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Konflikt in Nordwest-Pakistan

2007-05-16T19:20:16Z

Colin 8:

{{Infobox War
|image=
|caption=
|conflict=Waziristan Conflict
|partof= the [[War on Terrorism]]
|date=[[March 2004]]–[[September 2006]]
|place=[[Waziristan]], [[Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan]]
|result=Waziristan tribesmen remain in power; tactical Waziristan victory. [[Waziristan Accord]] ends conflict.<ref name = "MSNBC">[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16191502/ ''A journey to the heart of Taliban country''], December 13, 2006</ref>
|combatant1=[[Image:Flag of Pakistan (bordered).svg|22px]] [[Pakistan]]
|combatant2=[[Islamic Emirate of Waziristan]], [[Image:Flag_of_Jihad.svg|22px]] [[al-Qaeda]], [[Image:Flag_of_Taliban (bordered).svg|22px]] [[Taliban]], [[Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan]]
|commander1= Commander XI Corps
|commander2=[[Haji Omar]], [[Abu Faraj al-Libbi]](captured), [[Tohir Yo‘ldosh]]
|strength1=80,000<ref>[http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2369400 Recent Developments in Waziristan] — [[The Jamestown Foundation]] Volume 3, Issue 5 (March 11, 2005), [http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0908/p01s04-wosc.html In border zone, Pakistan backs off from Taliban], [http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6054687,00.html Guardian Unlimited] </ref>
|strength2=40,000<ref>[http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/HE20Df02.html Taliban's new commander ready for a fight By Syed Saleem Shahzad] May 20, 2006 — [[Asia Times Online]] and [http://billroggio.com/archives/2006/05/fighting_in_afghanis.php The Fourth Rail] — A renowned [[weblog]]. (Breakup of the strength per sources in both north and south waziristan: N. Waziristan: 27,000 S. Waziristan: 13,000)</ref>
|casualties1=700<ref name="Casualties">
{{cite news
| title = Pakistan militant battles rage, 114 killed
| first =
| last =
| publisher = AFP
| url = http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070321/wl_sthasia_afp/pakistanafghanistan
| date = 2007-03-21
| accessdate = 2007-04-12
}}
</ref> - 3,000<ref>Tony Blankley, "A battle lost in the war on terror" [[The Washington Times]] September 27, 2006. Syndicated in [http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TonyBlankley/2006/09/27/a_battle_lost_in_the_war_on_terror Townhall]</ref> Pakistan [[military]] and [[paramilitary]] killed
|casualties2=1,000<ref>[http://pakobserver.net/200606/26/Articles02.asp?txt=Pacifying%20Waziristan Pacifying Waziristan by Muhammad Munir]</ref> - 3,000<ref name="Casualties"/> [[militant]]s killed, 2,500 foreign suspects captured (released)<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/15/wpak15.xml |title= US outraged as Pakistan frees Taliban fighters |publisher=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |author=Isambard Wilkinson |date=2006-09-15}}</ref>
}}
{{Campaignbox Waziristan}}
The '''Waziristan conflict''' ([[2004]]–[[2006]]) was an armed conflict that began in 2004 when tensions rooted in the [[Pakistani Army]]'s search for [[al-Qaeda]] members in [[Pakistan]]'s mountainous [[Waziristan]] area (the [[Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan|Federally Administered Tribal Areas]]) escalated into armed resistance by local [[tribe]]smen. Clashes erupted between the Pakistani troops — who were frequently assisted by US [[air strikes]] — and al-Qaeda [[militants]] joined by local [[rebel]]s and pro-[[Taliban]] forces. The struggle was seen as a part of the [[War on Terrorism]], and had connections to the [[Taliban insurgency]] in [[Afghanistan]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Killing scares media away from Waziristan|url= http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0622/p07s02-wosc.html|publisher=[[Christian Science Monitor]]|date= 2006-06-22|author=David Montero}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Pakistan attacks Waziristan compound|url= http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/A3F4A06C-F161-4FF0-B2AB-5F8800A24E36.htm |publisher=[[Al Jazeera]]|date=2006-03-16}}</ref>

On [[September 5]] [[2006]], it was announced that the Pakistan government and pro-Taliban tribes signed a [[peace agreement]] in which the tribes agreed to expel foreign militants and cease cross-border attacks in exchange for a reduced presence of Pakistani troops.<ref>{{cite news|title= Pakistan 'Taleban' in peace deal|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5315564.stm|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=2006-11-05}}</ref>

== Timeline ==
===Initial troop movements – July 2002===
In July [[2002]], Pakistani troops entered the [[Tirah|Tirah Valley]] in the [[Khyber Agency]] for the first time since [[independence]] in [[1947]]. They proceeded to move into the [[Shawal Valley]] of [[North Waziristan]], and later [[South Waziristan]]. This was made possible after long negotiations with various tribes, who reluctantly agreed to allow the military's presence on the assurance that it would bring in funds and development work.

