As Pakistani border tribes sign up to fight jihadis, I speculated that it made sense for us to be behind this move:
I suspect that we are behind the money. It is not in our interest to admit we are payng them, but we have the most interest in hiring them and the most resources to pay them. Which is why I assume we are paying them.
These lashkars could be a different kind of awakening for a new style of campaign to beat the Taliban and al Qaeda in their Pakistan sanctuary.
Well, it seems we are:
Pakistan has persuaded some of the tribes in pro-Taliban areas to switch sides. This is often not too difficult, as the tribes along the border spend more time fighting each other than in going after outsiders. The U.S. is providing money and weapons for these pro-government tribes, as well as tribesmen who join the Frontier Corps (the locally recruited security force that watches the Afghan border.)
It could be a hammer and anvil strategy that plays out in 2009 to break al Qaeda and the Taliban.
