Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Pakistan vows to help Afghanistan combat the Taliban

Pakistan has the potential to be a hugely important ally here since they've been a bit of a waffler in the past. Hopefully they can keep up their end of this deal.

KABUL (Reuters) - Pakistan, criticized by some Afghan leaders over cross-border infiltration by the Taliban, vowed on Wednesday to help its neighbor fight terrorism as Afghanistan battles its worst violence in five years.

After lengthy talks with his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said he was committed to crushing the Taliban, their al Qaeda allies and "Talibanisation," a reference to the spread of hardline Islam.

[...] The use of Pakistani territory by the Taliban, other militant groups and criminals has soured relations between the two countries. Rebels and criminals can freely cross the rugged mountainous frontier, barely controlled in parts.


Musharraf professes to be an ally in the GWOT, but he's not the most popular guy in a country with plenty of anti-American sentiment. That makes it tough to crack down on terrorists in your country. Oh wait they're not terrorists, they're "militant groups."

Right.

And one of those militant groups, supposedly hiding in the area is a small little group... maybe you've heard of them... al Qaeda.