Word: civilianizes
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Officials with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have negotiated an Oct. 25 inspection of Iran's recently revealed uranium-enrichment plant under construction outside Qum. The plant, which Tehran insists will be used for civilian purposes, has heightened fears that Iran is hiding facilities that would give it greater capacity to potentially build nuclear weapons. Skeptics say delaying the inspection until the end of the month would give Iran time to cover up its activities. "One has to be somewhat suspicious," Washington's IAEA representative said Oct. 5 on Capitol Hill...
...unlike the Swat Valley - a scenic, tourist-friendly area whose residents depend on outsiders for income and trade and income - South Waziristan has historically been closed to outsiders. Even in Swat, which political leaders have declared a victory, insurgents are still ambushing military convoys and launching suicide bombings against civilian and security targets, proving, as many local residents have long attested, that Taliban leaders are still present in many of the region's villages...
...flee the area and go to camps set up for an expected flood of refugees. While this massive influx of displaced persons risks a humanitarian disaster, especially if the operation is not wrapped up before the onset of winter, it does allow the military to work unimpeded without risking civilian casualties. Still, the camps, if not managed properly, can cause widespread resentment and frustration for displaced civilians, and provide fertile ground for anti-government propaganda...
...also important that the action in South Waziristan doesn't end with the military operation. In order to fill the power vacuum, the civilian government will have to follow quickly behind with infrastructure, schools, medical clinics and courts - key elements whose absence allowed the Taliban to flourish in the first place. There, too, a lesson can be taken from the Swat experience. Military officials in the Swat Valley recently released thousands of low-level Taliban captives into the custody of local authorities, who have neither the infrastructure to hold nor the facilities to try the militants...
...Civilian reconstruction must dovetail seamlessly with the military operations this time around," says Durrani. "My fear is that it will not, and that everything we gain in the military operation will be lost if the government fails to provide the necessary [services]. I am holding my breath. The future of Pakistan's children and grandchildren depends on this...