The Dividends of Appeasement

Although Obama still cannot pronounce ‘Pakistan’, I hope he is paying attention to the events unfolding in that country.
The current president of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari has just signed an agreement that would allow the Taliban to take control of the Swat Province, installing Sharia law. Appeasing the terrorists was designed to stem the militants’ goal of taking over the entire country. The effects, instead, appear to be opposite as the Taliban forces are now moving south into the Buner Province, located approximately 60 miles north of Islamabad, the nation’s capital.

These terrorists were the so-called ‘moderates’ during the negotiations that they conducted with the Pakistani government, negotiations that brought the Swat Province to become a heaven for those who like beheadings and floggings.
The situation is, according to Pakistani military officials not as dire as it appears, that the terrorists have only control of 25% of the province of Buner and that the Pakistani Military is in control of the situation. What a relief. Because America should be reassured about anything coming from the Pakistani military, a really trustworthy organization, right? And even giving the benefit of the doubt, how can anyone state that all is under control is a quarter of the province is in the hands of the enemy?
As a contrast, other officials from the area are telling of Taliban militants establishing road blocks, moving around public markets telling people to embrace Sharia Law. They are broadcasting Islamic religious verses on the local radios and have been going around music stores ordering them to stop selling music.

The reality is that the situation is realistically dangerous for many reasons.
For starter, these terrorists are only 60 miles away from two Pakistani military bases, near the country’s capital, where nuclear weapons are stored. Are these weapons secured? Can Zardari guarantee that they will not fall into terrorist hands? Does the US have a contingency plan for such an event, besides offering an apology?
On the same subject, these weapons may be guarded by military personnel already sympathizing with the Islamic extremists, which would create a severe problem for the Islamabad government to secure the weapons if the militants would continue to move toward the capital.
Most importantly for the United States would be for the terrorist, who are openly supporters of Osama bin Laden, to be in possession of these weapons, as they suddenly would become a clear and present danger to the 40,000 US Military personnel in Afghanistan, and ultimately a clear and present danger on our own soil.

So I hope that Obama is actually paying attention to these events, taking time away from self admiration, because this is a visible proof, as if history does not give us countless examples already, that appeasement against an enemy bent on your destruction is not a viable solution. Zardari must have missed that lesson in his history class, but soon may be receiving a crash course in it. His government has sent few troops, para-military to boot, to the region, and they have already suffered a casualty as they arrived and were greeted by automatic fire.
Obama, who also must have been absent from his history class that day at Harvard, maybe the cocaine party the night before wore him out, appears to be one to also favor appeasement of the enemy, as the Liberal mantra is to apologize so that they will like us.

As of Friday, April 24, the Pakistani government was able to gain a withdrawal from the Taliban forces from the Buner province, allowing for a breath of relief, but is the issue really solved?
No it is not. In my opinion, based on history, the April 22-23 move on the part of the Taliban was only a probe. The real intent was to check the strength and readiness of the Pakistani military and to gage the reaction of the population. Thankfully, the Pakistani government was able to address the issue quickly, although the substance of the reaction, meaning the size and type of force deployed, was minimal. From a military prospective, Pakistani leadership may have been correct, as a large force might have trigger direct and escalating confrontation, but at the same time I believe that the Taliban mentality is one that understands only pure and unmitigated force. The reaction of the Pakistani government only delayed what I believe is inevitable under the current situation, and that is that eventually the Taliban will go on the offensive again, this time in a crushing manner.
As far as the reaction of the population, I believe the Taliban scored a major victory, as they were able to cower the population into a state of fear and submission, clearly demonstrating that when they will decide to actually go on the offensive, and I am sure that will happen very soon, they will expect a abysmal resistance from the people, be it because they agree with the Taliban ideology or they are just terrified.

Whatever the case may be, the events in that volatile region demonstrate that appeasement is the sure road to major confrontation, the IF no longer in question, only the WHEN.


And these are my thoughts!
Frank “Semperpapa”