Karachi Strikes Signal a New Cycle of Regional Violence

Two days after a team of Taliban rebels stormed Pakistan's largest civilian airport and killed 36 people, a second team struck the same facility. This time they specifically targeted a training facility belonging to the country's Airport Security Force. 

 

The attacks in Karachi are the first assaults on a civilian airport since the jihadist insurgency broke out nearly eight years ago. The Taliban are trying to expand their offensive, and the attacks were something of a strategic success, accentuating international worries about security in Pakistan. However, the attacks revealed a lack of tactical sophistication — in fact, they were tactical failures. Far from intimidating Islamabad and forcing Pakistan to negotiate on the Taliban's terms, the attacks will invite a higher-pitched military response on Taliban positions in North Waziristan and in Karachi. 

 

Most important, a major offensive built on a weak intelligence foundation against the Taliban will lead to greater violence in the coming weeks and months. Fighting will spill into neighboring Afghanistan, where NATO forces will draw down by the end of the year.