Terrorist Islamic Republic of Pakistan - May 16 2009

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 28 May 2009 21:27

there have been 2 blasts of medium intensity in Peshawar markets. 3 killed and 12 wounded were reported on geo tv piped to indian channels this evening.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 28 May 2009 21:29

GEO TV

Six killed in Peshawar twin blasts; 2 terrorists killed in operation
Updated at: 2032 PST, Thursday, May 28, 2009

PESHAWAR: At least 6 persons were killed and 100 others injured in two consecutive bomb blasts occurred in populated locations in Peshawar on Thursday. Dozens of vehicles and shops were destroyed.

Two terrorists were killed in the ensuing search operation undertaken by the police in the area upon receiving information regarding presence of suspected persons.

The blasts occurred in Qissa Khwani and Kabari Bazar within two minutes of each other.

Saifullah, Imtiaz, Muhammad Naeem, Javed Khan and an unidentified child are among those killed in the incident.

The first blast occurred in shops of electronic goods while the second one ripped through Qissa Khwani market.

The injured were rushed to the nearby hospitals where emergency has been declared.

The eyewitnesses say the explosion at Qisa Khwani happened as a bomb planted in a car parked outside the market went off.

Later, police embarked on a search operation in the area on information of presence of suspected persons. This led to an encounter between the suspects and heavily armed contingents of police.

The police, led by CCPO Safwat Ghayoor, undertook operation at two buildings and managed to arrest two terrorists while as many miscreants were killed in the action.

IG Police NWFP, Malik Naveed who arrived on the spot, lauded the police efforts and thanked the Peshawar people on cooperating with the police.

President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, PML-N Chief Mian Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, MQM Chief Altaf Hussain, Governor Sindh Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, NWFP Governor Owais Ghani, NWFP Chief Minister Amir Haider Hoti, Chief Minister Balochistan Aslam Raisani, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Information Minister Qamar-uz-Zaman Kaira and other leaders condemned the incident in strongest terms.

sunilUpa · Post by **sunilUpa** » 28 May 2009 21:34

^^^

The police, led by CCPO Safwat Ghayoor, undertook operation at two buildings and managed to arrest two terrorists while as many miscreants were killed in the action.

err.. why label the arrested as 'Terrorists' and those killed as 'miscreants' ? Is that Halal way of labelling?

bart · Post by **bart** » 28 May 2009 21:41

SSridhar wrote:ICC Champions Trophy

Meanwhile, the ICC has decided that income from the Pakistan-India Twenty20 match will be given to the people affected from the attack on the Sri Lankan team.
BCCI should object to that. The coach driver, who has been praised for saving the SL cricketers, was proud of his brother who died fighting Indian forces in Kashmir in jihad. Why should India & Indian players be involved in rewading such people who attack us and kill our soldiers and civilians ?

This is a very good observation. Could someone with some influence or channels to BCCI/Cricketers/Political parties kindly take this up and spread the word? The money is inconsequential but the awareness it will create will be significant.

Atri · Post by **Atri** » 28 May 2009 21:42

We will counter India's AWACS with 500 US missiles: Pak

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 28 May 2009 21:59

I dont now if this was already posted....

Has Af-pak strategy lead to civil war in Pakistan?

Has Af-Pak strategy led to civil war in Pakistan?
24 May 2009, 0200 hrs IST, SHAUN GREGORY

It is a measure of the intensity of US pressure that the Pakistan army appears finally to have begun serious counter-insurgency operations in the tribal areas of Pakistan. This is part of the overall US Af-Pak strategy of containing the Taliban and related militancy to the Pashtun areas, which straddle the Afghan-Pakistan border. The US intent is to weaken the Taliban and allied militants to the point they can be contained, at least temporarily, by the Afghan and Pakistan militaries respectively, allowing the US to scale down its regional presence to one of minimal support for counter-insurgency and the conduct of the ongoing battle against al-Qaida. If this can ever be achieved, it will be called victory.

On the Afghan side, strategy-implementation is led by the US forces and nuanced by the linkages between the US, NATO and the estimated 500,000 foreign nationals working in civilian nation-building roles. On the Pakistan side the US is at one remove, seeking to implement strategy through the brute tool of the Pakistan army.

