Comparing the capabilities of historical figures is always a little ridicules. There are so many variables involved that who is to say that this person is better then that person. But even allowing for that, I think that it is fairly safe to say that Masud was far better commander then Musharraf is.

After all, Masud had the Taliban fought to a standstill for years. And all during this time, Pakistan and radical Arabs were providing heavy support for the Taliban. There are even reliable reports of Pakistani military officers directing artillery fire on Masud positions for the Taliban. And all during this time, Masud received next to nothing from outside sources. It was for being such a pain that they brought guys all the way from Algeria just to assassinate Masud.

Contrast this with Musharraf. He is in command of a massive army that has all kinds of modern weapons. He has received billions of dollars in aid from the US. Presumably the Taliban are not receiving nearly as much aid from outside sources as they use to get. And yet, the Taliban are overrunning Musharraf’s military bases.

It would be one thing if Musharraf was having trouble chasing the Taliban out of the mountains. Every major military in the world has had trouble with guerrillas. America in Vietnam, Russia in Afghanistan, and France in Algeria just to name a few. But it was almost unheard of for the military forces of those nations to lose a fortified military out posts to a guerrilla force. In other words, they were driven out by attrition. Not by losing ground.

By contrast, The Pakistani military is losing ground to Taliban.

I use to think the relatively poor performance of the Pakistani military was because Musharraf did not want to push too hard for domestic reasons. But the latest battle resulted in hundreds of dead Pakistani solders, scores of Pakistani solders held captive, and overrun Pakistani military outposts being used by Taliban. Now the Pakistani government is begging for peace.

Maybe Musharraf has been trying all along to defeat the Taliban and has just been getting his but kicked.