FATA/NWFP Maps

I suppose I should I have included maps of the region earlier.

Both maps are courtesy of the Longwar Journal.

The first map shows the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in gold, which is considered the Taliban's and al Qaeda's stronghold and the Northwest Frontier Province in purple, which contains a mish-mash of Taliban, al Qaeda, and other groups. About 3.5 million people live in the FATA and 21 million people live in the NWFP. Obviously the dominant religion is Islam and people speak Pashto (closer to Afghanistan) and Urdu (closer to Pakistan).

The second map shows the relative degree of control of each province (or agency in Pakistan-speak). Red indicates total Taliban control, but I would suggest that the gold areas should also be red. Pakistan operates the Frontier Corps (FC) in these areas, a sort of paramilitary security organization, to police the area. In reality, the FC chose to either (1) enforce the law and ultimately die by the hands of the Taliban, or (2) get on the Taliban's payroll and look the other way.

It's interesting (and frightening) to note that Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, is less than 50 miles from the red areas. If one were to make a map of Islamabad itself, I would guess that there would be plenty of red areas within the city.





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Greetings!

The Global War on/of Terror can be a bit confusing--a drone missile strike in North Whatistan killed Muhammed al-Somebody--you get the point. There are literally hundreds of sites out there that paint a picture of our enemies, but few choose to consolidate all of that information into one spot into a manageable mess. The South Asian sub-continent has become a hobby of mine, so here's my attempt at creating a somewhat coherent mosaic.

My focus is mostly on Afghanistan and Pakistan (the FATA and NWFP areas) and to a lesser extent, Kashmir, Chechnya, Balochistan, and the four "Stans" of Central Asia, which produce some really bad dudes, to the extent that "moderate" militants, like the Haqqani Network, (used to) try to distance themselves.

I will always do my best to credit information/photos when possible. My commentary will be duly noted. If I get any facts wrong, please drop me a line and a source so that I may correct it.

**DISCLAIMER**

I'm not a foreign policy "expert", just a guy that reads a lot about AfPak issues and has some insight to offer. I won't even try to pretend that I understand the tribal and religious dynamics of the region, but human nature being what it is, I think that quite a bit of what is going on over there is not so foreign.

Enjoy!