After major South Waziristan offensive, Pakistan still faces serious obstacles
WANA, PAKISTAN - A cricket tournament was held last week in this South Waziristan town for the first time in eight years - testament, the Pakistan army says, to its victory over Taliban militants who long used the area to stage spectacular attacks across the nation.

But a few miles northeast, Pakistani soldiers standing sentry atop craggy brown peaks still take fire from insurgents, and family compounds below remain barren. A main road to the north is often laced with mines. And to the west is what the military says is its main problem: Afghanistan, where militants find easy refuge.

The Pakistan army launched a major offensive in South Waziristan one year ago, a centerpiece of a campaign against Taliban fighters in the rugged northwest. Using language strikingly similar to their U.S. counterparts across the border, military officials describe a counterinsurgency strategy of weakening rebels, strengthening the hand of local officials and winning the confidence of tribes that have long resisted outsiders.

But a rare visit here with the Pakistan army revealed that its effort is also challenged by some of the same obstacles U.S. soldiers face in Afghanistan. Pakistani troops are up against an indigenous enemy that blends in easily, a vacuum in local governance, a skeptical population and, military officials contend, a desolate border that insurgents easily cross.

"I'm sure the bulk of it is in Afghanistan," the commander of the army division based here, Maj. Gen. Rizwan Akhtar, said of the Taliban leadership his troops purged from South Waziristan.

South Waziristan is one of six areas, including the Swat Valley, where about 140,000 Pakistani troops are engaged against Taliban militants. More than 2,600 soldiers have been killed in those and other counterterror operations since 2001, according to the army. The current operations are "stabilization" efforts, not active offensives, said Lt. Gen. Asif Yasin Malik, who commands all troops in Pakistan's northwest. In South Waziristan, 35,000 soldiers now focus on guarding roads, providing security for development projects and towns, and preparing for the return of about 41,000 displaced families, the first batch of which is scheduled to arrive next month, military officials said.

"The focus of the army and the political administration is people-centric," said Akhtar, who added that he is determined to win the typical villager's confidence. "I will go through his heart to his mind."

Yet although the Pakistani Taliban, led by Hakimullah Mehsud, has abandoned its bases and camps in South Waziristan, bands of fighters continue to assert their presence with gunfire, rockets and roadside bombs. That is particularly true in an abandoned area the military calls the "Mehsud Triangle," a reference to one of two dominant tribes in the area. Last month, a bombing at a South Waziristan market killed one person and injured eight others.

The Pakistani army confronts similar challenges in other pockets of the semi-autonomous tribal areas, in part because successive offensives have pushed fighters to new locations. Shortly after the army declared victory in Orakzai agency last month, six soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing, and the Taliban publicly flogged 65 men for alleged drug dealing.

The center of militancy is now North Waziristan, where the Pakistani Taliban, which focuses its strikes inside Pakistan, has set up shop alongside al-Qaeda and the Haqqani network, which attacks coalition forces in Afghanistan. Pakistan has resisted rising U.S. pressure to launch an operation there, saying that it could imperil its gains in South Waziristan, spark tribal uprisings and create a new wave of refugees.

Higher on the list for Pakistan, Malik said, are offensives in Kurram agency, where long-standing sectarian strife is flaring, and Mohmand agency, where insurgents are displaying renewed force, sometimes from across the border.

"Everyone who is challenging the writ of the government of Pakistan, he is a problem for me," Malik said, echoing others who said the Haqqani network is an American priority, not a Pakistani one. "I can't open three to four fronts. I don't have the resources."
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WANA, PAKISTAN -  A cricket tournament was held last week in this South Waziristan town for the first time in eight years - testament, the Pakistan army says, to its victory over Taliban militants who long used the area to stage spectacular attacks across the nation.
6 Conversations You Need to Have About Money
Financial literacy begins at home. According to a recent Harris Harris poll conducted on behalf of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, more people learn about personal finance at home than they do online, from financial professionals or in school.

While family plays an important role in financial education, clearly there are some gaps in that education. The NFCC survey found that 71 percent of consumers admit to having financial worries. Thirty-two percent are saving nothing for retirement, and 34 percent carry credit card debt over from month to month.

Some of those worries and mistakes could be avoided with better communication with family, friends and colleagues about financial knowledge. Toward that end, here are six conversations you should have about money:

1. With your fiancée about goals and principles. Before you get married, you and your intended should have wide-ranging discussions about money. Talk about what you want to save for and how you intend to do it, how you look at the balance between career and lifestyle, and what your attitudes are toward debt. These are not romantic issues, but incompatibility on these matters can lead to trouble down the road, so you should address these things before your wedding day.

2. With young children about earning and saving. Once your children are old enough to recognize that money buys things, make sure they understand that money does not magically appear in your wallet every day. They should understand the connection between how hard you work and the money you make, and they should be willing to put in some effort to work and save for the things they want.

3. With your boss about your value and potential. Don’t just ask for a raise — make a case for a raise in terms of how you add value for your employer. Also, discuss what growth avenues match up well with your skill set, so you can get an idea of what you’ll need to do to get additional opportunities. A good boss will appreciate this businesslike approach.

4. With your spouse about progress and problems. As mentioned previously, a couple should start out marriage with an understanding of where they want to go financially, and then there should be regular updates (at least once a year) about whether the plan is on track and what obstacles have arisen.

5. With teenagers about responsible borrowing. Since teenagers may soon start fielding credit card offers and considering student loans, this is a good time to explain how debt and interest work, and the importance of not sacrificing the future by taking on too much debt.

6. With your parents about elder care plans. People reaching retirement age should pick a trusted family member to help look after their affairs in case they are unable to, and should think through things like where they would want to go if they need continual care. Unfortunately, people are reluctant to initiate these plans, but gently prompting your parents to do it early allows them to make decisions about their future while they can deal with it clear-headedly and from the distance of a few years.

The fact that people learn more about finances at home than from any other source is a testament to the importance of families, but it is also a responsibility. Start having these conversations today.
Please write a summary below.

Financial literacy begins at home. According to a recent Harris poll conducted on behalf of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, more people learn about personal finance at home than they do online, from financial professionals or in school. While family plays an important role in financial education, clearly there are [...]