"The Taliban is like a franchise"
This off-the-cuff remark made by a member of Pakistan's National Assembly, although partly flippant, is actually a serious reminder of the nature of the enemy being fought by the military in Pakistan. Instead of being a uniform set of religious believers, the Taliban is instead a collection of fighters (many of them foreign) that possess varying levels of extremist ideology. In many cases, local "land mafias" have simply adopted the Taliban brand name in order to bolster their regional power grab. These local warlords play upon fear and a deep mistrust of Pakistan's government and military - effects which are particularly pronounced in regions that lack law & order, literacy, or adequate levels of nutrition and health services.
Understanding this as largely a set of human problems, rather than simply military ones, is a nuance that is often lost in the recent media reports of violence in and around the Swat valley. A growing majority of Pakistan's population want the Taliban thrown out, but the problem lies in the government's lack of capacity to provide credible alternatives - once the shells stop exploding, that is where the international community should focus their efforts.
