Big News in the Overseas Contingency Operation (Formerly known as the War on Terror): Pakistan Invades Tribal Areas to Clean Out Taliban/Al Queda

You might not have heard about it as most "reporters" seem more interested in the Balloon Boy hoax in Colorado!

Pakistan Launches Full-Scale Offensive
30,000 Troops Deploy In Militant Stronghold
By Karin Brulliard
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, October 18, 2009

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 17 -- The Pakistani military launched a major ground offensive Saturday in the insurgent haven of South Waziristan, starting a much-awaited fight that could define the nation's increasingly bloody domestic struggle against Islamist extremism.
...
After months of targeting South Waziristan with aerial strikes, Pakistani troops stormed the region from three sides, backed by jets and helicopter gunships, military officials said. A senior military official said soldiers were targeting areas held by the Mehsud tribe and expected to battle as many as 10,000 Taliban insurgents, bolstered by about 2,000 "foreign fighters." The official did not specify their origins.
...
But a victory in South Waziristan would hardly end Pakistan's militant scourge. Islamist insurgents have carved out other strongholds, such as in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, U.S. officials and Pakistani analysts have said.

"Something like this has to be sustained and not only go through North and South Waziristan, but, to be effective, it's got to eliminate the spaces where militants are able to flee," Hoffman said. "For Pakistan, unfortunately, it's just a starting point."

One other interesting paragraph from this story bears mentioning:

Although the Bush administration began the drone attacks, President Obama has authorized a sharp increase in the missile launches. U.S. intelligence officials have said that the CIA-directed attacks -- more than 40 this year -- have killed at least a dozen insurgent leaders.

Anyone remember this?

I guess Obama doesn't have any problem air raiding Pakistanis!