However, once the military action started in South Waziristan a number of Waziri sub-tribes viewed the action as an attempt to subjugate them. As attempts to persuade them to hand over the foreign militants failed, and missteps by the authorities increased feelings of ill-will, the security campaign against suspected al-Qaeda militants turned into an undeclared war in [[2004]] between the Pakistani military and the rebel tribesmen.

===Waziri attempts on President Musharraf's life – December 2003===
In December [[2003]], two [[assassination]] attempts against President [[Pervez Musharraf]] were traced to Waziristan. The government responded by intensifying military pressure on the area, however the fighting was costly and government forces would sustain heavy casualties throughout 2004 and into early 2005 when the government switched to a tactic of negotiation instead of direct conflict.<ref name=rohde>{{cite news | title = Al Qaeda Finds Its Center of Gravity | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/10/weekinreview/10rohde.html | first = David | last = Rohde | publisher = New York Times | date = [[2006-09-10]] | accessdate = 2006-09-12 }}</ref>

===Fighting breaks out – March 2004===
In March 2004, heavy fighting broke out at Azam Warsak, near the South Waziristan town of [[Wana]]. Pakistani troops faced an estimated 400 militants holed up in several fortified settlements. It was speculated at the time that [[Osama bin Laden]]'s deputy [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]] was among those trapped by the Pakistani Army, but he either escaped or was never among these fighters.

In April of 2004 the [[Government of Pakistan]] signed the first of three truce agreements with militants in South Waziristan. The second was signed in February 2005. The first two truces would not have a substantial effect in reducing bloodshed.<ref name=rohde />

* On [[May 4]], [[2005]], Pakistani commandos captured [[Abu Faraj al-Libbi]] after a raid outside the town of [[Mardan]], 30 miles north of Peshwar. Abu Farraj al-Libbi was a high ranking al-Qaeda official, rumored to be third after Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. Al-Libbi replaced [[Khalid Shaikh Mohammed]] after his arrest in March of 2003 in connection with the [[September 11, 2001 attacks|September 11th attacks]]. The Pakistani government arrested al-Libbi and held him on charges in relation to being a chief planner in two assassination attempts on the life of President Pervez Musharraf in December 2003.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-05-04-pakistan-arrest_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA |title=Pakistan reports arrest of Osama bin Laden's operations chief | author=John Diamond | publisher=USA Today | date=2005-05-04}}</ref>

* On [[January 13]], [[2006]], the U.S. launched an [[Damadola airstrike|airstrike on the village of Damadola]]. The attack occurred in the [[Bajaur]] tribal area, about 7 km (4.5 miles) from the Afghan border, and killed at least 18 people. The attack again targeted Ayman al-Zawahiri, but later evidence suggests he was not there. [[DNA analysis]] showed that at least five high-ranking al-Qaeda foreigners were killed, including [[Midhat Mursi]], a bomb building expert, for whom a $5 million award was offered.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}

* On [[March 4]], [[2006]], Pakistani forces started a massive assault on pro-Taliban elements in the region. Pakistani officials said 46 militants and five soldiers died after fighting erupted, although some reports put the death toll at over 70.{{Fact|date=March 2007}}

* On [[June 21]], [[2006]], pro-Taliban militants in the [[Bannu]] region of North Waziristan stated they shot down a military [[helicopter]] that was reported to have crashed. The government denied missile fire as the cause, stating it was due to technical faults. On the same day militants killed an [[inspector]] and two [[constable]]s on a road connecting Bannu and the main town of [[Miranshah]]; the [[police]] officers were reportedly [[ambush]]ed and killed while praying along side their vehicle.<ref>{{cite news | title = 'Policemen killed' in Waziristan | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5104784.stm | publisher = BBC News | date = [[2006-06-22]] | accessdate = 2006-08-07 }}</ref>