In the Rah-e-Haq 4 operations that are unfolding in the districts of Buner, Dir and Swat, and in similar operations that occurred earlier in Bajaur, it is possible to see the way in which the Pakistan army is seeking to subvert American intentions in the continued pursuit of its own interests. A useful point of departure to understand this is the Pakistan army’s operations in Bajaur, which began in September 2008 in the wake of the Islamabad Marriott bombing. Fearful of significant combat losses, and worried about the loyalty of its soldiers, the army used air strikes, helicopter gunships and artillery to pound militant positions and flatten towns and villages.

When this phase of the conflict was over in late February 2009, the regional commander, Major General Tariq Khan, flew journalists to observe the piles of rubble that had once been the homes of the people of Bajaur. Khan claimed that the Taliban were defeated in Bajaur and that the whole of the FATA would be back in the hands of the Pakistan state by the end of 2009. Three months later, these claims are exposed as hubris. The Taliban are back in de facto control of most of what remains of Bajaur. To assert state control over the whole of the FATA in the next seven months now seems unlikely.

The unfolding operations bear hallmarks of the Bajaur operation. The use of air strikes, helicopter gunships and artillery again form the centrepiece and the price is being paid by the peoples of these districts. Most estimates suggest that more than two million people may be internally displaced from Pakistan’s tribal areas.

One element of the strategy, however, appears different. The Pakistan army has reportedly airlifted troops into the Peochar valley in order to surround the Pakistan Taliban Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammedi (TNSM) leadership of Maulvi Fazlullah. If confirmed, and if Fazlullah and his commanders are not spirited away, this will mark a stepchange in Pakistan army operations. It will also expose the myth of the army’s inability to move against militants. In theory, no force on earth could have better counter-insurgency credentials than the Pakistan army, which for decades has trained, supported and sometimes fought alongside militants. Nor can the Pakistan army’s claim to be under-resourced be seen as anything other than an appeal to Washington for more funding.

So, making sense of what is taking place in Pakistan’s tribal areas requires revisiting the fundamentals. There is, as yet, no move against the Afghan Taliban on the Pakistan side of the border, no increase in useable intelligence about the Afghan Taliban being provided to the US or NATO, and no reduction of pressure on NATO supply lines through Pakistan. There is also no move against the Haqqani or Hekmatyar networks, nor against the core of militants and terrorists in the FATA, particularly in North and South Waziristan. Bajaur was flattened and much of its population driven out, but Bajaur has not been held or brought under the writ of the Pakistan state.

Moreover, following Bajaur and earlier operations in the FATA, the army cannot have been unaware of the humanitarian refugee catastrophe, which would result from the failure to properly prepare for the deluge. Is it too cynical to suggest that the army has forced the refugee crisis knowing (as in Sri Lanka) that there will be an international clamour to end the fighting?

The huge unknown, hanging over all these events, is the likely scale and nature of the backlash against the Pakistani state. If, as some believe, a powerful ‘Deobandi complex’ is now taking shape in Pakistan involving militants, religious movements, religious and conservative political parties, Islamist sympathizers, and perhaps some within the army and ISI, then the ‘Af-Pak’ strategy may be seen to have precipitated the first phase of a civil war in Pakistan.

The writer is a professor at the Pakistan Security Research Unit, University of Bradford.

He gives markers to judge the success or otherwise of the TSP actions.

Note his location and occupation!

sunilUpa · Post by **sunilUpa** » 28 May 2009 22:07

AoA Twp more IED mubarak (these are in addition to Peshawar IED Mubaraks).

Death toll rises as 3rd and 4th blasts rock northwest Pakistan

Suicide Bomber Kills 8 At Checkpoint In Pakistan's Peshawar

AT this rate they will run out of goats too..let alone houries...

harbans · Post by **harbans** » 28 May 2009 22:22

More Blasts reported to be heard..

Blast heard near Matni police station

PESHAWAR: A loud explosion has been heard near Matni police station here, Geo news reported on Thursday.

http://www.geo.tv/5-28-2009/43001.htm

Blast heard in Sui

DERA BUGTI: A blast has reported to have been heard in Sui area of Dera Bugti, sources said.

http://www.geo.tv/5-28-2009/43007.htm

ashish raval · Post by **ashish raval** » 28 May 2009 22:36

Chiron wrote:We will counter India's AWACS with 500 US missiles: Pak

What if, the missiles fail to take of citing "I cant fire on Made in Israel weapon system"......or say I will fire but I cant guarantee a hit.....

