Taliban Rift With Pakistan Tribes May Help U.S., Official Says
2008-10-30 16:57:34.720 GMT

By Jeff Bliss and Tony Capaccio
Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) — Taliban and al-Qaeda atrocities are
alienating tribesmen who live in northwest Pakistan, and this
rift may lead to more intelligence tips for the U.S. in a region
that’s become a safe haven for the Muslim extremists, a top Army
official said.
Taliban operatives are killing about 20 suspected western
sympathizers weekly, some by beheading, said Major General John
Custer, who oversees the training of Army intelligence analysts.
The barbarity is spurring some tribal chiefs to seek ways to
cooperate with the Pakistani army, a U.S. ally, in eliminating
the extremists.
Custer, 55, is the former intelligence chief for the U.S.
Central Command, which manages troops in a region including
Pakistan. He compared the change among the Pakistani tribes to
2006, when Sunni Muslims in Iraq’s Anbar province allied with the
U.S. to defeat al-Qaeda, helping stabilize a region that had been
among the country’s most violent.
“Now you see some of the tribals having a little bit of the
`Anbar Awakening”’ and “maybe working with the Pakistani
army,” Custer said in an interview during a spy technology
conference in Nashville.
U.S. intelligence officials say the tribal region is a
staging area for attacks on U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan
and for terrorist plots to be carried out in Western countries.
Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters fled to the region when the U.S.
invaded Afghanistan in 2001.

Predators, Spy Satellites

The U.S. has been flying unmanned planes known as Predators
into the tribal areas, using their remote-controlled missiles to
assassinate militant leaders, while pressuring Pakistan to
increase its military presence on the ground.
The Washington Post reported Oct. 23 that Pakistan plans to
arm tens of thousands of tribal militias, known as lashkars, to
fight the Taliban.
More tips from northwest Pakistan would boost an intense
U.S. and NATO intelligence-gathering effort that uses the
Predators and satellites to eavesdrop and take pictures.
Custer’s comments come as intelligence officials prepare a
National Intelligence Estimate that, according to media reports,
will say the situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating. Custer
said the press accounts don’t fit with what he’s seen in the
country.
In Afghanistan, “U.S. commanders have the situation in
hand,” he said. Yet, “you come back here and you’re convinced
that we’re going to be thrown into the sea.”
Custer said that, while he’s “optimistic” about U.S.
efforts in the region, the Pakistani army must be careful not to
launch an operation in the tribal area that could lead to many
casualties and a backlash.
The army “can very, very quickly alienate itself from the
general populace” with such attacks, Custer said.

–Editor: Bill Schmick, Laurie Asseo.