"Pakistan differentiates between the Afghan Taliban, the TTP and the Pashtuns because the problem is in Pashtun areas but the majority of Pashtuns want an end to the violence. Given the large Pashtun population in Pakistan and across Pakistan’s borders in southern Afghanistan, Pakistan does not want the present situation to turn into or be turned into an anti Pakistan struggle by the Pashtuns at any stage."
Highly insightful forum post from the Pakistani think tank Spearhead Research: The US Strategy Review
Appeasement? No, It's Wisdom
Kudos, Peter Bergen:
"Al-Qaeda and similar groups will, in time, collapse from irrelevance and non-support unless continually given new life by outside events. The war in Iraq was one such event. Guantánamo was another gift. Episodes such as the “Ground Zero mosque” controversy and the threatened burning of Korans by a church in Florida receive front-page treatment in the Muslim world—and are profoundly counterproductive. Raising the temperature only delays the day of reckoning; indeed, the temperature should be lowered as much as possible. This means pressing as best we can in an evenhanded way for a settlement of the conflicts between Israel and the Palestinians and between India and Pakistan—both of which inflame Muslim passions. We should also uphold American values about human rights and the rule of law. Some will loudly brand any effort to lower the temperature as “appeasement.” It is not. It is wisdom."Complete article: Bin Laden's Lonely Crusade | Politics | Vanity Fair
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