Pakistan Versus Taliban, Round Two

Today’s lead article in The New York Times is titled, “Pakistani Forces Prepare to Fight Taliban in Valley.” It describes a new effort by the Pakistani Army to fight the Taliban in the Swat Valley.

The new fight comes after a peace accord, largely ceding the Valley to the Taliban and allowing the setup of Shariah courts to enforce Islamic law. But the Taliban took advantage of the truce to infiltrate additional regions, raising alarm from both the central Pakistani government and the United States.

A recent video showing the flogging of a young Pakistani women by the Taliban has become a public relations disaster for them. But perhaps the most important lesson of recent events involves the futility of trying to appease evil.

Just as appeasement failed to prevent World War II, appeasement of the Taliban will not result in a lasting peace for Pakistan. Apparently, the Pakistani government now realizes this immutable fact.

The success of the new offensive by the Pakistani Army remains to be seen. The United States remains deeply unpopular in the region, but the unpopularity of the Taliban is growing,  too. One can only hope that the local population will soon see where their true interests lie.