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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SARMAN who wrote (271982)	12/13/2009 11:43:33 AM
From: Hawkmoon	1 Recommendation Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

Something does not make sense in that statement. They hate to be policed by the government, yet they let themselves be controlled by the Talibans. Is that what you meant by it? Yep.. We saw something similar in Anbar province. Many tribal chieftains, being minority Sunni, teamed up with the insurgents, both indigenous and foreign led. Then, when they found that these religious fanatics immediately began to undermine the traditional tribal leadership hierarchy, they began to resent them. It became worse when Americans started tromping around in their turf and we told them the only reason we were there was because they were harboring Al Qaida forces. It's a similar situation in Pakistan's NW territories. These tribes have been ungovernable because they pursue their own self-interests and don't want any gov't meddling that might disrupt their profitable smuggling. They have ongoing rivalries with one another as often as they have fights with the government forces. But government control means they have to unite and pay homage to some "uber-chieftain".. military-quotes.com That's the challenge for the US, learning how to deal with the shifting loyalties of the tribes, which is why, sometimes it's just easier to buy, or rent, their loyalties. And certainly they are starting to recognize their "self-interest" in NOT antagonizing either Afghani or Pakistani governments by harboring the Taliban and/or Al Qaida affiliated individuals. bloomberg.com Bottom line.. dealing with tribal entities is not easy work and takes a lot of "hand-ons" wheeling and dealing. Eventually, tribal networks will need to be formed into coalitions and confederations in order bring their interests into accord with the larger society. But I would prefer that it not occur under the label of Islamic Jihadism/Militancy. Hawk

To: SARMAN who wrote (271982)	12/13/2009 12:05:43 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

So Iran can flatten Tel Aviv every time the Israelis fly over Lebanon, under UNSC resolution 1701, right? They can try. But considering that 1701 hasn't been enforced, and Hizballah is STILL AN ARMED FORCE, and not disbanded as demanded in 1701, essentially the material breach of that resolution is on the Lebanese side, not the Israelis.: Full cessation of hostilities (OP1) Israel to withdraw all of its forces from Lebanon in parallel with Lebanese and UNIFIL soldiers deploying throughout the South (OP2) Hezbollah to be disarmed (OP3) Full control of Lebanon by the government of Lebanon (OP3) No paramilitary forces, including (and implying) Hezbollah, will be south of the Litani River (OP8) The Resolution at the same time also emphasizes:[1] The need to address urgently the unconditional release of the abducted Israeli soldiers, that have given rise to the current crisis. en.wikipedia.org It takes two to tango Sarman. And given that Hizballah not only FAILED to be disarmed, but actually became STRONGER, technically they are still in a state of war since the the cease fire has not been enforced. That, alone, is reason enough for Israel to perform all the surveillance they feel necessary. Hawk