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Malala Yousafzai was recently shot by savages. Her offense was to write about co-education and life under armed groups. Wonder if calling the people who shot her savages makes one a racist?

I read about this attack which took place in the Swat Valley. The armed men entered her school bus and asked which girl she was. As they weren't sure, they shot two girls. I'm not sure what happened to the other one but the 14 year old was shot in the head but as by a miracle, she survived. She was rushed to an army hospital where the doctors managed to save her life but it has been reported that she will be transferred to the UAE for further treatment.

The Taliban have said they will have another go, should she return.

They are truely savages. How grown men can do this, is beyond me. I feel sorry for those people but why don't they unite to fight the Taliban?

I expect we will see Malala in a town near us soon. She will have to have somewhere to go and it's pretty obvious she can't go home.

BMreformed wrote:why don't they unite to fight the Taliban?

Once upon a time there was a bad bad country called the Soviet Union, that made another country called Afghanistan ( a relatively peaceful country at that time) to invite them to take over their country. This was unacceptable to another group of countries that came to be known as the West. So the West sat down with their allies to devise ways how to inflict maximum damage on the Soviets. They came up with a plan to encourage religious militancy in a geographical arc surrounding the Communist Soviets. They took the help of Saudi Arabia to introduce their version of Islam into this very peaceful region, and the infrastructure and know how of another country bordering Afgahnistan, called Pakistan. And so were born the Mujahideen, or religious warriors. The Soviets were defeated, and their mission accomplished, the West departed from the region. Pakistan had its own petty ambitions for the region, and thought it was a godsend to find the Mujahideen left to be owned by themselves only. The Pakistanis thought they would take over Afghanistan, which would add what they called "strategic Depth" to their country. They also expected the Mujahideen to be their lackeys, and to be used agaisnt their old rival, India! So, they regrouped the Mujahideen, and named them the Taliban! They then embarked on a brutal conquest of Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the Taliban got too big for thier boots. They didnt always listen to their masters. the Pakis. So came 9/11 and the rest is history. Now, the Taliban have splintered into many groups. Some are still at the beck and call of the Pak Military to do their bidding, but others have found new paymasters. They have collected in a place called North Waziristan in Pakistan, after being defeated in Swat earlier. Pakistan supports some of them.
The answer to your question is: some rag tag armies have been formed by the people to fight them off, but can these poor privately funded militias fight against the might of Governemnts? Whether it is their own, or some foreign power interested in this region? No! They have been wiped out!
The West is asking Pakistan to attack the hornet's nest in N Waziristan, but the Paks have hesitated for over a year now. The reason is that they support some of the bad people, and they feel they will lose out in Afghanistan after the West withdraws from Afghanistan in 2014. It is quite a mess, and there are no easy answers, but people like Malala are suffering!

These taliban has killed pakistani soliders in high numbers. Pakistan had some support for Aghan taliban but these are targeting pakistani army http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehrik-i-Taliban_Pakistan

I doubt it is easy to defeat groups like that, take for example IRA in Northern Ireland, they didn't stop until both sides understood fighting is not the solution.

Nucleus wrote:both sides understood fighting is not the solution.

Nucleus, you have to understand that the Taliban is a cult. They have just adopted the name of Islam, and the austere and cruel Wahabi Islam of the Arabs at that, but their actions have nothing to do with any religious teaching. I was listening to a very nice program on the car radio on CBC. A Canadian guy has written a well researched book on them, and he was answering questions by phone in. This is what he said, and I agree with him totally. The motto of this Taliban cult is to kill and spread terror. That is all. He said there is no harm in sitting down with them and talking, but it will simply not work, because they get their high from Terror!

Frequentflier wrote:Nucleus, you have to understand that the Taliban is a cult. They have just adopted the name of Islam... but it will simply not work, because they get their high from Terror!

But in my opinion fighting will not work either, usual reponse is it is Pakistani Army. But these Pakistani Taliban are specifically targeting Pakistani Army and have killed nearly thousand soldiers. I doubt Pakistani army want them around. And militariy solution didn't work for IRA or Tamil Tigers either so I doubt it work for them either. So talking to them won't work and fighting them won't work, there is no solution.

And militariy solution didn't work for IRA or Tamil Tigers

The Tamil Tigers are currently inactive since the group was wiped out in 2009.

Al Shabaab, al-Qaeda affiliated groups in Sinai and AQAP in Yemen have also been severely set back due to military operations. I think al Shabaab will be much more likely to be defeated and effectively neutralized than AQAP/Ansar al-Sharia within the decade.

Iraq and Syria in the 80's and 90's were also able to put down popular uprisings through sheer brute force; sometimes military force is enough to defeat opposition.

