Pakistan's Government Finally Taking Gloves Off In Fight Against Taliban?

Has the Pakistani government under President Zardari finally realized the tremendous folly of appeasing terrorists who seek nothing less than to conquer Pakistani territory and establish dominion over large swaths of the country? Pakistan's Prime Minister announced that they would crush the Taliban. Pakistani forces have taken some hits, and several that went missing in Dir were apparently executed by the Taliban. Pakistani airstrikes are more successful than ground attacks at this point, and while the government claims that they have 15,000 troops in the provinces, most appear confined to barracks:

Fighting in Swat has been heavy over the past two days. The military claimed 55 Taliban fighters and six civilians were killed today as Pakistani Air Force fighters and Army helicopters pounded Taliban positions. The military claimed it killed Taliban commander Ibn Aaqil, who is the brother of Ibn Amin, the leader of a brigade of al Qaeda's paramilitary Shadow Army that is operating in Swat and now Buner. The Taliban has more than 7,000 fighters active in Swat.

Nine Pakistani troops have been killed during fighting in Swat and 15 more have gone missing in the neighboring district of Dir, where an operation to dislodge the Taliban is in its thirteenth day. Twelve of the missing troops are reported to have been executed by the Taliban. Five more soldiers were killed in the Malakand district.

The Taliban killed seven of the soldiers after ambushing a military convoy as it attempted to enter Mingora, the main town in Swat. "The troop carrier was coming and there were seven soldiers killed in that," military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told Dawn. "Two soldiers were killed somewhere in the valley north of Matta." Abbas said.

It is unclear if the soldiers were killed by gunfire or in a roadside bomb attack. Abbas also did not state if the soldiers were part of the regular Army or the paramilitary Frontier Corps. The Pakistani military says it has more than 15,000 troops in Swat. But the soldiers have largely been confined to barracks.

I'd say that the government is trying to have it both ways. Again.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani's announcement, made in a late-night, televised address, signaled the final collapse of a fragile peace accord between the government and Taliban forces in the Swat region. It also represented the civilian government's formal green light for a full-fledged offensive by the military, which until now has been fighting sporadically.

Gillani called on all Pakistanis to unite behind the armed forces "to restore the honor and dignity" of the nation, the safety of citizens and the authority of the government. "We will defend every inch of our homeland at any cost," he declared.

Gillani's address came on another day of intense but scattered clashes. Military officials said the army and other security forces had attacked militant positions with warplanes, attack helicopters and tanks. They said that they killed at least 80 Taliban fighters in Swat and Buner districts, and that nine soldiers died in an ambush and other attacks. A son of a senior Islamist leader in Swat, Sufi Mohammed, was also reported to have been killed by army shelling.

Gillani spoke here as Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was finishing several days of talks in Washington with senior U.S. officials and leaders from neighboring Afghanistan in an effort to find a common strategy against the Islamist extremism that is afflicting both countries.

The announcement also came amid a massive exodus of civilians from the areas of Swat, Buner and Dir, where Taliban extremist forces have occupied villages and towns, attacked schools and police and terrorized the populace while trying to spread their radical version of Islam.

Gillani said the government has allocated $13 million to assist people fleeing from the area, in addition to assistance that is coming from the U.N. refugee agency and other charities. Camps have been set up in safe areas near the conflict zones, although Taliban fighters have blocked roads with trees and other barricades to prevent people from reaching them.

The government has announced a major campaign against the Taliban, but I remain seriously concerned over the government's ability to sustain the tempo and commitment to defeat the Taliban.

Keeping the troops in the barracks doesn't exactly signal a renewed attempt to destroy the Taliban, but rather throw some red meat to the US and Afghan diplomats who are furiously trying to stem the Taliban attacks inside Afghanistan.

After all, the Pakistani government has repeatedly engaged in crackdowns when the Taliban and Islamists threatened the government, but would sign deals and engage in cease-fires at the most inopportune moments - particularly when the Islamists and/or Taliban were on the verge of folding. Pervez Musharraf tried this tactic several times, and it blew up in his face miserably. In fact, the Taliban and Islamists repaid the favor with multiple assassination attempts.

This time may prove to be no different. Zardari is hamstrung because his government includes quite a few Islamists who are sympathetic to the Taliban cause in the provinces, and by allowing the Taliban to become entrenched, the fight will be even more difficult.