Word: swats
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...that falls short of the military campaign the U.S. desires. Instead, Pakistani authorities are hoping to exploit divisions within the TTP to prize away some factions, while counting on the CIA's drones to take out Baitullah's successors. (See pictures of refugees fleeing the fighting in Pakistan's Swat Valley...
That assessment is shared by some Pakistan experts in Washington, who say the country's military, despite some success against militants in the Swat Valley, simply doesn't have the ability to confront the TTP head-on. A ground operation would leave the Pakistani army "with its nose bloodied," says Daniel Markey of the Council on Foreign Relations. Having "come out of Swat looking reasonably good," Pakistan's generals don't want to risk "taking a morale hit." (Read "Are Pakistan's Taliban Leaders Fighting Among Themselves...
...afraid to challenge the militants." Over the weekend, elders from the Mehsud tribe announced they were prepared to fight the Taliban if they received government backing. That challenge, in the form of a local tribal militia, is already paying off against other Taliban militants to the north of the Swat valley. In Waziristan, it may succeed where previous military operations have failed...
...Pakistan Still a Valley Of Death Despite official claims that a three-month military assault had rid the Swat Valley of Taliban fighters, residents are leery of returning as violence continues to plague the region. In recent days, the discovery of an active Taliban recruitment cell and the beheaded body of a kidnapped policeman have fed fears that militants remain in control. Some 2 million people were displaced during the offensive in April...
...presence of Sipah-e-Sahaba and other militant groups in central and southern Punjab has led many analysts to predict that the militants will open up their next front here. Already, the Pakistan army has said "splinter groups" from Jaish-e-Mohammad have been fighting alongside the Taliban in Swat. And Punjab is also home to front groups of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the outlawed militant group that was blamed for last November's Mumbai massacre. (See pictures of the long journey of the lone surviving Mumbai gunman...