war against Taliban

What will it take the Pakistan army to win?

By

M.M.Khajooria

During his current visit to the United States, President Zardari of Pakistan was questioned  about the imminent threat of the Taliban take over  of his country. Zardari instead of giving a direct answer posed a counter question, “ with seven million strong Pakistan army   how could this be possible ? The questioner left the matter at that and moved on. President Zardari’s counter  raised   some pertinent questions, which need to be addressed in the interest of a realistic and authentic appraisal of the  implication of mteroic rise of Taliban in Pakistan- a state perched precariously on the brink.

The Pakistan President  had a long list of options from which to draw strength and support for his position . As the elected head of  the state in a democratic country  he   was expected to   stress upon the  rejection of the cult of Taliban by the  vast majority of the  people of Pakistan  in the last elections. As it is,  most Pakistanis who were adherents of Islamic Sufi mysticism and venerated saints and their shrines dotted across the country considered  the extremist savagery   ,  brutal  practices and   senseless indiscriminate blood shedding abhorrent .       It seems not only Pesident Zardari  and the US establishment but all other stake holders, the establishment, the parliament , the civil society ,  the intelligentsia and even the non-fundamentalist clergy  have chosen to  bet on  the Pak Army as the instrument for containing and eliminating   the  scourge of the Taliban .  Given the conditions prevailing in Pakistan  there was little choice. The stakes  of  the nation state of Pakistan and the civilised world in this confrontation   were indeed very high. Obviously , the success or failure of enterprise would   primarily hinge on the  character ,state of health, commitment and capability of the  army and its leadership.

.The partition of the Indian Sub continent   and creation  of Pakistan in August 1947  brought about   the division of the  British Indian colonial army, a portion of which constituted  the Pakistan Army ,Sadly, it had not  changed its colonial character even after sixty eight years of independence.

The paramount duty  of the British Indian  army was to ensure order within India and  protect the interests of the RAJ  against the challenges of the  ‘revolutionary’ elements . In exchange for the services rendered , the British empire ,  generously rewarded  the officers and  the men. They were favored with the      allotment of  precious     land  particularly in the newly irrigated parts of Punjab and Sindh.  Much of the rank-and-file of the Pakistan Army hailed from Punjab and the NWFP, -   home to ‘ martial classes.

The army was   thus  cast in the dual role of the patron state as well as  its colonial strong arm appendage After they became the masters of what they surveyed ,  the defence forces  leadership    spread  their tentacles across the board  – the  civil administration, diplomacy, commerce and  corporate sector. Corruption, nepotism  and favouritism became the  order of the day .In this new AVTAR , the army brass not only   amassed  undreamt of wealth  but also  simultaneously  gathered huge amount of professional flab This in turn  significantly diluted. its combat worthiness . Urgent correctives within the army structure and its interface with the other elements of the state  apparatus were therefore absolutely necessary  to correct,  upgrade   and enhance the capability of the PAK army to effectively take on the internationally supported  fanatical Pakistani Taliban. As Ayjaz Amir  appropriately  put it  “The farce of senior commanders becoming real estate tycoons while still in service must end if we are to see the army function as a more effective fighting machine.” Howsoever despite dilution of their combat capability   the PAK army  officer  corps   remained close to the West in terms of personal lifestyles and ideological inclinations. The smooth sailing boat was violently rocked  during   Gen.Zia Ul Haq’s stewardship of Pakistan  The Jehadi agenda furiously and uncompromisingly  promoted by him “polluted”   the mindset, work culture and  goals  cherished by the nations’ fighting machine  This imposed an element of severe and serious friction  in the armed forces of Pakistan   With  the passage of time  the seedlings  have  flourished into deadly poisonous plants and vitiated the entire defence established. . ”It is not only the government but also the army that has the responsibility to clean up its act of setting a jihadi agenda back in Ziaul Haq’s time.” Wrote  Murtaza Razvi in the piece titled “When up against the militants’ published in daily Dawn. ”Bands of Jihadi boys were brainwashed, nurtured and trained at the behest of the Americans, with petro-dollars flowing in from Arabia to carry out lethal missions against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Today they have grown up to be terror machines, churning out young frustrated clones to take on their masters’ mentors.” he pointed out and  pertinently asked“ Who knows how many little bin Ladens and Al-Zawahiris they have in their fold, keeping liaisons with the intelligence and security apparatus, even as we speak?  This  could  an extreme view but the presence of Jehadi supporters and sympathisers in the defence  ranks was a unpleasant reality. This dichotomy was at the core of the dilemma that griped the army leadership especially at the middle level and debilitated its resolve to confront the Taliban. Resolutely.