Nihat · Post by **Nihat** » 28 May 2009 22:52

harbans wrote:More Blasts reported to be heard..

Blast heard near Matni police station

PESHAWAR: A loud explosion has been heard near Matni police station here, Geo news reported on Thursday.

http://www.geo.tv/5-28-2009/43001.htm

Blast heard in Sui

DERA BUGTI: A blast has reported to have been heard in Sui area of Dera Bugti, sources said.

http://www.geo.tv/5-28-2009/43007.htm

harbans , it would be really good if you could cut out the un-necessary smileys when posting news regarding blasts , really doesn't look civil.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 28 May 2009 22:58

In the Shaun Gregory article from TOI he says:

If, as some believe, a powerful ‘Deobandi complex’ is now taking shape in Pakistan involving militants, religious movements, religious and conservative political parties, Islamist sympathizers, and perhaps some within the army and ISI, then the ‘Af-Pak’ strategy may be seen to have precipitated the first phase of a civil war in Pakistan.

I dont know what civil war he is talking about. What I see happening is the whole state of Pakistan is slowly morphing into a fundamentalist Islamist state. Even the Deobandis of TSP are morphing into Wahabis. Note the recent graduates/alumni of Binori madrassa. In a sense the old barriers between Wahabi and Deobandi due to geography(Arabia vs Indian sub-continent) and ethnicity (Arab vs Indic sub-continentals) are dissolving. What Shah Walliullah dreamed of is taking place.

There wont be real civil war but an overt formalization of this fundamentalization.

What Af-Pak strategy will do is make this latent or hidden fundamentalization patent or overt.

Shaun Gregory should have a few Koranic scholars (to understand the doctrinal differences in political Islam) and experts in history of Islamism(to chart the growth and spread of ideas) in his study group.

The very big picture is political Islam is moving eastwards since the first four caliphs. Not just the political center but even the doctrine.

Medina->Damascus->Baghdad->Istanbul->Riyadh->Fak-Ap.

So Fak-Ap is the new Medina as Gul has claimed. Its bigger than mere regional geography.

rsingh · Post by **rsingh** » 28 May 2009 23:05

International media is not interested in IED mubaraks. It happens everyday in Bakistan..............like drone attack. Yawn

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 28 May 2009 23:08

rsharma wrote:.....
That was one of the most honest articles to have come out of Pakistani press!
May be its due to the fact that the author is probably a Parsi (surname Hoodbhoy)!

Most already know, but Pervez Hoodbhoy (graduate of MIT) is one of a few (about 2, or may be 3, IMO) well known physicist in the land of pure who has done a decent work in Physics... also the article is similar to *many* others which he has produced in Paki or outside press..

harbans · Post by **harbans** » 28 May 2009 23:15

harbans , it would be really good if you could cut out the un-necessary smileys when posting news regarding blasts , really doesn't look civil.

I actually did endeavour (and was consious about not adding one when i posted this) to put a 'smiley' where no casuality figure was mentioned. Remember..(this was just heard and no other news of casualities etc mentioned)...before you get to moral pontificating.

Unnecessary moral pontification is not civil too Nihat Ji.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 28 May 2009 23:20

ramana wrote:I dont now if this was already posted....

Has Af-Pak strategy led to civil war in Pakistan?
24 May 2009, 0200 hrs IST, SHAUN GREGORY

After seeing the PBS doc Frontline on AfPak Taliban it looks like the country is slipping into a Civil war. The questions asked to the frontline Pak soldiers on why the Taliban is attacking the army get answers such as Taliban is against PA supporting American policy.

BijuShet · Post by **BijuShet** » 28 May 2009 23:35

Keshav wrote: ...The Americans already have faith in the ISI to be a professional, secular army so this attack would actually cause them to have less faith, not more.

