Decades long war

I recently saw a couple of videos on PBS called the "Children of Taliban" and "A Letter from Karachi". The videos touch upon many aspects of the current situation in Pakistan; radicalization of Swat, military operations in Bajaur, IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps in Peshawar, views of the Pakistani soldiers and most importantly they talk about the recruitment of children by the Taliban for fighting.

Hearing a kid talk about wanting to become suicide bomber (Fidaayeen) and being inspired by suicide bombers younger than him is disturbing. Also disturbing is hearing a Taliban child recruiter talk about how children as young as 5 years of age are being recruited.

This last bit of information is the most shocking for me. Apart from the moral depravity of using children to blow up people, it is the age at which they have been radicalized that is important to bear in mind. If a child is radicalized at such an age, I doubt he can be un-radicalized easily later on. I wonder how kids from the Nazi "Hitler Youth" organization were un-radicalized.

However, comparisons between the Nazis and the Taliban can go only so far. The Taliban haven't yet become as big as a threat as Nazi Germany. The Nazis didn't fight a guerrilla war, while the Taliban have repeatedly shown that they are willing and capable of doing just that. Moreover, I don't see entire countries mobilizing to deal with the Taliban, not even Pakistan. This leaves the Pakistan army no chance at a quick and lasting victory over the Taliban.

The longer it takes for the Pakistan army to emerge victorious the longer the Taliban have to radicalize children. What will happen to these children even if the Taliban are ultimately defeated. Will these children suddenly start going to school and become productive members of the society? Or will they be ostracized and become criminals? Or will they just brush off the defeat and start new insurgencies when they are older?

To me, it looks like the Pakistan army is set for a decades long war.