There too existed Ghauri, Ghaznawi Abdali – who passed over the country before 1947.

The reality is that, the latter set has been very much with Pakisthan. Did I err too much in talking a little of the former set as Pakisthan ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM1BG_NnHaA

However, the fact that Sufi Mohammad’s first name is “Sufi” is a hint of nothing other than his first name is Sufi. His name has no relation to Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam. Sufism’s tradition of thinkers and intellects is in direct opposition to the backwards, primitive beliefs of Sufi Mohammad and his followers. As a matter of fact, religious fundamentalists have been bombing and capturing the tombs of Sufis.

Pakistan’s future, religiously speaking, lies with Sufi Islam.

Pakisthan had a culture before Islamic invasions, until about 1947 they had a fairly mixed population.

There was no country called “Pakistan” before 1947.

I can see why a person might see this a homogeneous problem between Pakistan and Afghanistan. If understand your meaning it is not, except for some common traits.

Gen. David H. Petraeus in recently testimony said that the Pakistan Army is ill suited to doing counter-insurgency work as they are configured for a conflict with India.

Petraeus requested congressional support for the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund, a new, more-flexible spending stream that would permit more rapid and targeted U.S. training and provide more equipment to Pakistani forces that combat insurgents inside the country’s lawless tribal regions.

I don’t see how training the Pakistan military, which we have been doing for years, on counter-insurgency will have a long term benefits, when certain factions of the ISI and military are aligned with the “Taliban”.

What I don’t see happening is the co-ordination required between the Pakistan Army and the “Mult-national” and Afghan forces along with US foreign policy getting in sync.

Here is another excellent article :

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/04/27/farrukh-rehan-denial-istan.aspx

As the article says, there is a distinction between the Arabic version of taliban and Pakisthani culture. Pakisthan had a culture before Islamic invasions, until about 1947 they had a fairly mixed population. Thus it is not at all surprising to find a fine, and popular singer in Pakisthan, something that may as well become part of tumultuous history of Pakistan, if Taliban takes over Pakisthan until 2047.

Unfortunately however, nothing worked in Pakisthan as much as some existential grievance vis-a-vis India or hindus. It didn’t have to be this way, but grievance and imagination of the absolute has been cheap and has almost been institutionalized. Tremendous investment has gone into this to prop up this clouds, and each time it rises like a Ghost. It will do so in future too. Benzir Bhutto was not even so good in her first term, as she is in her death.

I’ve posted on justsaynodeal.com (with a slightly edited title

Cheers to Larry, Susan & the rest of the crew @ No Quarter!

“is to pressurize the Pakistani government to support the locals against the Taliban.”

But have we seen any evidence that the Pakistani government is willing to do that?

From the little I’ve been able to draw out from the scanty reports is that the Pakistani government sent in the “Frontier troops,” poorly armed and not exactly thrilled to go into battle. And I’ve heard mixed reports that the Taliban retreated back to the Swat Valley, but that they still have several hundred men patrolling the Bruner area and are systematically and deliberately intimidating the locals.

It all seems like a tepid response to say the least. Added to that, I’ve read that the Pakistani army itself has been infiltrated with Taliban sympathizers, that the Taliban in the Swat Valley, something in the 6-8000 range, is less a raucous bunch of discontents then an army of ex-Pakistani military types, retired officers and hardened fighting men from surrounding countries. These guys mean business, mean, mean business. I don’t think the term “moderate” applies.

I’m beginning to feel Pakistan is the major front in this on-going battle, complicated by the fact that Pakistan is a nuclear nation. But then, Hillary Clinton predicted that Pakistan would be the major threat.

It’s a mess. And what’s the plan? I haven’t heard it yet.

For all our sake’s, I hope there is one!

I didn’t get the bigger concern part.

Our using Drones in Pakistan tribal areas forces the population right into the Taliban’s hands. They must be united against the foreigners that invade their lands, even if it is from Drones piloted from Nevada and missiles being fired without really knowing who is the target. We’ve sure made a mess of Iraq and Afghanistan, now on to Pakistan. The Iranians and Russians are laughing their asses off.

Therefore to be found in Pakistan are influences of all these but some are not in fashion. (British colonialism).There are peoples who practice a hybrid of Shamanism /islam to British educated elite.

I would not be looking at Arab influence so much as The Moghul traditions. The guy named Sufi is a also a hint.it would help to read up on Sufis.

This new Taliban may be funded by Saudis but the aim is Moghul. These guys are not old boring farts like OSL & Khaled but charismatic virile disciplined men with long wavy hair & rather attractive.

yeah Yeah = beat me up on this but it is a visually more attractive foe & they know Pakistan better than ll western experts & those fat puncy puffy pakistani men from Islamabad offices.