threaten India, for instance) they are considered "patriots." Which label fits, this time, Kayani?] -- source
This is ALL a PR PSY-OP, isn't it?
Duly presented by the AmeriKan MSM for our consumption!
It's the WaPo, after all!
Morale seemed high among the soldiers now stationed in the two villages. Many wore long beards, and some saluted visiting officers with the Muslim greeting “Salaam o aleikum.’’ But they took pains to distinguish their notion of faith from the extreme and violent credo of the Taliban.
“These militants say they are fighting a jihad, but we are fighting a jihad against them, against those who have no humanity, no values, and no mercy for the innocent,’’ said Lieutenant Colonel Faridullah as he held up a handmade Taliban poster showing a Kalashnikov rifle surrounded by flowers and poetry. Faridullah, who like many Pakistanis uses only one name, described the town as a Taliban “training hub’’ and said troops had found several bomb-making laboratories.
It get's to a certain point where you just DO NOT BELIEVE the NEWSPAPER here in AmeriKa -- and I'm there. This REEKS of a STAGED PIECE of PROPAGANDA!
There was not a single civilian left in either place yesterday, only a few stray donkeys grazing here and there among the rubble of ruined mosques, shops, and schools. Army officials said the villages’ inhabitants had fled long ago, many even before last month’s fighting. But they added that once the region is secure, they hope the government can attract people back with new roads and development projects.
That was the PARAGRAPH that I NOTICED and found to be the MOST IMPORTANT of the PIECE!
Not lying there! They are TOUTING IT and PROUD of the "progress!"
Also see: Pakistan offensive displaces 268,000 people: UN
That makes about 3 MILLION ALL TOLD -- if they would tell it!
Despite the gung-ho mood accompanying these recent advances, military officials in both towns acknowledged that the Taliban were extremely well organized, armed, and equipped, and said the campaign against them is far from won.
Related: How The USA Funds The Taliban
Militants' possession of Israeli arms raises questions
Use of Israeli-made light arms by militants against security forces in Waziristan has raised several questions amongst many recently. TheNation has learnt on good authority that militants are using Israeli-made light arms including “Uzi gun” and “Rapid-fire pistol” against security forces in North Waziristan as the operation Rah-I-Rast reached its final stage. In addition to Israel-made sophisticated arms, militants are making use of the latest version of US-made M-16 carbine with laser designator and binoculars, Bulgarian and Czechoslovakia made Kalakov and M-4 carbine with a grenade launcher and laser designator, which is a unique weapon with the US marines."
Who is arming those "militants" again?
Yeah, ARM and CREATE the "enemy!"
GREAT WAY to KEEP PROFIT-MAKING and AGENDA-ADVANCING WARS GOING!
They estimate there are between 5,000 and 8,000 active militant fighters in Waziristan, meaning that only a fraction have been killed after a month of combat operations.
“I do not see an end to this war,’’ said Major Nasir Mehsud, an army official who accompanied the journalists. “They want to stretch our resources thin and lure us into difficult areas. We cannot take on these monsters everywhere at once. But they are terrorists, and we must keep on fighting them.’’
At this point I am REALLY, REALLY DOWN!
NO END in SIGHT, huh?
--more--"
Then EXPECT MORE of THIS -- reported or not!
And IMAGINE HOW DISCOURAGED I WAS that the FOCUS CHANGED for the web version.
"Bomb kills 16 at Pakistani court" by Associated Press | November 19, 2009
PESHAWAR, Pakistan -
My article led with this:
An army shell intended for a militant hide-out accidentally killed six civilians in northwestern Pakistan yesterday, police said.
Dozens of people dragged the bodies onto the main highway running through North West Frontier Province, blocking traffic to protest the killings.
The demonstrators chanted “stop the killing of innocent people,’’ said Hashim Khan, a local resident who participated. The protest lasted two hours.Oh, readers (sob)!!!!!! And WHY CUT THIS, Glob?!!!
