Taliban Terrorists Behead Pakistani Officials as Fighting Intensifies
Jim Kouri, CPP
May 03, 2009
Taliban terrorists beheaded two Pakistan government officials in the area known as Swat Valley. Pakistani security officials claim the brutal killings were retaliation for the deaths of two Taliban chiefs, according to the Pentagon.
The Pakistani government and the Taliban fighters observed a ceasefire earlier this year but the terrorist group continued to refuse to lay down their arms and eventually attacked districts adjacent to the Swat Valley, according to US military officials.
The uprising the Taliban led to the United States urging a Pakistani military operation against the terrorist group and the Muslim nation's security forces attacked Taliban fighters to remove them from two districts near Swat Valley.
The terrorist group then abducted two government officials, who were beheaded Saturday night in Khuwaza Kheil, a town just 10 miles away from the SWAT Valley village of Mingora. Their headless bodies were discovered on a nearby road by members of the Pakistani security forces.
One of the Taliban leaders claimed that the beheadings were revenge for the killing of two low-level Taliban commanders earlier on Saturday.
The recent push by Taliban forces to take more ground in Pakistan has served as a wake-up call for the government there, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said.
In an interview with CNN that aired Sunday, Gates said he feels the Pakistani leaders now realize that the Taliban is an existential threat there.
"We and others have been talking with them about how what is happening there in the western frontier area is truly an existential threat to democratic government in Pakistan," Gates said. "And I think the movement of the Taliban into Buner really got their attention."
Last month, the Taliban seized control of Buner, in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, causing alarm as it moved within only about 60 miles of the capital city of Islamabad.
It is feared that Al-Qaeda could also use the border areas of Pakistan to launch attacks against coalition forces in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has long focused on India to its east as its main threat, Gates said, with little regard for the largely ungoverned western front.
"I think that ... they've always felt that if it really got serious, it was a problem they could take care of," Gates said. "That's why I think the movement of the Taliban so close to Islamabad was a real wake-up call for them."
Gates said he believes Pakistan is now starting to develop its military capacity to fight a counterinsurgency, and the United States is willing to share equipment and training. But, he said, there has been reluctance on the part of the Pakistani government up to this point to accept much help.
"They don't like the idea of a significant American military footprint inside Pakistan. I understand that," Gates said. "But we are willing to do pretty much whatever we can to help the Pakistanis in this situation."
Gates said there are a small number of US military advisors in Pakistan helping to train the Pakistani military on counterinsurgency operations.
Speaking on Afghanistan, Gates said there could be a spike in violence as the US military moves thousands more troops into the southern region. But, he said, the Taliban may not be prepared to take on a larger military force toe-to-toe and instead may choose to leave and return later.
The key will be to hold areas that have been cleared of the Taliban, he said.
The Pakistani government and the Taliban fighters observed a ceasefire earlier this year but the terrorist group continued to refuse to lay down their arms and eventually attacked districts adjacent to the Swat Valley, according to US military officials.
The uprising the Taliban led to the United States urging a Pakistani military operation against the terrorist group and the Muslim nation's security forces attacked Taliban fighters to remove them from two districts near Swat Valley.
The terrorist group then abducted two government officials, who were beheaded Saturday night in Khuwaza Kheil, a town just 10 miles away from the SWAT Valley village of Mingora. Their headless bodies were discovered on a nearby road by members of the Pakistani security forces.
One of the Taliban leaders claimed that the beheadings were revenge for the killing of two low-level Taliban commanders earlier on Saturday.
The recent push by Taliban forces to take more ground in Pakistan has served as a wake-up call for the government there, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said.
In an interview with CNN that aired Sunday, Gates said he feels the Pakistani leaders now realize that the Taliban is an existential threat there.
"We and others have been talking with them about how what is happening there in the western frontier area is truly an existential threat to democratic government in Pakistan," Gates said. "And I think the movement of the Taliban into Buner really got their attention."
Last month, the Taliban seized control of Buner, in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, causing alarm as it moved within only about 60 miles of the capital city of Islamabad.
It is feared that Al-Qaeda could also use the border areas of Pakistan to launch attacks against coalition forces in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has long focused on India to its east as its main threat, Gates said, with little regard for the largely ungoverned western front.
"I think that ... they've always felt that if it really got serious, it was a problem they could take care of," Gates said. "That's why I think the movement of the Taliban so close to Islamabad was a real wake-up call for them."
Gates said he believes Pakistan is now starting to develop its military capacity to fight a counterinsurgency, and the United States is willing to share equipment and training. But, he said, there has been reluctance on the part of the Pakistani government up to this point to accept much help.
"They don't like the idea of a significant American military footprint inside Pakistan. I understand that," Gates said. "But we are willing to do pretty much whatever we can to help the Pakistanis in this situation."
Gates said there are a small number of US military advisors in Pakistan helping to train the Pakistani military on counterinsurgency operations.
Speaking on Afghanistan, Gates said there could be a spike in violence as the US military moves thousands more troops into the southern region. But, he said, the Taliban may not be prepared to take on a larger military force toe-to-toe and instead may choose to leave and return later.
The key will be to hold areas that have been cleared of the Taliban, he said.
Print
Email
