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Once-Nurtured Militants Have Pakistan Teetering on Brink

Paradoxically, insurgents strengthen after US-inspired strikes

By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 28, 2008 2:37 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Pakistan’s government is caught between two overbearing powers: the Taliban fighters who want to destroy it, and the American officials who inflame tensions between the government and its people. “The Pakistanis are truly concerned about their whole country unraveling,” a Western military official tells Dexter Filkins, who sketches the evolution of Pakistan’s crisis in the New York Times.

The chaos began in 1994, when Pakistan partnered with the Taliban. But post-9/11, Islamabad ditched the insurgents and befriended Washington. Now, however, many question Pakistan’s loyalty to the US, and the Taliban strengthens as Islamabad strikes against it. “One thing seems a good bet,” Filkins concludes. “The fires and deaths that consumed the Marriot Hotel last weekend will not be the last.”

While there is no direct evidence that the attack on the Marriott was launched in retaliation for that offensive, many Pakistanis certainly saw it that way, Dexter Filkins writes.
"While there is no direct evidence that the attack on the Marriott was launched in retaliation for that offensive, many Pakistanis certainly saw it that way," Dexter Filkins writes.   (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Pakistani protesters burn a mock coffin wrapped with U.S. flag at a rally to condemn Israeli aggression against Palestinians in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Pakistani protesters burn a mock coffin wrapped with U.S. flag at a rally to condemn Israeli aggression against Palestinians in Peshawar, Pakistan.   (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)
Pakistan's government, now led by Yousaf Raja Gilani, is still hugely dependent on America, Dexter Filkins says.
Pakistan's government, now led by Yousaf Raja Gilani, is "still hugely dependent on America," Dexter Filkins says.   (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
A Pakistani woman holding a child walks past a graffiti reading: 'The only cure for Americans is Jehad, or holy war, in Islamabad, Pakistan.
A Pakistani woman holding a child walks past a graffiti reading: 'The only cure for Americans is Jehad, or holy war," in Islamabad, Pakistan.   (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)
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More than a decade ago Pakistan’s leaders began nurturing the Taliban to help advance the country’s regional interests. Now they are finding that their home-schooled militants have grown too strong to control. - Dexter Filkins

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Afghanistan • Taliban • Pakistan • Pervez Musharraf • India • United States • George W. Bush • Yousuf Raza Gilani

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