.... and then dispersed peacefully. The dead included three women, two children, and a man, said a local police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. The accident occurred in Shahukhel, a town in the Hangu district of the province, he said. Hangu is close to two areas in Pakistan's semiautonomous tribal region where jet fighters also pounded militant hideouts yesterday killing 18 suspected fighters, said intelligence and political officials.
Are they fighters or just "suspected?"
And if the suspicion is not true, MORE CIVILIAN DEAD, right?
The attacks come as the Pakistan Army is waging a major offensive in the South Waziristan tribal area near the Afghan border, where Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders are believed to be hiding. Officials believe many militants have fled South Waziristan, seeking refuge in other parts of the tribal region and elsewhere in Pakistan. Jet fighters pounded two hideouts used by militants loyal to Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud in the Orakzai tribal area, killing 13 suspected fighters.
Killed because of "suspicion," huh? We call that MURDER around here!
Planes also attacked compounds in the Kurram tribal area, killing five militants who had fled South Waziristan.
Yup, no "suspects" there!
Nope, ALL THAT CUT for THIS:
A suicide bomber killed 16 people today outside a courthouse in northwestern Pakistan, the latest attack in an onslaught by Islamist militants retaliating against an army offensive in the nearby Afghan border region.
Wow, how CONVENIENT!!!!!!
A doctor said 26 people were wounded in the blast in the main northwestern city of Peshawar. The bombing was the sixth in less than two weeks in and around Peshawar; the attacks have killed more than 80 people. Police officers were searching a man at the gate of the city’s lower court when he detonated explosives on his body, government official Sahibzada Anees said.
Dr. Saib Gul said 16 bodies had been taken to the city’s Lady Reading Hospital. The army launched its offensive against the Pakistani Taliban in South Waziristan in mid-October. It has retaken many towns in the region, but the militants say they avoided fighting and will now begin a guerrilla campaign.
Today’s explosion occurred hours after missiles fired from a suspected US drone killed three suspected militants in Shana Khuwara village in North Waziristan, another region where Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders remain....
Oh, MORE MASS-MURDERING MISSILE STRIKES as an AFTERTHOUGHT, huh?
--more--"
"Pakistan fearful of US Afghan strategy" by Kim Gamel, Associated Press | November 21, 2009
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan expressed fear yesterday that a large increase in foreign troops in Afghanistan could push militants across the border into its territory and called on the United States to factor in that concern as part of its new war strategy.
How could that be?
The Boston Globe told me Pakistan would feel more secure with a troop increase.
Meanwhile, a suspected US missile strike killed eight militants in northwestern Pakistan, officials said, the second attack this week in an area believed to hold many insurgents who fled from an army offensive elsewhere in the Afghan border region. American officials generally do not acknowledge the unpopular attacks.
Yup, just POPPING OFF the PREDATORS, 'ey, 'bamer?
The Pakistani concerns, raised by the prime minister during a meeting with visiting CIA director Leon Panetta, could pose another headache for President Obama as he weighs military proposals to send 10,000 to 40,000 additional US troops to Afghanistan next year.
Oh, first Jones, now CIA DIRECTOR Panetta!!!
Related: ISI Vehicle escorting CIA director overturns in Islamabad
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the United States must fully share its plans for Afghanistan with Pakistan so that it can contribute to them, according to a statement from his office. Gilani also warned that more troops could push militants across the border.
They claim they have been anyway!
The US Embassy declined to comment on the CIA director’s visit to the country. American security and government leaders have frequently visited Pakistan in recent weeks to urge it to do more against militants on its side of the border blamed for violence inside Afghanistan. Pakistani officials have said in the past that they were worried that Obama’s original surge of 21,000 troops this summer would lead to more militants crossing into the country, something that has not happened.
So the NEWSPAPERS and GOVERNMENT have been LYING these MANY MONTHS?!
