Sunday, January 21, 2018

The Nuance of Pakistan Eludes Me

Pakistan will face ISIL but will find Pakistan has fertilized the ground where it lands.

Oh good:

A new report has documented an “alarming” increase in the Islamic State footprint in Pakistan, saying it adds to the challenges facing the country’s decade-long campaign against terrorism and religious extremism.

Pakistan--formally an Islamic republic--has long had a split personality in regard to jihadis, regarding "wild" jihadis that attack Pakistan as distinct from "tame" jihadis they can aim at their foe India and at Afghanistan to maintain influence in their self-regarded rear area from the perspective of thinking India is forever poised to invade that jewel of the Indus River valley.

So a lot of people in Pakistan will be primed to look at a new band of jihadis fondly.

And as we've seen, when "moderate" jihadis are in competition with the "really raging mass murder with all the cruelty you want" form of jihadis, the latter attract the recruits who want to take part in the jihad.

We want Pakistan to be better in regard to fighting jihadis with our regional approach to defeating the Taliban in Afghanistan. But honestly in the short run we will have a problem just trying to keep Pakistan from getting worse.