While the press is shrieking about the protection of Pakistan's sovereignty from the Americans not a word is spoken of this same sovereignty being trampled upon daily by hitherto unknown persons like Baitullah Mehsud who have turned peaceful areas such as Bajaur and Swat into killing fields, and has led to a migration of 400,000 people from Bajaur alone. They have become refugees overnight, adding to their already impoverished state. The rules of any society are very clear, and learned at the earliest stage of life. Know your enemy. From the school playground through to old age, the single most important skill that is developed is the ability to distinguish friend from foe. In the Animal world it is part of the survival instinct, and is ingrained in the genetic makeup of all species. This differentiation between friend and foe makes the difference between life and death. The human race in its evolution brought laws to regulate human behaviour. One such law stipulated in times of war a foe under the garb of a friend is treated as a spy and punished with death. The militants in our Northern areas apply this code often, and have executed many Pakistani citizens - first branding them as spies. The method of execution is cruel and brutal, serving as a deterrent to others, so that the cooperation with the state is stopped by fear. The fact that the state is Pakistan, and they are all citizens of the same state is ignored, for it is the barrel of the gun that speaks - louder and with a more coercive command. When you have militants blessing the Kalashnikov before giving it to the young recruit, you have weaned a new soldier prepared to die for his handler's cause. The cause being sugar-coated with religion makes it that much easier to face death, and that more fierce a warrior. Pakistan is unique, as it seems our militants have representatives elected to the House, who then defend the position of the militants most eloquently. This ambivalence in our society shows a degree of acceptability which should be removed. We must first admit that the use of Islam to give an aura of religious fervour only serves to disguise the underlying motives behind the overlying faade of a benign commitment to a higher God fearing law abiding movement. The ultimate quest is power. Once we realise the motive, then we can cut through the religious sugar coating. Unfortunately the Pakistani state and now the Pakistan army is being painted in the same colours as the 'infidel' forces the kafirs, as enemies of Islam. Whereas it is the mullah with his turban, preaching his venom, and hatred, and dripping with mock piety, in his eloquent sermons delivered in mellifluous tones convincing his listeners that he alone represents the true path. The evil that the militants commit must be measured by the body count, and anyone that gives support tacit or otherwise should be held directly responsible. That person is a traitor and should be treated as such. We are at war now, and the War code should apply. Anyone supplying arms support or information should be dealt with according to the War act. This applies to those members of our Parliaments who have this duality of views. This is not America's war, we have been brought face to face with the most serious threat to our 'being, as a nation since we were created. The Americans are not here to defend us, from what is an internal matter. This is something we have to do ourselves, for we have an army that is competent enough for the job, and we can do it without American help. We do need to ensure that the Yanks do not go on to the other side. The media has stepped up its identifying our Northern areas as the epicentre of evil. The next step would be pre-emptive strikes. With an American election due, both candidates in the campaign who are desperately short of hard targets will use this opportunity to vilify and then bomb us. Our precious 'sovereignty' is under attack from within, and must be rescued. General Kayani would do well if he issued his ultimatum to the insurgents and their support systems, rather than the Americans. For the insurgents pursuing their own agenda by launching attacks from our sovereign soil invite retaliation on the same sovereignty. The militants have spread their tentacles throughout the country, and will fight desperately to protect what they consider is their divine right to rule. When Henry VIII threw off the rule of the Popes, and assumed the divine right to rule, little did we know that three hundred years later, this divine right to rule would be applied with such ferocity in the 21st century. The writer is a political analyst