12-19-2014, 11:17 AM
(12-16-2014, 10:19 AM)SIXFOOTERsez Wrote: Well, if something good was to come out of this attack, skewering obama would be nice
Well, turns out some analysts are attempting to tie US actions and influence to the school massacre.
But, that analysis traces back to GW Bush's era up to the present.
Snip:
In traditional Pashtun culture, thousands of years old, women and children were left untouched in warfare. No self-respecting man would harm a woman or a child. He would not be welcomed back to his village, and women would mock him. What kind of man kills women or children?
In June, under pressure from the U.S., which wants to leave Afghanistan and not worry about more attacks, the Pakistani Army went into the tribal areas along the Afghan border that are the headquarters of the Pakistani Taliban. The Pakistani Army is still there -- with planes, artillery, and tanks killing Taliban, but also women and children.
Before the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001, the Pakistani Army never went into the tribal areas. Never. The first time was in 2003, again under pressure from the U.S.
The Taliban have few ways to strike back. This is asymmetric warfare. The Taliban are desperate, and will never give in. They are Pashtuns lashing out at the Punjabi Pakistani Army. This is an ethnic battle as well. The Punjabis are the largest ethnic group in Pakistan. About 80% of the Pakistani bureaucracy is Punjabi and it is the same for the Army. This argument only goes so far as the school, in Peshawar, along the border, where the Pashtuns live, probably had many Pashtun student who were children of the military. Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/taliban-scho...-children/
Regardless of who's responsible (and, personally, I think it's only the attackers themselves on this one), this was by all accounts a revenge massacre for the Pakistani military's attacks on Taliban tribal bases.
It's being reported today that 77 militants were killed by the Pakistani military in retaliation for the school strike. The recent operations suggest Pakistan is sticking to its renewed commitment to rout out terrorists. The citizens of Pakistan, even those who sympathized with the Taliaban, appear to be fully outraged by the targeted slaughter of children. Ref: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world.../20627767/