===Ceasefire - June 2006===

Also on [[June 21]], [[2006]] the military head of the Taliban in Waziristan, [[Sirajuddin Haqqani]], issued a decree that it was no longer Taliban policy to fight the Pakistan Army. This marked the end of significant fighting in South Waziristan, however the Taliban intentionally did not circulate the decree in North Waziristan thereby keeping pressure on the Government as the terms for a comprensive accord were worked out.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dawn.com/2006/06/23/top2.htm|title=Forces, militants heading for truce|publisher=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]|date=2006-06-22}}</ref>

* On [[June 26]], [[2006]], a [[suicide bomber|suicide car bomb]]er killed nine Pakistani soldiers. Officials say that the explosives-laden vehicle detonated about six kilometres (four miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan region.<ref>{{cite news | title = 'Suicide attack' on Pakistan army | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5117472.stm | publisher = BBC News | date = [[2006-06-26]] | accessdate = 2006-08-07 }}</ref>

=== Waziristan peace accord signed – September 2006===
On [[September 5]] [[2006]], the [[Waziristan Accord]], an agreement between tribal leaders and the Pakistani government was signed in Miranshah, North Waziristan.<ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154525988190&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Pakistan, Taliban militants sign peace agreement]</ref> to end all fighting. The agreement includes the following provisions:<ref>[http://www.dawn.com/2006/09/06/top2.htm Waziristan accord signed]</ref>

* The Pakistani Army will help reconstruct infrastructure in tribal areas of North and South Waziristan.
* The Pakistani Military will not tolerate any assistance to intruders in North Waziristan, and will monitor actions in the region.
* The Pakistan government is to compensate tribal leaders for the loss of life and property of innocent tribesmen.
* “Foreigners” (a euphemism for al-Qaeda and other foreign [[jihad]]ists{{Fact|date=February 2007}}) are not allowed to use Pakistani territory for any terrorist activity anywhere in the world.
* 2,500 foreigners who were originally held on suspicion of having links to al-Qaeda or the Taliban<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/15/wpak15.xml US outraged as Pakistan frees Taliban fighters] - [[Daily Telegraph]]</ref> were to be detained for necessary action against them.


The agreement, dubbed the Waziristan accord, has been viewed by some political commentators as a success for Pakistan.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Sep13/0,4670,PakistanTruceorSurrenderLH1,00.html Some See Pakistan's Truce As a Defeat] - [[Fox news]]</ref> Further details of the agreement, as well as comments on the agreement made by US, Pakistani, and Taliban spokesmen is available in the Waziristan accord article.

== Casualties ==
There has been no conclusive reports on the casualties of the war, though some authors, especially Pakistani writers, have estimated that the total casualties on both sides to be more than 1,000.<ref>[http://pakobserver.net/200606/26/Articles02.asp?txt=Pacifying%20Waziristan Pacifying Waziristan by Muhammad Munir]</ref> Some have speculated that the unofficial number of Pakistani soldiers [[killed in action]] to be somewhere around 3,000.<ref>[http://billroggio.com/archives/2006/09/the_fall_of_wazirist.php The Fall of Waziristan: An Online History]</ref><ref>[http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/56510.aspx Waziristan: Terror Haven for Jihadists? by Erick Stakelbeck] November 15, 2006 [[Christian Broadcasting Network|CBN news]]</ref>

A Pakistan writer, [[Ayaz Amir]] states that the army's "Casualties were high, perhaps unsustainable, although we’ll never know the exact figures, the Pakistan army not given to embarrassing disclosures."<ref>[http://www.dawn.com/weekly/ayaz/20060915.htm War and peace, army style] - September 15, 2006 [[Dawn (newspaper)]]</ref> [[Imran Khan]], leader of a Pakistani oppositional political party stated: "Waziristan has been a disaster; there’s been a disgraceful withdrawal from there. The Pakistan Army has been defeated."<ref>[http://www.timesnow.tv/articleshow/1967818.cms Imran Khan: Musharraf is Bush's poodle] September 08, 2006 [[Times Now]]</ref>

According to ''AFP'' in 2007, around 700 soldiers and 1,000 militants have died in the operations. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070321/wl_sthasia_afp/pakistanafghanistan]