You are neither a newbie and nor new to Pakistan's history yet you wrote that US has faith in the ISI to be a professional, secular army. You are being intellectually dishonest when you wrote the lines above. Just to open your eyes and please refer to the yahoo search : US working to reduce ISI influence
and tell me if you still feel US really trusts the ISI. I can safely say that all players in the region (US included) regard the ISI as the least trust worthy player in the Fak-Ap region.

One sample article from Dawn on Apr 3, 2009

During a US Senate hearing on the new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Undersecretary of Defence for Policy Michele Flournoy said the United States was also trying to reduce the current level of cooperation between the ISI and the Pakistani military.

The agency’s role in the war against terror, described as ‘ambiguous’ by a US general, came under discussion in the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday when several lawmakers blamed it for helping the militants.

Former Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain raised the issue, asking US officials appearing before the panel if the Pakistani government and the military were so closely tied to the ISI that it prevents them from cooperating effectively with the United States.

'I think ISI is or parts of ISI are certainly a problem to be dealt with,' said Undersecretary Flournoy, one of the two witnesses testifying before the committee. But I think we have a new democratic government and I think we have strong parts of the military who see the extremist threat, who want to deal with that extremist threat. And part of our policy challenge is to empower them to be more effective in doing that.'
...

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 29 May 2009 00:12

Keshav wrote:
RajeshA wrote: The one thing that Pakistan, and ISI need most, is American faith in them. Just like Pakistan keeps on repeating about over 20000000 soldiers it has lost in WoT, whereas we know that was only Frontier Corps/Constabulary cannon fodder of badly equipped Pushtuns; it is possible, that this attack in Lahore was perpetrated, simply to point out to the Americans, that ISI is also being attacked by Taliban and Jihadis, next time the Americans express doubts about the integrity of ISI, about its duplicity, etc.
There's one reason why this doesn't work.

Let's assume its true that the ISI killed its own people in order to prove to the Americans they were under attack. The Americans have been gullible enough up till now and Obama shows no sign of engaging India to participate - he wants to deal with Pakistan directly with no strings attached. American political commentators can comment all they like but policy is going to remain unchanged and as others have pointed out, ISI knows this well and has been milking this for some time now. So it seems unlikely that they would go through the trouble.

Continuing on that thought, instead of asking, "Are the ISI really fighting the Taliban?", the Americans are going to ask the next obvious question of "If the ISI is fighting the Taliban, how the hell are the Taliban attacking major cities?". The Americans already have faith in the ISI to be a professional, secular army so this attack would actually cause them to have less faith, not more.

Keshav,
sometimes one can talk of Americans as Americans and sometimes we need to consider America as a web of power centers with compatible and conflicting interests. There are people in America, who are of the opinion that ISI is playing a duplicitous game with America, and rightly so. Many in the Congress are also of this opinion and asking hard questions. There are also those in the Congress and Administration who want to turn a blind eye to ISI's transgressions. A bombing in Lahore near ISI's offices is bound to strengthen the arguments of the latter. That is the reason, why I think, it is possible that ISI got some people to organize this attack. Such an attack helps the ISI to put some distance between itself and its children.

I am aware, this sounds very much like a traditional conspiracy theory. I however feel that this possibility ought to be in the public sphere.

jash_p · Post by **jash_p** » 29 May 2009 00:42

Why not donate Indo-Pak match collection to victim of Bombay blast? as Pakis have killed so many Bombayites.

Let Pak-Sri Lanka match to donate to affectiees including Tamils of Sri Lanka

SSridhar wrote:
ICC Champions Trophy

Quote:
Meanwhile, the ICC has decided that income from the Pakistan-India Twenty20 match will be given to the people affected from the attack on the Sri Lankan team.

BCCI should object to that. The coach driver, who has been praised for saving the SL cricketers, was proud of his brother who died fighting Indian forces in Kashmir in jihad. Why should India & Indian players be involved in rewading such people who attack us and kill our soldiers and civilians ?

This is a very good observation. Could someone with some influence or channels to BCCI/Cricketers/Political parties kindly take this up and spread the word? The money is inconsequential but the awareness it will create will be significant.

