COIN: The Roads To VictoryNovember 9, 2011: Pakistan has undertaken an ambitious effort to build roads in the tribal territories. Ostensibly done for military reasons, to make it easier to get troops to areas where Islamic terror groups (especially the Taliban) like to hide out, there is also an economic benefit. Many farmers and herders in the tribal territories know that they can get higher prices for their crops and animals if they had a cost-effective way to move the goods. The roads make the farmers and herders wealthier. The Taliban don't like this, because one thing the country folk can buy is more guns, and trucks. This makes the non-radical tribesmen better able to defend themselves from the Taliban. Currently, the Islamic radicals use their militias to extort cash and services (meals and somewhere to live) from rural villagers. The wealthier tribes, usually because they have access to roads, can resist the Taliban. But in the roadless backcountry the Taliban tend to get their way. […]
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COUNTER-TERRORISM: The Roads To VictoryFrom Strategypage.com (SP)