The Pakistan army was calibred and motivated to fight against   India –the eternal enemy. “ It hasn’t a clue about fighting the Taliban in Swat and Waziristan. Indeed, the army’s less than brilliant interventions in both these regions have been a powerful factor in making the Taliban more powerful” argued an  eminent   Pakistani security commentator “To concentrate on the threat we face from within, the time may have come for us to give up on our India fixation. India is a headache. No doubt about it …..But a headache is one thing, an existential threat quite another”

President Zardari was on record having repeatedly stated that he never apprehended any threat from India . The  comment of he ISI chief Gen. Pasha some time back that “he was not stupid  and knew that the threat to Pakistan came from the extremist and not India” become relevant in this context.. Moving  sixty thousand troops away from the Indian borders to the western front may be  indicative of the beginning of a shift in strategic thinking in Pakistan  Some keen watchers of Indo-Pak-US triangle  believe  that The US had finally succeeded in convincing Pakistan that it faced no threat to  its  integrity from India. The question arises as to  how  real  and enduring the  shift is ?The answer to this   will impact not only the ability of Pakistan army to take its current  anti Taliban  operations to the logical conclusion but also  significantly determine the future   course of Indo-Pak relations

has been projected   by army spokesperson and Gen. Kiyani  himself on number of occasions in the cent past. While there indeed be need for all this and more , considering  Pakistan’s past record of using such situations  for obtaining and  stockpiling  military hardware to be  used against India, there is need for care and caution.

Not withstanding the above and many other problems  and internal contradictions with which it  is beset Pakistan army can certainly be relied upon to effectively deal with the Taliban menace, once it  drops  its India phobia ,   and was  provided necessary war  wherewithal   . However for his to happen  an  all out  determined  and sustained thrust  was the prerequisite    “Half-measures or half-hearted actions should be avoided like the plague. They haven’t worked before and are not likely to succeed now”  Realistically speaking and   suspicions not withstanding ,   the Pakistan Army was an indispensable element in any successful strategy against militancy in Pakistan and the region.

The question has been raised  as to why the Pak army let the Taliban run amok and  virtually halted operations against them ?  Pakistan’s Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani  the answer . Speaking in   the 118 Corpse commanders conference in Rawalpindi on 07 May he aid that ‘The operational pause, meant to give the reconciliatory forces a chance, must not be taken for a concession to the militants,’  in apparent reference to the lull in Swat fighting after the Feb 16 peace agreement” But this was only partially true. In fact  the ‘pause’ was  under pressure from the pro-Jihadi elements  within the army who argued that Taliban should be given a chance to implement the peace agreement .The other indicator was touched by him when he  expressed his satisfaction at the standard and conduct of on going training in the field formations as part of ‘Year of Training’ and   claimed that Pakistan Army has developed full scale facilities to focus on Low Intensity Conflict (LIC) related operations”

Expressing the military’s resolve to fight and eliminate the militants endangering the lives of peaceful citizens and challenging the writ of the state. Kayani urged national harmony to fight terrorism, extremism. “The present security situation requires that all elements of national power should work in close harmony to fight the menace of terrorism and extremism.”, he said.  ” Pakistan “Gen. Kayani pointed out “ is a sovereign state and the people of Pakistan under a democratic dispensation, supported by the Army, are capable of handling the present crisis in their own national interest.” He assured the nation that “ Pakistan Army is fully aware of the gravity of internal threat. It will employ requisite resources to ensure a decisive ascendancy over the militants.”