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 29 May 2009 00:56

ISI Col Aamir Mirza Baig + 3 ISI personnel died in the Lahore blast

Image with all the buildings labeled:

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 29 May 2009 01:03

Rohit_K wrote:ISI Col Aamir Mirza Baig + 3 ISI personnel died in the Lahore blast

For those who are investigating this, it will be more interesting to know, which ISI officers did not report to duty on that day, or left the premises to ostensibly attend to some 'serious' or 'private' business during the time of attack.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 29 May 2009 01:38

Blasts Hit Peshawar: Killing Seven with Injuries to 100

PESHAWAR: At least seven persons were killed and almost 100 others injured when a powerful blast ripped through historic Qissa Khwani bazaar – which followed firing by the snipers Thursday.

Police said that bomb blasts occurred in front of Yasir Hotel in congested Qissa Khwani bazar [busiest boulevard] – while a large numbers of people were busy in shopping.

At least seven persons were killed and around 80 injured in the deadly explosion. Emergency has been declared in hospitals. Police has cordoned off the area and started investigation.

Reports available by now say that two bombs exploded in a market in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Thursday killing at least seven people with injuries to several others.

A short while later, a suicide bomber attacked a paramilitary check-post in another part of the city, killing five soldiers, a wounded soldier said. "He was on foot and as we saw him, he ran and blew himself up when he got close to us," a security man wounded in the attack said as he arrived at a hospital. Police confirmed the attack.

The violence came hours after Wednesday's suicide car-bomb and gun attack in the eastern city of Lahore that killed over 25 people with injuries more than 300. Militant violence in Pakistan, an important U.S. ally has surged since mid-2007 with attacks on the security as well as on government buildings making – as targets.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 29 May 2009 01:44

Krishna’s statement affirms our stand: Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has detected signs of a thaw in India’s post-Mumbai attacks cold shoulder, going by External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna’s statement that the two countries should join hands to fight terrorism together.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said Mr. Krishna’s remarks, made while condemning Wednesday’s Lahore blast, was an affirmation of Pakistan’s position that the battle against terrorism had to be fought jointly by both countries.

“It is encouraging that while condemning the Lahore blast, the External Affairs Minister of India has expressed the hope that India and Pakistan can join hands in fighting this menace [of terrorism]. This underscores what we have been saying all along, that we need to fight this together through the framework of the Joint Anti-Terror Mechanism,” he said.

The spokesperson expressed the hope that in the coming days, the two countries could soon resume the peace process, which India froze after the Mumbai attacks, and make it “irreversible and result-oriented.”

This is why India should not give an inch to TSP because these offhanded statements issued by netas. Ahh.. I see it is piss process time again. Now where did I keep the pack of candles?

GuruPrabhu · Post by **GuruPrabhu** » 29 May 2009 01:49

Elections are over, the piss process can resume for the next 4 and a half years till another set of Kasabs and other such suars set it back again, for another 6 months
I dont see any wisdom in picking a state leader from KA and then making him external affairs minister, such gaffes will keep happening

shynee · Post by **shynee** » 29 May 2009 02:13

Multiple Blasts in Pakistan After Taliban Warning

The aftermath of the explosions at a bazaar in Peshawar, Pakistan

Back-to-back blasts ripped through a busy street in Peshawar, Pakistan

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 29 May 2009 02:26

From the article written by a Paki security expert in Bedford, UK:

Fearful of significant combat losses, and worried about the loyalty of its soldiers, the army used air strikes, helicopter gunships and artillery to pound militant positions and flatten towns and villages.

Obama has bought himself a special problem. Clearly this is a goofup royal on the part of the US - not understanding the regional dynamics.

Now trying to bring countries such as China, Saudi Arabia and Iran - countries of influence, cannot solve the problem. These countries have influence at some levels and as this sentence clearly states that influence does not percolate to other layers within Pakistani society. Just like Obama, these countries will give their two cents, get something in return and the problem will resurface in the future.

Nor will shutting down Indian consulates in Afghanistan.

Obama chacha, it is dynamics. Guess he does not understand its meaning. Well ...........

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 29 May 2009 02:40

10,000 men protecting N-assets: official

sunilUpa · Post by **sunilUpa** » 29 May 2009 02:44

UN can't even beg properly

ISLAMABAD — The United Nations criticized on Thursday, May 28, poor response by the donors to the suffering of nearly 2.4 million people displaced by the ongoing military offensive in Swat.
"The response of the international to our call for an immediate assistance to the displaced people of Swat and other areas is not encouraging," Fickret Akcura, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Pakistan, told IslamOnline.net.

