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Tag Archives: Pakistan

Tribes, the Taliban and the Death of Baitullah Mahsud

By Steven Pressfield | Published: August 17, 2009
I was very interested last week to see what would happen, in terms of leadership succession among the Pakistani Taliban, after the reputed death of Baitullah Mahsud. According to scores of press reports as well as Pakistani and Taliban spokesmen, the immediate aftermath was a shootout involving two rival successors, Hakimullah Mahsud and Wali ur-Rehman, [...]
Posted in Afghanistan, Editorial, On Tribalism | Also tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How We Got There: A Short Bibliography

By Steven Pressfield | Published: June 11, 2009
Below is a terrific mini-bibliography from guest blogger Jeremy Ward that takes us back to the genesis of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. In 2001, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, an extremely lean contingent of American forces–mostly CIA, SF and other special operators and intelligence specialists, backed up by U.S. air power–made their way into the [...]
Posted in Afghanistan, Book Review, Guest Blogger, On Tribalism | Also tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Sez Who? How This Thesis Came About

By Steven Pressfield | Published: June 9, 2009
Yesterday we talked about the idea that the real enemy in AfPak today is not militant Islam or jihadism or terrorism. It’s tribalism and the tribal mindset. Now: how did this thesis evolve? What’s the source? Upon what authority do I put this idea forward? It comes from my own research and study of history. For my [...]
Posted in Afghanistan, Editorial, News, On Tribalism, Related Article | Also tagged , , , | 1 Comment