Pakistan continues to be a difficult ally in the war on terror, particularly in the mountainous region of Waziristan, where pro-Taliban local tribes are still being accused of harboring Al-Qaeda terrorists since initial suspicions arose in 2004. Attempts by the Pakistan army (whose efforts are often accompanied by US air strikes) to infiltrate the difficult terrain in 2004 in search of al-Qaeda fugitives led to hostile opposition from the al-Qaeda sympathizing tribes which make up Waziristan’s indigenous population.

Despite the fact that a peace agreement was signed by both sides of the conflict on September 5, 2006, in which local tribes agreed to stop providing asylum to foreign al Qaeda militants in exchange for reduced Pakistani-American presence in the region, there still occurred deadly clashes on March 29 and April 13 of this year.

This time, however, the conflict was between Waziristan’s local militants and foreign militants of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. The Uzbek militant group is led by Tahir Yuldashev, who is tightly associated with Osama bin Laden according to BBC.

It appears, therefore, that Waziristan’s local tribes have decided to assist their former enemy, the US-supported Pakistan army, in the fight to protect their region’s borders from foreign militants, particularly those from Uzbekistan. Major General Gul Mohammad of the Pakistani Army has told the leading Pakistan newspaper, Daily Times, that the Ahmedzai Wazir tribesmen were pushing Uzbek militants past the Wana Valley and that the Pakistan Army hopes that the local population could eliminate foreign fighters within the region. So far, 300 people have been killed on both sides of the conflict, including some civilians, in the tribesmen’s efforts to remove the foreign militants. Moreover, the Pakistan army has sealed Waziristan’s frontier border. “No regular movement is taking place between South Waziristan and the Bermel area of Afghanistan,” said Muhammad to Daily Times, “If someone proves it with any satellite imagery, I am responsible. We have choked all main routes.”

The unlikely change of heart among the pro-Taliban local tribesmen towards the Uzbek militants appears to be a result of the fact that the Uzbek foreigners killed several members of their community while they were being sheltered in Waziristan and have also been involved in kidnapping and car-snatching incidents. While it is encouraging that the tribesmen are now siding with the Pakistan army against the Uzbek militants, it still remains uncertain whether they will be willing to cooperate in the future against pro-Taliban militants hailing from other locations, in spite of their promises in the recent September 5th agreement.

Furthermore, the Pakistan alliance with the US’ Global War on Terrorism after 9/11 has always been one of reluctance. According to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s autobiography, In the Line of Fire: A Memoir, then US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Hermitage hostilely threatened him to side with the US in the weeks following September 11. “Be prepared to be bombed. Be prepared to go back to the Stone Age,” Hermitage supposedly stated to Musharraf.

According to Stephen M. Walt, Professor of International Affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Pakistan is one of several countries which have decided to side with the US as a result of the US’ extreme coercion, or under the belief that they will gain economically as a result of such a powerful alliance.

“Other states have backed the U.S. because they agree that terrorism is a threat and because Washington has made it clear that neutrality is not an option, but also because they see the crisis as an opportunity to advance their own interests. Thus Russia has sought to strike a deal over missile defense and gain U.S. acquiescence to its own campaign against Islamic terrorists in Chechnya, Pakistan has gained important economic concessions, and Uzbekistan has bargained for a security guarantee. But [this] does not mean that [these] states are comfortable with U.S. power or that they agree with the United States on other issues.”

Mongolia is one such country which has sought economic gain through an alliance with the US by joining the Coalition of the Willing, which is a coalition of 30 countries which have agreed to help the US in its effort to liberate Iraq. So far the nation has sent a total of 120 troops to Iraq from its population of 2.5 million. President Bush thanked Mongolia for its paltry contribution of “fearless warriors” with $11 million as part of the White House’s “solidarity initiative.”

In addition, Musharraf has been suspected of actually abetting Taliban efforts within his country. Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused President Musharraf of letting Pakistan’s intelligence service, the ISI, turn a blind eye towards Taliban activities, and according to the Council on Foreign Relations, went so far as to say that he could give Musharraf the “telephone digits, address, and GPS digits” of Mullah Omar, a Taliban leader who has also been suspected of receiving safe haven within Pakistan’s borders. Musharraf refuted this assertion by stating with a disconcerting level of confidence that Mullah Omar never entered Pakistan after 1995 and that he is most likely hiding in the southern Afghanistan city of Kandahar, where he is supported by the local Pashtun population.

Nor has President Musharraf’s alliance with the US made him very popular with others among his constituents. So far, Musharraf has been the subject of many protests from Islamists within Pakistan, as well as the target in at least four assassination attempts.

All of these factors (the disingenuous motivation behind several countries’ support of the US, the precarious cooperation of Waziristan’s local tribesmen with the Pakistan army, as well as the uncertainty of President Musharraf’s trustworthiness concerning accusations of providing refuge to the Taliban in Pakistan) add up to prove that the base upon which the US is placing its support is extremely tenuous, with our security lying in the balance. Though the goal of proliferating the democratic values of freedom throughout the Middle Eastern region is a very altruistic one, the US should take pause when it realizes that it is actually resorting to bribes, threats and coercion to promote this ideal. In this case, ends cannot justify the means. These countries, as well as Pakistan, have to actually want the liberation that the US is so dearly sacrificing its resources to give them in order to make the attempt morally correct and worthwhile.