Before 9/11, the government of Pakistan supported the Taliban as they assumed control in Afghanistan. They quickly changed their allegiance, however, as the US prepared to go to war against the Taliban. Pakistan has received billions of dollars from the US as a supposed partner in the war on terrorism. The problem is that the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is a largely lawless frontier, and home to the Haqqani network. The Haqqani network is allied with the Taliban, and as the most experienced fighters in Afghanistan, they have been behind many of the boldest attacks against ISAF personnel. The Taliban also use Pakistan as a safe haven from which they come and go with impunity.  (Remember Cambodia in the Viet Nam War.)

 

On October 2, 2012, Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman because of her campaign against the destruction of girls schools in Pakistan. What an amazingly brave little girl to stand up against the Taliban at only 15 years old! She was airlifted to England for treatment, and is currently in intensive rehabilitation, but the Taliban still threaten to kill her and her father if they return to Afghanistan.  I remember interviewing Afghan girls who were going back to school after having been banned by the Taliban for six years. I have never met such eager students! They are part of the reason my son and his teams are sacrificing so much training Afghan Security forces, to give these girls a future. I will never forget their eager faces, and their hopes and dreams.