Gen. Kiyani has got more than what he asked for. The President and the Prime minister have shed their ambivalence and come out strongly and unambiguously  for strongest possible action against the Taliban prompting then to hurl threats of killing of the leaders and their families. Not only that the support for army action comes across the political spectrum  , there have been public demonstration against the Taliban, some thing unprecedented in Pakistan.  But what really tilted the balance was the  unexpected bonanza of  endorsement  from the most influential Barelvu Clerics.  “We support the army operation in Swat because it is a battle for the survival and defence of Pakistan,’ declared Sahibzada Fazal Karim, leader of Jamiat-e-ulema-e-Pakistan.. On the mundane plane  ,the armed forces top brass  also  have vested  interest in ridding the country of fanatic religious elements .Because there was no scope for the survival of the military’s non-defence related economic empire  under a Talbanized Pakistan  .

As of date over fifteen thousand PAK  troops are battling an estimated number of four thousand well armed Taliban in Swat  “where Pakistan government has ordered  a battle to . “eliminate’. Islamist militants branded by Washington  as the greatest terror threat to the west” ”Helicopter gunships and Jet fighters shelled militant hideouts  in Peochar,Shamozai and Khawaza Khela areas of Swat which started  Friday night and continued ntil Saturday morning”  a military official was reported to have said on condition of anonymity..

Be that as it may  there is no doubt that  Pakistan is  today engaged in fighting  the mother of all battles- a war  , more grave and far-reaching in its implications than  any in the past. And  its outcome could well determine   the  very future of what’s left of Pakistan as a nation state.

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By: Madan Mohan Khajooria

About the Author:

KINGSTON

DϑChεSS oϝ iηK™ ツ asked:


Military records and information. My grandfathers and past grandparents were in the military but allot of the records were lost thru family – and family issues =[

I really want to find out more about what my grandfathers did in the service, where they were stationed, what countries they visited, all about their time in the service. Both my grandfathers were in the Army and served in WW2. Im not sure what branch my great grandfathers served in but I would love to find out. I have their full names also and all their info.

Is there anywhere to find this information? To write to? Websites?

Please help. I would appreciate it.

TY =]
Im in the US…. California…. family is from east coast.

ETHELDA

himperio@verizon.net asked:


i served in equador, galapagos & panama jungles; i can;t find any records 1942 till 1945;

ALETHEA

Well I will show my ignorance here but here it goes. My father fought during WWII in the pacific. I wasn’t born till almost 20 years later 1960. Dad died 20 years ago and I never did ask him any of these questions. And he never really spoke too much of his time there. Here is what I do know, He was a medic in the army, he was about 5 years older than most the other guys who where fighting there, he was 23 when he went in, most the others were 18-19 they called him pop. He faught in The Phillippean and New Gueane. My question is, is there anyway I can get more details about him, like what was the number of the (hear where I will show my ignorance) plattoon or battalean or whatever it is or is called, What battles he fought in, what medals he earned if any. My mom says he had medals but she doesn’t know what happened to any of them or to his uniform. Said it just never occured to her to save any of it! By the way I still have my mom, she is 87. She however doesn’t remember

By: mjgc

About the Author:

LEONARD

This article is brought to you by In the footsteps BATTLEFIELD TOURS

At In the footsteps BATTLEFIELD TOURS we occasionally receive enquiries about how to trace the records of British soldiers who served in the 1814-18 Great War. We do our best to help when such a request is made, but our resources are limited and we are conscious that our best is often very slow and not always that conclusive. To help those wishing to research records of British Soldiers who served in the 1914-18 Great War we thought that it would be useful if we put together some notes on the basics of how to research this information.

During the Great War of 1914-1918 Britain’s Regular Army was tiny by European standards and was quickly supplemented initially by Reservists and the Territorials. Kitchener’s Army of volunteers were rapidly trained and sent to the front and by 1916 it was necessary to introduce Conscription to make up numbers.

The casualty lists continued to grow at an alarming rate largely because of the very nature of trench warfare. The modern military innovations and communications that we know today simply did not exist and the 1914-18 Great War had developed into one of attrition. As a consequence, the British Army sustained massive fatal casualties averaging around 450 officers and men per day.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)

The first place to begin your search is the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). They have the most complete record of soldiers (and others) that died in the 1914-18 Great War. This record is available on-line in their ‘Debt of Honour Register’ at http://www.cwgc.org/.

