Pakistan Launches Full-Scale Offensive

[SIMPLYB1980]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/17/AR2009101700673.html

"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.

Pakistani officials said nearly 30,000 troops were deployed in the Taliban and al-Qaeda stronghold, from which militants have planned a two-week-long string of attacks against the nation's formidable security forces.

The assaults have killed nearly 200 people and have further destabilized a weak government that the United States has pressed to take a tougher stand against militancy. Now, with public alarm rising and winter snowfall approaching, Pakistani officials indicated they could wait no longer."