==Role of the United States in the conflict==

Pakistan received about $4 billion from the [[United States]] for the [[logistic]]al support it provided for the [[counter-terrorism]] operations from 2002 to 2006, and for its own military operation mainly in Waziristan and other tribal areas along the [[Durand line]], according to a report of the [[Asian Development Bank]]. The [[Bush administration]] also offered a $3 billion five-year aid package to Pakistan for becoming a frontline ally in its 'war on terror'. Annual instalments of $600 million each split evenly between military and economic aid, began in 2005.<ref name=1billion>{{Cite web| url=http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.359974956&par=0 | title=Pakistan: $1 billion from U.S. to fight terror | publisher=Aki/[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]] | date=2006-11-14 | accessdate=2006-11-24}}</ref>

The Islamist in Waziristan views Musharraf as American puppet and traitor of Islam like former Egyptian President, Anwar Sadat.In his [[autobiography]], President Musharraf wrote that the [[CIA]] had paid millions of dollars to the Pakistan government as [[bounty]] money for capturing al-Qaeda operators from tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. About 359 of them were handed over to the United States.<ref name=1billion />

==See also==
* [[Islamic Emirate of Waziristan]]
* [[Wana conflict]]
* [[Taliban insurgency]]
* [[War on Terrorism]]

== References ==

{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3645114.stm Pakistan's undeclared war] by Zaffar Abbas, [[BBC News]], Friday, 10 September, 2004
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4774762.stm Dozens killed in Pakistan clashes], [[BBC News]], Friday, 5 March, 2006
* [http://www.historyguy.com/waziristan_war.html A brief description of the Waziristan War which began in 2004 in Northwest Pakistan.] From the History Guy Website

{{War on Terrorism}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waziristan}}

[[Category:Al-Qaeda activities]]
[[Category:Civil wars]]
[[Category:Guerrilla wars]]
[[Category:Waziristan]]
[[Category:Wars involving Pakistan]]

[[cy:Rhyfel Wasiristan]]
[[nl:Oorlog in Waziristan]]
[[ja:ワジリスタン戦争]]

Schlacht um Huế

2006-12-05T20:59:11Z

Colin 8: internal links

{{linkless|November 2006}}
With the beginning of the [[Tet Offensive]] on January 30, 1968, the Vietnamese lunar New Year, American forces had been committed to endless combat upon South Vietnamese soil for almost three years. The Communist offensive was carried out through main-force and guerrilla tactics upon more than forty province capitals, cities, and military installations throughout [[South Vietnam]]. [[North Vietnamese Army]] (NVA) General [[Vo Nguyen Giap]], who was the chief architect of the [[Viet Minh]] victory over the French at [[Dien Bien Phu]] in 1954, planned it. During the offensive one city stood out among the others as the scene of the bloodiest battle of the offensive and of one of the longest and bloodiest of the War: [[Hue]].

== Hue's History and Strategic Value ==
Hue was the imperial capital of [[Vietnam]] when the nation was one, and later with the division of the country, the capital of Thau Thien Province. [1] Since the city was a symbol of Vietnamese culture and religion for more than a century, its defeat through the hands of the NVA could bring about an end to the War. General [[William Westmoreland]] summed-up the city’s strategic value as follows: “Taking it would have a profound psychological impact on the Vietnamese in both the North and the South and in the process the North Vietnamese might seize the two northern provinces as bargaining points in any negotiations".[2]

Hue was a city of historical, religious, and cultural value, primarily known for the Citadel, Imperial Palace, and the Forbidden City. Highway One passed through the city and over the [[Perfume River]] (the river ran through the city dividing it into both northern and southern areas) creating a supply line from the coastal city of [[Da Nang]] to the DMZ for the Allied forces. Hue was also a base for [[U.S. Navy]] supply boats. The city, considering its value, should have therefore been well-defended, fortified, and prepared for the Communist offensive but it was actually poorly defended and unprepared for the twenty-five-day battle that was fought throughout its buildings and streets. Hue's only defenders at the opening of the battle were a reserve battalion of Brigadier General Ngo Quang Truong's First South Vietnamese Division with their headquarters in the Citadel, and a few U.S. military advisers.

== The Fighting ==
The battle began with the attack of two battalions from the NVA Sixth Regiment upon the western bank of the fortress-like Citadel located on the northern side of the city. A simultaneous attack by the NVA Sixth Regiment was also launched on Hue's headquarters of the U.S. [[Military Assistance Command Vietnam]] (MACV) Compound on the southern side of the city near Highway One. [3] Upon their initial success the North Vietnamese turned Hue's formidable Imperial Palace into their central command post.