Last week, the UN launched an urgent appeal for $543 million to provide food, medicine and shelter for nearly 2.4 million people displaced by the ongoing fighting in the restive Swat valley.
"We have so far received merely 88 million dollars. International funding support is critical to keeping this support going at this stage," said Akcura.

I say pakis should open training centers for UN official in the art of begging..

sunilUpa · Post by **sunilUpa** » 29 May 2009 02:46

baki's get German visa

Pakistan’s taekwondo team trainer, Gul Bostan, went missing in Germany while accompanying the national taekwondo contingent in April to appear a three-day German Open Masters tournament.

‘The trainer has not only brought a bad name to the taekwondo family but also damaged the reputation of the country,’ he said.

Errr one baki gets visa, so whole Taekwondo family gets disgraced? Lahori logic at it's best.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 29 May 2009 02:47

Residents seethe as Pakistan army destroys homes

Atri · Post by **Atri** » 29 May 2009 02:48

Pak moving towards more destructive nuclear weapons: US think-tank

"Modernising" a nuclear weapons program, rather, should at most be interpreted as improving the security of existing nuclear weapons, increasing security of fissile material in storage, at military and civilian nuclear industrial sites, or in transit, ISIS said.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 29 May 2009 02:51

TSP has become a dystopia for its citizens.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 29 May 2009 02:54

Do not worry. Pakistan by itself has brought a ton of misery on itself (supporting jihadis, etc). Now Obama THINKS he has a solution - and, he does not have - as the situation shows. It is ONLY getting worse.

With his backward thinking of asking China + Saudi Arabia + Iran to help out, the situation can ONLY get worse. Each one will want a pound of flesh and that has a cost associated with it.

WRT Indian FM statement, the response is great. We need more Paki governmental organizations to be associated with outsiders. Guaranteed to get a wicked response from the pure Islamists. More destruction, And, the cycle will continue.

Whatever happened to the planned infomercials that the UK wanted to air in Swat, etc? Point being the sub-regional dynamics is moving too fast even for an experienced actor such as the UK. Who/what is a new person like Obama - good as he is - going to do? The situation is fast moving beyond his grasp. He would be far better to donate firefighting equipment and plenty of water tanks.

As this intensifies Omaba can only look on - no aid can help this situation, providing it is useless.

The dynamics? Obama is fighting Islamists WITHIN the Pakistani establishment. He has to device a way to use the establishment to kill the establishment!!

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 29 May 2009 03:01

Help Us or We Leave

It is time for America to make China, Saudi Arabia, Iran and India an offer they can’t refuse: Either join us or we leave.

Finally, the United States should insist that China join in guaranteeing the territorial integrity of Pakistan so that the Pakistan Army moves the bulk of its troops from the Indian border to face its real enemy, the Islamic militants. China has gotten a free pass on America’s back: No more.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 29 May 2009 03:10

India should let them leave. I have had an aha moment!

Its the US that keeps the TSPA together and retain its anti-India bias. The TSPA keeps the people of Pakistan confined in an armed camp(kabila) and feeds them overdose of Islamism in order to retain their illusory power. So let them leave and set the people free. In the end reason and logic dictate that.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 29 May 2009 03:18

What he means by "leave" is very different from what we understand it to be.

He is suggesting that the US not incur any human losses. You see, his "leave" includes "kick butt" and then "leave".

Like I said earlier, these guys do NOT understand the dynamics. Their minds only relate to the last high they had: Bosnia, etc (even Hoolbroke is on a high from his last assignment, which is why he is failing here).

One more thing, look at ALL the countries he talks about: they either are expecting them to "close the border", "spread" Islam, or the like.

And, India - has to take care of business.

Why is it they do not allow India to do that now?

Their evals are pathetic, thus their solutions are too.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 29 May 2009 03:57

What company does that guy work for I want to short it? I havent seen a more clueless analysis and policy prescription.
For starters AlQ is no longer an organization- its an idea and a movement.

