BlackFive

After a week of vicious attacks by the Taliban in Pakistan, it looks like payback is a medevac. The Pakistani military has moved in force into the South Waziristan area where both the Taliban and al Qaeda have been hanging out.

Military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said the attack was launched from three directions.

The operation is the most ambitious by the Pakistani Army against Taliban militants, who unleashed a torrent of attacks against top security installations in the past 10 days in anticipation of the assault. The militants’ targets included the army headquarters where planning for the new offensive has been under way for four months.

The United States has been pressing the Pakistani Army to move ahead with the campaign in South Waziristan, arguing that it was vital for Pakistan to show resolve against the Qaeda-fortified Pakistani Taliban, which now embraces a vast and dedicated network of militant groups arrayed against the state, including those nurtured by Pakistan to fight India.

This effort will have several useful effects. First it will make more dead tangos, never a bad thing. Second it will push the Taliban and AQ into a smaller pocket making them easier targets for counterterror operations. Third it will leave fewer places they can recruit and train making ot more difficult for them to send fighters into Afghanistan. The fewer places they can hide and rest and refit, the fewer effective bad guys they can put in play.

So Bravo Pakistan, nicely struck. Good luck with the op.