I believe if the Islamists in Mali are given a few more years in power they will be able to entrench themselves in the local population and that will allow them to create a Taliban style insurgency against any military force that would overthrow them. Right now, however, they would fall like a house of cards like al-Shabaab in Somalia.

Nucleus wrote:So talking to them won't work and fighting them won't work, there is no solution.

Its kill or be killed Nucleus. There is no talking to these people. They have to be hunted down and exterminated. Unfortunately, too many people from that part of the world have sympathies for them. This is what happened in the Swat Valley when they were allowed to take over because they said they were going to bring true Islam to the region and lots of good people supported them. It was only when they unleashed a reign of terror that people recognized them for what they were, and now they want to have nothing to do with them, except those who have joined them and are benefiting from it (mostly hardened criminals).
As I said, its a very very dangerous cult. The only good Taliban is a dead Taliban!

Frequentflier wrote:Its kill or be killed Nucleus. There is no talking to these people. They have to be hunted down and exterminated.

That is the approach now. Maybe it will work, but it is a difficult terrain and fighting is not easy in that region.

Frequentflier wrote:Unfortunately, too many people from that part of the world have sympathies for them. This is what happened in the Swat Valley when they were allowed to take over because they said they were going to bring true Islam to the region and lots of good people supported them.

That's not what I heard from people living there. They have few supporters but majority are against them. Support for them grew when Pakistani military made an offensive in Waziristan, but support for them went down when they started killings of the tribal leaders to gain control. For people there, it is tough, they are between a rock and a hard place between all the fighting.

They never took over swat valley, they are like a rogue armed gang.

rayznack wrote:

And militariy solution didn't work for IRA or Tamil Tigers

The Tamil Tigers are currently inactive since the group was wiped out in 2009.

Al Shabaab, al-Qaeda affiliated groups in Sinai and AQAP in Yemen have also been severely set back due to military operations. I think al Shabaab will be much more likely to be defeated and effectively neutralized than AQAP/Ansar al-Sharia within the decade.

Iraq and Syria in the 80's and 90's were also able to put down popular uprisings through sheer brute force; sometimes military force is enough to defeat opposition.

I believe if the Islamists in Mali are given a few more years in power they will be able to entrench themselves in the local population and that will allow them to create a Taliban style insurgency against any military force that would overthrow them. Right now, however, they would fall like a house of cards like al-Shabaab in Somalia.

I'm always in awe of your knowledge Ray!

BMreformed wrote:I expect we will see Malala in a town near us soon.

You have excellent power of prediction BM:

The 14-year-old Pakistani girl shot in the head by Taliban gunmen last week is being flown to the UK for medical treatment, the Pakistani army has said.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-19944078

Yes, I could see that coming. It is reported here that the poor girl is heading for Birmingham, where our troops go when they have been badly injured. It is a rehabilitation unit at Selly Oaks hospital. One of the reasons she is being sent here, it's reported, is that the security is very good. The Taliban want to finish the job, it's said.
She may well be treated at UCL (London) before she is transferred to Birmingham.

I wonder what her quality of life will be like in the future? I can't see her being able to return to Pakistan anytime soon.

I predict she will be a future Pakistani Prime Minister.

That's very generous of you to pay for her treatment, BM.

I wonder what her quality of life will be like in the future? I can't see her being able to return to Pakistan anytime soon.

No doubt she and twenty members of her family will have to stay in Britain and get the benefits you're not entitled to (but will kindly pay for her to have).

I wonder if the family had a choice where to go or whether it was only Britain that offered to take her?

As a human being I really don't mind contributing to this poor girls treatment and you couldn't really expect her to be in my country without her parents for comfort and support but I do wonder how many other hangers on I will be subsidising?

As our Foreign Secretary told me this morning via Sky News, we are standing shoulder to shoulder with the Pakistani people against the Taliban.

I wonder if he told the 5 Royal Marines charged, yesterday, with murdering an insurgent, that little nugget?

That's very thoughtful of you. To read what you wrote with the vile posts made against you by other members in mind only brings down their humanity.

I suppose one reads what one wants to read and ignores things that don't fit with their agenda.

I wouldn't be too worried about the cost of treatment BM, it seems like money well spent.

The Taliban has little to fear from military action because they have such a high tollerance of casualties. Presumably they want to die to get their 72 virgins. The only thing they are afraid of is that Afgan girls might learn how to think for themselves - they what kind of a sorry state would they be in.

I'm not at all worried about any cost of the poor girl's treatment that may be borne by the UK taxpayer. I think you would have to be some sort of monster to begrudge a 14 year old the best of care. I only wish her a total and speedy recovery.

Lets hope the men of the Swat Valley grow a pair and stand up to the Taliban.

Unfortunately, some Taliban supporters plague the forum.

There is one poster who started a thread on how the Taliban were 'misunderstood':

ar/taliban-some-insights-22-10399.htm