As Afghanistan becomes Center Stage.....
Afghanistan is on Fire and Pakistan is slowly being consumed by it. I was monitoring reports from Al Jazeera about a major push by the Pakistani Army to clean out the Taliban from the SWAT Valley. Over 20,000 Pakistani Troops have been deployed to flush out the SWAT. As the Al Jazeera correspodent was reporting, a bridge near the Khyber pass was blown up and engineers were trying to repair it. It appears that the Pakistani Government has lost control of SWAT. I find it a worrisome development.
As Pakistan continues to slowly be consumed, Afghanistan continues to burn. The Taliban hold large sways of land. I wonder if the surge strategy The President talked about is in fact going to work. When The Taliban are on a rampage to deny girls the right to an education, the whole mentality has to change. I think Shamsia, the little girl who was thrown acid in her face as she went to school, is an inspiration to all. But, for every Shamsia, there are many others who will not aspire to take their lives to the next level. That is the battle that we have to fight in order to succeed.
As Pakistan continues to slowly be consumed, Afghanistan continues to burn. The Taliban hold large sways of land. I wonder if the surge strategy The President talked about is in fact going to work. When The Taliban are on a rampage to deny girls the right to an education, the whole mentality has to change. I think Shamsia, the little girl who was thrown acid in her face as she went to school, is an inspiration to all. But, for every Shamsia, there are many others who will not aspire to take their lives to the next level. That is the battle that we have to fight in order to succeed.
Mike Pouraryan
