The battle rages on, fought verbally, the debate being whose war is actually being waged in the War On Terror - is it Pakistan's war or someone else's, foisted upon a divided and shaky nation? How many incidents of suicide bombings have we had since the party of the people assumed responsibility for the governance of Pakistan? And who are the suicide bombers? Are they men from Mars or are they homegrown members of the Taliban, schooled and trained in the many madrassas proliferating in Frontier province and FATA where no government writ prevails? Posted on the net, at a site called Afpax Insider, on October 6 was a report showing photographs of young boys, teenagers and younger, who are being trained as suicide bombers at Spinkai Ragzai, South Waziristan, in a camp reportedly run by one Qari Hussain, said to be a senior lieutenant of Baitullah Mehsud. The camp has recently been rebuilt after it was demolished by the Pakistan army in January 2008. Major General Tariq Khan, commander 14 Division, which led the Waziristan operation, described the camp as being "like a factory that had been recruiting 9 to 12 year-old boys and turning them into suicide bombers." Seized computers, DVDs, literature, etc give graphic details of the training process and photographs show groups of young boys with white bands inscribed with Quranic verses around their foreheads. Also found were videos of boys carrying out executions and making and detonating explosive devices. This is a reality, as are the Taliban. Suicide bombers are a reality as their victims and those who mourn the victims well know. Apart from the camps for children, there are the other training camps for young men who are dispatched over the Afghan border. There are said to be 157 training camps, plus over 400 support locations, in the Taliban controlled areas of the Republic of Pakistan. Is it 'our' war being fought against the enemies of progress, knowledge and laughter, or is it someone else's? Is it in our interest to try to keep Pakistan in the relatively moderate state in which it now is, or do we want to succumb to the likes of Baitullah, Fazlullah, or Haji Namdar? Should we not acknowledge that atrocities are being committed on our territory in the name of religion and retrogression, that Pakistani citizens are being executed most brutally on a daily basis in the Taliban areas, and that it was the Taliban and not the USA who blew up the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad? And what right has anyone to label this last incident as Pakistan's 9/11? The bomber and his controllers were not foreigners; they were Pakistani citizens murdering their fellow citizens not on their wavelength and any foreigners who happened to be around. As a writer in the Washington Post (October 12) put it: "Amazingly, the Marriott attack is now considered the United States' problem, as if that crater in the centre of Pakistan's capital magically belonged to another world." Whose war is it when whilst the pathetic joint session of Parliament is in progress, after being briefed on terrorism by the ISI chief/DGMO, a suicide bomber - obviously with a sense of humour - managed to blow up the Anti-Terrorist Squad building at Police HQ in Islamabad? At least, this government, as inept as it is, under the guidance of its latter day minister of public enlightenment and propaganda has had the nous to admit and try to convince its fellow politicians that Pakistan is indeed fighting its own war against elements that are anti-state and highly dangerous. The fight against our homegrown terrorists, who were at the root of 9/11 and the global WOT is of course related to the matter of incursions on to Pakistani soil by the ISAF forces because Pakistani territory is exporting terror across the Afghan borders. What is unsettling is the national mood as expressed via the media when it comes to the matter of 'our' war. Last week, one of the ubiquitous talk shows that features 'talkers' who move happily from channel to channel, was indicative of the mindset of the 'not our war' elements and their blinkered minds when it comes to the Taliban and their doings. There are far too many Pakistanis, educated and semi-educated, who exist in a state of denial. It is no wonder that many alarmed observers abroad still regard this country as "the most dangerous place in the world." "Here's an alarming thought: Pakistan is in an even more scarier shape than most of the so-called experts are willing to admit." (WP, Oct. 12) The writer is a freelance columnist E-mail: arfc@cyber.net.pk