Pakistani volunteers remove a body from the Federal Investigation Agency building Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
From The Long War Journal:
Earlier, I noted that the Pakistani military’s lack of response to the assault on Army General Headquarters in Rawalpindi is going to have serious repercussions. A comment from a former Pakistani Army officer, passed along from my friend Ravi Rikhye at Orbat.com, drives the point home.
Read more ....
My Comment: The Long War Journal is very critical of the defense and response from the Pakistani military against this attack .... a point that I am "somewhat" in agreement with. But I think I do understand (a bit) on why the Pakistani military was caught flat-footed .... my explanation is that they were simply surprised.
It is easy to blame others, U.S. interference, corruption, lack of basic training, a lousy officer corp .... these are all valid points when it comes to analyzing why this attack could occur and be successful .... but still .... from my vantage point .... Pakistani forces were just simply surprised. Once they were able to assess the threat .... they were able to nullify it very quickly.
The key is .... has the Pakistani military learned it's lesson, and has the Pakistani Intelligence Services and the politicians that run the country appreciate the fact that the Taliban are now an existential threat to the Pakistani state. I guess the answer will be given to us in the next few days when the Pakistani military start its offensive against Taliban safe havens in the frontier regions of the country .... at least I hope that this answer will be given to us in the next few days.
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