Pakistan closes on Taliban hideouts

Washington Post:

Pakistani soldiers surrounded militant hideouts and seized heavy weapons in the Taliban-riddled hills of South Waziristan on Monday, military officials said.

On the third day of a major ground and air offensive to root out Islamist insurgents, officials said, the army faced pockets of stiff resistance that included rocket fire. But they said they were making progress, killing 18 fighters in a tribal region that Pakistan says is home to plotters of a recent series of deadly domestic assaults. The United States considers South Waziristan a haven for militants attacking international forces in Afghanistan and planning attacks overseas.

"The government has a strong resolve to wipe out terrorism from this area," Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira told journalists in Islamabad, the capital. "These terrorists are a threat to national and international peace."

Two Pakistani soldiers were killed as forces pushed further into the semi-autonomous border area, bringing the total killed since Saturday to nine, military officials said.

One tribal elder in the area with ties to the Taliban, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said 20 insurgents had been killed during the three-day offensive, not 78, as the military claimed. Neither account could be independently verified because entrance to the area and many nearby towns is blocked.

In Islamabad, Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander for the region, and Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) held separate meetings with Pakistani military and civilian leaders to discuss the operation. They were also attempting to ease concerns over a U.S. aid package that the Pakistani military has criticized as undue meddling in internal Pakistani affairs.

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I would feel better if Kerry was as far away from the region as possible. I have a very low regard for his judgment on military and foreign affairs, and his performance through the years has justified that low regard. Get him out of there and let Petraeus do his job and help the Pakistan army make good decisions. If Kerry stays in the war zone too long he will be angling for a medal or at least some other heroic designation.

The story does reveal some of the strategy for the Pakistan army. They will take the high ground around the Taliban bases and conduct siege operations to defeat them or compel their surrender.