Let Them Eat Cake

Tom Ricks on the news out of Pakistan that Swat is getting the Sharia the Pakistani Taliban have been asking for:

I know it looks like a setback but I suspect this might be a smart move. Give the people of Swat sharia law, and see how they like it. Meanwhile, bolster your security forces in the area so they can pick up the ball when the Taliban has sufficiently alienated the populace. Risky? Sure. But better than losing Swat altogether.

I know it is tempting to believe that if we just give them what "they" want, then in no time the people of Swat will see their mistake and come back to Islamibad begging to have the Taliban kicked out (I am just as guilty of falling prey to the vindictive false pragmatism that drives the sentiment). But that was the theory behind sitting back when the Taliban tool power in Afghanistan - and didn't that work out great!

Power matters. People don't really like being at the whim of some theocratic dictators. But when speaking up just gets you and your family killed, people develop an amazing capacity to just get by in spite of the status quo. The key is providing a credible alternative.