A few hours after the attack, one company of [[U.S. Marines]] were sent from the U.S. Marine Command at Phu Bai, approximately ten miles southeast of Hue; eventually the total Allied commitment amounted to three understrength marine battalions, six [[U.S. Army]] battalions, and eleven South Vietnamese battalions. The Allies original battle plan was for the U.S. forces to retake the southern area of Hue that included the MACV Compound, while the South Vietnamese cleared the northern area of Hue above the Perfume River that included the Citadel, Imperial Palace, and the inner Forbidden City, but as the battle progressed the Marine and Army Airborne battalions were in the midst of the fighting at the Citadel and Imperial Palace as well. Over the course of the battle street-to-street and house-to-house fighting was continuous claiming numerous Allied and NVA casualties. Due to Hue's religious and cultural status, Allied forces were ordered not to bomb or shell the city, for fear of destroying the historic structures but as the intensity of the battle increased, the policy was eliminated. [4]

As the fighting was coming to an end, the looting in Hue increased (the majority was carried out by the South Vietnamese, although U.S. forces also took part on a smaller scale) and an ugly incident occurred between several Marines and South Vietnamese law. After the Marines had fought their way through the southern area of Hue they crossed the Perfume River and proceeded to raise an American flag. But, shortly thereafter were ordered to lower their' flag, for in accordance with South Vietnamese law, no U.S. flag was permitted to be flown without an accompanying South Vietnamese flag. [5] The Marines objected to this law and threatened to shoot a few American Army officers who were instructed to take down the flag, but the grunts eventually took it down themselves under an order from their superior officer. The battle finally ended on February 24 and the elite Black Panther Company of the First South Vietnamese Division tore down the NVA's flag, which had flown since the battle's start on January 31.

== Aftermath ==
The Battle of Hue was costly not only in the lives of its combatants, more than 5,000 NVA, 1,000 Americans, and over 2,000 South Vietnamese, but was also costly in civilian lives. In the battle's aftermath, South Vietnamese and American soldiers unearthed numerous shallow mass graves inside the city and on its outskirts containing the bodies of approximately 2,800 people killed by the NVA and their systematic way of eliminating those who were considered as a threat to Communist victory, although it has been stated that a South Vietnamese intelligence unit may have killed some of these victims who were said to have aided the enemy. But, perhaps Hue’s aftermath can best be described by a Marine Captain Myron Harrington who commanded a one-hundred-man company during the battle: “Did we have to destroy the town in order to save it”? [6]

Militarily, Hue was considered an Allied victory, for the NVA forces (ultimately numbering more than a full division) were driven from the city, but from the opinion of the American public, Hue was the beginning of the end. From this time forward the American people became disgusted with sending their teen-age boys and men off to die in Vietnam, and during the next five years American involvement slowly but steadily decreased until 1973 when the last American troops left Vietnam only to see their sacrifices end in utter disaster two years later.

== Notes ==
*1. Dougan and Weiss, ''The Vietnam Experience: Nineteen Sixty-Eight'' (1983), p. 24.
*2. Dougan and Weiss, ''The Vietnam Experience: Nineteen Sixty-Eight'' (1983), p. 24.
*3. Dougan and Weiss, ''The Vietnam Experience: Nineteen Sixty-Eight'' (1983), p. 26.
*4. Oberdorfer, ''Tet!'' (1971), p. 218.
*5. Nolan, ''Battle For Hue; Tet, 1968'' (1983), p. 76.
*6. Karnow, ''Vietnam, A History: The First Complete Account of Vietnam at War'', p. 534.

== References ==
*Dougan, Clark, Weiss, Stephen, and the Editors of Boston Publishing Company. The Vietnam Experience: Nineteen Sixty-Eight. Boston: Boston Publishing Company,1983.
*Karnow, Stanley. Vietnam, A History: The First Complete Account of Vietnam at War. New York: The Viking Press, 1983.
*Nolan, Keith William. Battle For Hue; Tet, 1968. Novato: Presidio Press, 1983.
*Oberdorfer, Donald. Tet! Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1971.

== Internal Links ==
[[Vietnam War]] [[Tet Offensive]] [[Vietnam War (lists)]]