The information contained in the Debt of Honour Register includes the location of the soldier’s grave (or his commemoration, if he has no known grave). It will usually give details of his service number, rank, unit, date of death (if known) and place of burial or commemoration. Other information may be available, but this is dependent on material supplied (or not supplied) by relatives during and after the war. It should also be noted that whilst the CWGC make every effort the Register is not entirely free of errors.

The 1921 Compilation – Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-19

An excellent resource for locating those who died in the war is Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-19. Originally published in 1921 the compilations consist of 80 volumes for the soldiers with a separate volume for officers. Each volume deals with individual Regiment or Corps, and lists those who died, giving dates, locations, army number. It is not 100% accurate, but an excellent record that was based on regimental records.

These volumes give information that the CWGC does not for example, place of birth, place of residence, place of enlistment and any former regiment being the most common.

A full set of the Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-19 is available for the general public to reference in the Birmingham Central Library. Other Central and/or Reference Libraries may also hold copies, but check before going as they often only have the volume relating to the local regiment.

This work can also be obtained from the Imperial War Museum as a searchable CD-ROM and is also available from: http://www.naval-military-press.com/. The CD-ROM has the advantage that the casualties can be searched and sorted, which is a great benefit if you are researching a unit or what happened to a group of friends. Inevitably it does contain some transcription errors – but then again the originals have errors too. Overall, this is an excellent though very expensive resource. Many branches of the Western Front Association have a copy, as do some libraries – including the one at the National Archives.

Genealogy Websites

Military-Genealogy.com the Naval & Military Press’ website for military historians and family history researchers has computerised these records, along with similar records relating to the Second World War, and offer a pay-per-view service to search them. These works are also available as a searchable CD-ROM, published by the Naval & Military Press. For further details visit: http://www.naval-military-press.com/.

Another pay-per-view service is provided by findmypast.com that has made it possible to search for soldiers who died in the 1914-18 Great War on-line. It is also possible to access the registers of war deaths via their website http://www.findmypast.com/HomeServlet. In addition to their pay-per-view service they operate a voucher system whereby vouchers can be purchased from UK stockists or mail order, see their website for details.

Rolls of Honour

Many businesses, organisations, schools and towns created Rolls of Honour after the war. Many of these are now available on-line and can be accessed by searching Google then clicking on the appropriate search result.

In addition to these dedicated Rolls of Honour sites is a particularly good website http://www.roll-of-honour.com/ that is striving to list details of the various War Memorials in the UK. This also has a useful search facility that will interrogate the records they have in their databases.

Soldiers Personal Files

All British soldiers who served in the 1914-18 Great War had a personal file. Around half of these personal files were destroyed in the first German air-raid on London in the Second World War on the night of 7th/8th September 1940. The records that survived the Second World War were released to the UK National Archives: The Public Record Office at Kew in November 1996. Their website can be found at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/. The original documents are now so fragile that only microfilm is available for inspection and whether an individual soldier’s file has survived is entirely random.

Officers’ files had a higher survival rate and about 216,000 were released to the National Archives in February 1998. The criteria for release were that the officer had served in the British Army between 1914 and 1920 and that he had left the Army before 31st March 1922. It is often possible to locate an officer’s file on line, by typing the surname into the National Archives Catalogue accompanied by a record class number. Officers’ files are mostly contained in record series WO 339 or WO 374 (especially Territorial Officers).

The Medal Index and Medal Rolls

Besides a soldier’s (or officer’s) personal file the other major source of information is the Medal Card Index, also in the National Archives. This is the most complete listing of British service personnel in the First World War. The National Archives has now completed the digitizing of the Medal Index. The on-line version is available at http://www.documentson-line.nationalarchives.gov.uk/default.asp

Most soldiers who served with the British Army in the 1914-18 Great War qualified for campaign medals, normally the 1914 (or 1914-15) Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. The Army Medals Office recorded soldiers’ medal entitlement in lists known as rolls. The Index Card available on line provides the reference to where the soldier is listed on the Rolls, which are organised by regiment or corps. The information found on the Medal Card will include the soldier’s name, rank and serial number, his regiment or corps, sometimes his unit (e.g. battalion or Field Company RE), his date of death (if he died during the war), the campaign medals he was awarded and the reference numbers that allow the soldier to be traced on the Medal Rolls, which are not available on line.

