Word: tribalism
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...heart of the Pakistani capital, has become the first salvo in a new civil war for the nation's soul. Musharraf has weathered the protests of the pro-democracy movement, but his survival, political and otherwise, is still at stake in the face of growing violence in Pakistan's tribal areas and an increased number of suicide car bombings from a cadre that has declared jihad on the government. The three A's that shaped Pakistan's destiny - the army, Allah, and America - now need to converge to tackle al-Qaeda and Taliban militants and then give Pakistan full democracy...
...these reforms shared a common impulse to return to the basics of boyhood--quests, competitions, tribal brotherhoods and self-discovery. There was a recognition that the keys to building a successful boy have remained remarkably consistent, whether a tribal chieftain is preparing a young warrior or a knight is training a squire or a craftsman is guiding an apprentice--or Gregory Hodge is teaching his students. Boys need mentors and structure but also some freedom to experiment. They need a group to belong to and an opponent to confront. As Gurian put it in The Wonder of Boys, they must...
OSAMA BIN LADEN The wild card, bin Laden is rumored to be doing what he does best--hiding out--in tribal lands. Musharraf's dilemma: win over those who harbor bin Laden, or attack them? He's tried both and failed...
...Musharraf really does take both gloves off in the tribal areas, that will just increase the likelihood of a split in the army, according to Hamid Gul, former head of the powerful Pakistani intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). "The officer's cadre are liberal, secular, they come from the elite classes. But the rank and file of the army were never secular, they were always religious," says Gul. "If there is a face-off between the army and people, the leadership may lose control of the army. The army does not feel happy. They are from the same streets...
Meantime, in a telling twist, the spate of suicide bombings in Pakistan seems to have cooled the immediate sense of crisis in Afghanistan. Word on the streets of Kabul is that the suicide bombers from Pakistan's tribal areas who until recently headed west into Afghanistan to train Afghan militants or carry out attacks themselves are now heading east into the cities of Pakistan, where they have new motives and better targets to attack. "Normally the Pakistanis come to Afghanistan, but now they are busier in Pakistan," says Waheed Muzhda, an Afghan political analyst who worked for the foreign ministry...