His last suggestion is ludicrous as China is really the TSP guarntor havig proliferated the Chic 4 design and more. And what does he mean China had a free pass? With the guarntee, the TSP will get emboldened and go beserk like Bhasmausra. It was because they didnt want the consequences that they (PRC) gave the bomb in the 80s. He must be one of theose quants that took Wall street down.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 29 May 2009 04:06

How do you solve the Gordion knot of Pakistan? This question would be sitting heavy on the shoulders of Obama, Clinton and Holbrooke.

If Obama and USA puts all its energies and resources into AfPak, they might be able to knock off one of Hydra's heads. That is the upper maximum limit, and can be hoped for only if all the resources are invested there.

Question: How do you solve a puzzle, an instrument, a machine with many and rapidly moving pieces?

Wrong Answer: You try to manipulate all the moving pieces in such a way, so that they all move to neutralize each other's movement. This will never work, as one would need omniscient intelligence, infinite resources, ubiquitous infiltration and unlimited influence to pull off something of this sort.

Right Answer: You break the machine, so that none of the pieces can move in the same way. Then you hammer each piece while it is at rest, so that it never moves again. This is also called Disruption. Americans are good at only the first part, e.g. there was no follow up on Operation Enduring Freedom.

As the Gurus say: Give peace a chance. Break up Pakistan.

shynee · Post by **shynee** » 29 May 2009 04:25

Taliban Attack: Why Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)?

Support for the Taliban, as well as other militant groups, is coordinated by operatives inside the shadowy S Wing of Pakistan's spy service, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, [American government] officials said. There is even evidence that ISI operatives meet regularly with Taliban commanders to discuss whether to intensify or scale back violence before the Afghan elections.

Something has clearly happened to provoke Taliban's ire against its longtime patron. The attack was a retaliation for sure, but it was not a retaliation against the Army's operations; it was a retaliation against the ISI's actions. We can make an educated guess that the ISI has finally moved to cast off its terrorist wards. Indeed, Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayan used to lead the ISI, and as the Swat operation makes clear that he has committed himself ousting the Taliban, it's not surprising that he would push the ISI in the same direction. If that is the case, Pakistan security forces may finally be united in opposition to the Taliban, which could have significant consequences for the war in Afghanistan.

anupmisra · Post by **anupmisra** » 29 May 2009 04:30

Letter in The Noose

A sermon of a different kind

Friday, May 29, 2009
The other day I had gone to my area's mosque to offer maghrib prayers. After the prayer ended, we were all asked to wait. Soon a man appeared and started talking about the Swat operation. He told all of us – and there were quite a few of us present -- that the Swat operation had been launched by the government to please America. He said that under the accord qazis were to be appointed by mutual understanding but the government had appointed two 'PCO judges' of the Peshawar High Court. He said that the government should not have resorted to shelling and should instead have conducted a search operation to find the militants. The gentleman also claimed – he did not provide any proof to back this all up -- that the Swat operation began only when the president was told to do so by the Americans during his visit to Washington. He (the president) passed on the orders to the prime minister and that was why the latter gave a somewhat belated address to the nation.

The gentleman (who was addressing us) then said that India had never used such large-scale shelling on its own people and that such massive displacement of people did not happen even in Indian-held Kashmir. He further said that what the media was telling the people was all a lie and that not all political parties were onboard – he did not say which ones but it later became clear which ones he was referring to. After he finished his address, the gentleman introduced himself – he was Mian Muhammad Aslam – a former MNA from Islamabad from the JI.

Shakir Ullah Afridi

Islamabad

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 29 May 2009 05:25

ramana wrote:India should let them leave. I have had an aha moment!

Its the US that keeps the TSPA together and retain its anti-India bias. The TSPA keeps the people of Pakistan confined in an armed camp(kabila) and feeds them overdose of Islamism in order to retain their illusory power. So let them leave and set the people free. In the end reason and logic dictate that.

A man jumped into A RIVER to catch the floating black blanket and found out it was Gharial not the blanket .Now Nobody knows if he got the "blanket' of "blanket' got him . Such is the case with Uncle , even if Uncle want to discard the blanket , blanket wont leave him . Afghanisatn me ayo ho to larna hi parega , GWOT hai jahar to peena hi parega . Uncle can try millions way to wiggle out but wont succeed , we all know it can end onlee one way and that way will be very obvious to ignorant experts pretty soon.