Saturday, April 25, 2009

"Everyone Here Is Happy With The Taliban"


"Everyone Here Is Happy With The Taliban" Yeah, right. They're happy or they're dead.

Another area of Pakistan has been taken over by the Taliban. The total collapse of Pakistan cannot be far off.


FROM CBSNEWS.COM:

"Everyone Here Is Happy With The Taliban"
Posted by Tucker Reals

(CBS)
"My name is Khalil. I am a Talib and I am from Swat. I have come to Buner to fulfill my duty towards Islam."


So began CBS News' interview with the man in charge of the Pakistani Taliban's latest territorial expansion.

Swat Valley is a picturesque region surrounded by high mountains in northern Pakistan. The government gave up the area to the Taliban (video)
two weeks ago, in a peace-deal which a foreign ministry official on Thursday called "a local solution to a local problem".

(CBS)That local problem, however, is growing. Militants from Swat moved into the neighboring district of Buner this week.

In response, Pakistani leaders moved six paramilitary platoons into the district.

"The orders to the military units are to seize control of Buner at any cost," one Pakistani official told CBS News' Farhan Bokhari.

Pakistani officials wouldn't say exactly how many troops were sent to Buner, but a platoon typically consists of between 30 and 50. So, a generous estimate puts 300 additional security personnel in the district, which covers 720 square miles of rugged terrain — Los Angeles, by comparison, covers about 500 square miles.

Khalil-ur-Rehman (seen at top shaking hands with locals), the chief Taliban commander in Buner, didn't seem concerned by the government's move to stem the spread of his fundamentalist Islamic movement in Pakistan.

"By the grace of God, the Taliban are now in control of Buner," he told CBS News.