Pakistan edges towards Waziristan "Path to Salvation" (Final showdown with Taliban)

[Coventina]

Source: Reuters

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - More than a month has elapsed since Pakistan announced plans for an offensive on the Taliban stronghold in Waziristan, but security analysts doubt whether an all-out assault is as imminent as many people think.

Code-named Rah-e-Nejat, or "Path to Salvation", optimists hope the operation will demonstrate Pakistan's determination to push back the spread of Islamist militancy across the northwest and beyond by eliminating Pakistan's Public Enemy Number One: Baitullah Mehsud.

The head of the Pakistani Taliban and al Qaeda ally is holed up in his tribal lands in South Waziristan with an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 fighters.

Mehsud country is a maze of serrated ridges, dried out river beds and gullies ideal for guerrilla warfare.

The army's gone in before with limited success.

A campaign in 2005 was dubbed "Operation Enduring Failure" by a Pakistani magazine, as the iron-fisted tactics further alienated the recalcitrant tribes, the army suffered heavy casualties and ended up signing peace deals with militants.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSTRE56J2JU20090720

[timeforpeace]

1. As long as they all stay where we think they are, we're jake.