Pakistan Civil War News Updates -- October 22, 2009

Police in Islamabad investigate the site where gunmen ambushed a military jeep, killing a brigadier and another solider. Photograph: Farooq Naeem/AFP/Getty Images

Pakistan’s Frankenstein -- Newsweek

Pakistan has quietly accommodated militant groups within its borders for years. Now they're coming to life, and they're ugly.

Armed violence is now flaring on several fronts in Pakistan: the government is fighting the Taliban in the West, militant groups in the Punjab region are collaborating on attacks in the East, and everyday Pakistanis are caught in the middle. And in Washington, President Barack Obama is deciding whether to escalate the war next door in Afghanistan. To make sense of the increasingly perilous situation, NEWSWEEK's Andrew Bast talked to former CIA officer Bruce Riedel, who is now a senior fellow at the Saban Center, part of the nonprofit Brookings Institution. Excerpts:

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More News On Pakistan

Pakistan braces for attacks as offensive continues -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Pakistan Continues Waziristan Offensive, Closes Schools -- Voice of America
Militants recapture strategic town in S Waziristan -- Press TV
Pakistan attacks Taliban bases near Afghan border -- National Post
24 militants killed in Pakistan's tribal area operation -- China View
South Waziristan fighting kills 25 militants -- Dawn
FACTBOX: The battle in Pakistan's South Waziristan -- Reuters

Senior Army Officer Killed in Islamabad -- Time Magazine/AP
Army brigadier, soldier killed in Pakistan capital -- Yahoo News/AP
Gunmen kill brigadier in Islamabad attack -- Yahoo News/AFP
Pakistani Brigadier Assassinated in the Capital -- New York Times

Pakistan Finds Local Allies Against Ferocious Foe -- New York Times
Al Qaeda commander reported killed in US airstrike -- Long War Journal
Islamabad dismayed by 'dithering' US -- Asia Times
Private Pakistani delegation lands in Washington -- The Cable/Foreign Policy
Pakistan releases army footage -- BBC
Pakistan’s Second Front -- Newsweek
SCENARIOS - Pakistan's offensive against the Taliban -- Reuters
Pakistan Fights Back -- David Ignatius, Washington Post opinion
Why would the Taliban attack an Islamic university? -- Long War Journal

In pictures: Waziristan war exodus -- BBC