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September 6, 2006
Carpe Diem
Bill Roggio analyzes Pakistan's apparent surrender to the jihadis in Pakistan's tribal territories. (hat tip: Instapundit) Roggio ends with deep pessimism:
The jihadi dreams of al-Qaeda's safe havens in western Pakistan have become a reality. And the gains made by the Coalition in Afghanistan have now officially been wiped away with the peace agreement in the newly established Islamic Emirate of Waziristan.
He might be right, but there is at least one circumstance under which Roggio may be dead wrong. If the government of Pakistan is washing its hands of Waziristan, and saying that it doesn't care what happens there — in effect, if the government of Pakistan is withdrawing its sovereignty from Waziristan — then the US has an opportunity to crush this troubling haven for jihadis, including apparently bin Laden and Zawahiri. Because you see, there is an open declaration of war against those responsible for 9/11, and these guys qualify.
The whole reason that we haven't taken out these sanctuaries before now, is that Pakistan has wanted to deal with the problem themselves, which would have the nice side benefit of keeping Pakistanis from rising up out of fury at an American invasion. But if this agreement opens the door for us, I say we grab the opportunity. It could be a chance we've never had before, and won't easily get again.
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