Comments on: Counter-insurgency or Conventional Military in Swat?

By: Dave Schuler

Dave Schuler — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:33:10 +0000

davod, my understanding is that the bulk of the officer corps in the Pakistani army remains Punjabi.

By: davod

davod — Wed, 13 May 2009 19:00:19 +0000

"Punjabi dominated military"

It is my understanding that the Pakistani military mirrors the make of the country which is - Punjabi 44.68%, Pashtun (Pathan) 15.42%, Sindhi 14.1%, Sariaki 8.38%, Muhagirs 7.57%, Balochi 3.57%, other 6.28% (CIA Worldfactbook)

WRT to counter-insurgency forces. Maybe the professional force has the same disdain for special forces we used to have. I wonder if the ISI is tasked with this job, and if so, they may be on the wrong side.

Loyalty to State or religion is probably another factor. Will the troops fight against the Taliban or Jihadists.

By: Triumph

Triumph — Wed, 13 May 2009 18:39:26 +0000

Counter-insurgency or Conventional Military in Swat?

Where does "nuke the hell out of Swat" fall on the counter-insurgency/conventional battle continuum?

By: DC Loser

DC Loser — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:56:09 +0000

I don't think it's even close to an existential threat. There is a lot of internal political dynamic playing out between the professional Army and the elected political class. I think the Army actually enjoys seeing the politicians squirm as the Taliban closes in on Islamabad. I agree they are doing the minimum in containing the Taliban threat in the meantime in order to extract more concessions from the politicians. We have yet to see the Army being serious about this.

By: PD Shaw

PD Shaw — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:45:33 +0000

You can't do COIN unless you are capable of winning the hearts and minds of the population:

Hearts: The population must be convinced that our success is in their long-term interests. Minds: The population must be convinced that we actually are going to win, and we (or a transition force) will permanently protect their interests.

Is the Punjabi dominated military/government capable of either of these things? Link to SWJ Blog