It is important to check the actual Medal Rolls because they can give extra vital information about a soldier, such as his battalion, that allows further research to be undertaken. This is particularly true of soldiers who served in the cavalry, yeomanry and infantry, but much less so for the larger corps, such as the Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers and Army Service Corps.

Unit War Diaries

Once a soldier’s unit has been identified it is possible to find out more about it. All units from battalion level (and the battalion’s equivalent in other corps, such as a Field Artillery Brigade) upwards were required to keep War Diaries on active service. These diaries are preserved in the National Archives: The Public Record Office, Kew, in record series WO 95. War Diaries rarely mention ordinary soldiers, but they do provide a detailed account of the unit’s movements and activities.

Regimental Histories

Nearly all infantry regiments and battalions have published histories. These can usually be purchased through that Regiment’s PRI or through most reputable bookshops. On-line bookshops such as Amazon will also have these available.

We hope that the information contained within this article has been of assistance and will help you trace the records of the soldier you are interested in. If you feel that we can be of assistance please email us at inthefootsteps@btinternet.com and we will try to help. Please bear in mind however our opening paragraph, as our resources are limited and we are conscious that our best is often very slow and not always conclusive.

Ian R Gumm

at Willowmead

20th January 2007

In the footsteps BATTLEFIELD TOURS SERVICE

If you are interested in following “in the footsteps” of an ancestor, relative or particular unit we can put together a bespoke battlefield tour proposal for your consideration. The proposal is without obligation as we do not undertake any preparatory work until an order is received.

We also offer a range of commemorative certificates that can be purchased from our website. These decorative certificates are designed to commemorate the military service of service personnel in a readily displayable format, they are not meant to be facsimiles of official documents.

Visit our website at In the footsteps BATTLEFIELD TOURS for further details.



By: Ian R Gumm

About the Author:

ARLINE

MsG asked:


I am a researcher who has been trying to find information on a civilian army employee in WWII, especially during the Berlin Airlift (1948-1949). He was a welder from the midwest who took apart large equipment so it could be flown oversees, reassembled so bases could be built. I have contacted NARA, the welding associations, the equipment suppliers of that time, ancestry.com and even have a letter into NARA’s civilian personnel records dept (no response yet). All sources that mention him are vague and redundant. We want to find the man or his family for his story. Looking for new ideas…

LYRIC

SAMUEL B asked:


His full name is PVT. Forman J. Outcalt he is suppose to be buried in plot(L) in a cemetary for US soldiers on Manila Island his mother is Annie Outcalt his father is Forman James Outcalt his mothers maiden name is Clark the soldiers home of record is Newark NJ. he had 5 more brothers and 7 sisters one of his sisters is my mother Mary Etta Outcalt born 3/3/1918 in Newark NJ. All 6 brothers served in the armed forces of the US. the deceased service number is 421-44-573. I would very much love to see where my uncle is buried before I’m dead I myself served in the US Army and was disabled during active service. Thank you for any assistance in this matter

RUSS

Michael asked:


He served in WW2 in the Army where he died right after the D-Day Invasion. I would like very much to get his military records and all his honors that were instilled upon him and his actions. This man was my Great Uncle. This is important.

HOLIDAY

Do you think is okay for what I have in my bedroom? Computer, Tv with Direct TV, 3 swords, futon(no bed and I sleep on the futon in couch form), a signed guitar from AC/DC, signed guitar from Rolling Stones, my Grandpa’s gun from WWII, my Dad’s ashes, my Dad’s army uniform, and a few other things.
Do you think these are okay things that are in my room?
By the way, I’m 14.

By: Cathy W

About the Author:

TASHA