Free Republic

OUR diplomats and generals can't understand why Pakistan's million- man military avoids confronting the Taliban as the extremists tear into the country's flesh. Admiral Michael Mullen, our chairman of the Joint Chiefs and a superb officer, spends almost as much time in Islamabad as in Washington. And his Pakistani hosts make endless promises. But nothing much happens as the Taliban and their allies gobble territory. This week's "offensive" to retake Buner province -- almost within shouting distance of Pakistan's capital -- is a relatively small-scale operation. Even Richard Holbrooke, our junkyard dog among diplomats, can't get the Pakistanis off the...

Today on Covert Radio with the Long War Journal.Org we have a dynamite show that you are going to want to listen to twice! Seriously, its 35 minutes jam packed with exclusive info you won’t get anywhere else. We are joined as always by Bill Roggio from the Long War Journal.Org and a special guest, Tim Lynch from Vigilant Strategic Services Afghanistan (VSSA) joins the show. Tim has traveled and worked extensively with the people of Afghanistan. He has an insight unmatched in the media. VSSA was founded in 2006 by a group of experienced American and Afghan project managers....

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Fed up with violence and economic hardship, voters in the deeply conservative northwest have thrown out the Islamist parties that ruled this province for five years — a clear sign that Pakistanis are rejecting religious extremism in a region where al-Qaida and the Taliban have sought refuge. Instead, voters in turbulent North West Frontier Province, which borders Afghanistan, gave their support to secular parties that promised to pave the streets, create jobs and bring peace through dialogue and economic incentives to the extremists. That may conflict with U.S. pressure to step up the fight against armed militants...

Pakistan's efforts to establish control of the tribal regions along the Afghan border, has led to promotion opportunities for the many tribal men who have joined the Pakistani armed forces. Men from the tribal territories have long been overrepresented in the Pakistani military. Thus the new governor of the Northwest Frontier Province, the region that abuts the Afghan frontier, and which includes the "Federally Administered Tribal Areas," that have been a haven for Taliban and Al-Qaeda for many years, is himself a native of the region. Ali Mohammed Jan Orakzai, a retired lieutenant general in the Pakistani Army, was appointed...