Terrorist Islamic Republic of Pakistan (TSP): July 07, 2010

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 27 Jul 2010 07:12

Gerard wrote:Pakistan reaches out to Buddhists
A key objective is to narrow the huge imbalance in visitor arrivals; in 2008, a total of 63,258 Pakistanis visited Thailand but only 2,618 Thais returned the favour.

And most of them must have been madrasseh students, not Buddhist visitors. Thailand must be worried that hundreds of its citizens are going to Pakistan and getting infected with the jihadi virus. The Buddhist places in Pakistan are in the grip of the Taliban Emirates. In any case, Pakistan does not want to preserve the sites belonging to the mushraqeen. It was the Pakistani Army engineers who helped the Taliban blast the Bamiyan. Is Pakistan proud of Chilas, Taxila, Nankana Sahib and Katas Raj ?

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 27 Jul 2010 07:17

Shyamd,
As long as People see the ISI as an arm o the TSP Armed forces they will lose focus. Its the Mukahabarat of the new Islamic State of Pakistan.
Every recent chief of TSP spends his time there.

The Mukhabarat of the early Caliphs was the eyes and ears and the mind of the state. The Soviet Commies transformed it into the final version of KGB.

arun · Post by **arun** » 27 Jul 2010 07:27

r_subramanian wrote:Poor Information minister of KP. He is supposed to have opposed Taliban. He lost a son on Saturday. Now this. Short report. Posting in full.
Blast heard in Noshehra.
NOSHEHRA: A powerful explosion has been heard outside the residence of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar, Geo News reported Monday.
It should be mentioned here that the Information Minister’s son Mian Rashid Hussain was killed on Saturday, who was laid to rest yesterday.
It is premature to say about the nature and magnitude of the explosion.
link

The death toll in yesterdays demonstration of the IED Mubarak variant of the IEDology of Pakistan targeting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s provincial Information Minister, Mian Iftikhar, has climbed to 8:

Eight killed in attack on Mian Iftikhar’s residence

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 27 Jul 2010 07:30

You can often see pakbarians in bkk...some 'indian' restaurants are actually Paki owned, camouflaging themselves to get business from those that may avoid funding terrorists..

kasthuri · Post by **kasthuri** » 27 Jul 2010 07:35

Just for the record...

Pakistan’s Double Game

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 27 Jul 2010 07:42

ramana wrote: Every recent chief of TSP spends his time there.

The Mukhabarat of the early Caliphs was the eyes and ears and the mind of the state. The Soviet Commies transformed it into the final version of KGB.

ramana this is an interesting observation and I would like add a thought I have had.

Every Pakistan army chief has to "prove his credentials" by starting some action against India - no matter how hopeless or brutal. We know about Ayub and later Yahya. We know about Mushy (Kargil) and I am certain that Kiyanis "Proof of manhood" was 26/11

arun · Post by **arun** » 27 Jul 2010 07:47

X Posted from the Pakistani Role in Global Terrorism Thread.

Recognition accorded yet again for the demonstration of the “Jihad fi Sabilillah” or “Jihad in the path of Allah” portion of the motto of the Army of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

The “cynical collusion” between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s military intelligence service and the Taliban demonstrated by the documents disclosed by WikiLeaks despite the billions of dollars the US has sent in aid to Pakistan triggers a New York Times editorial deploring Pakistani conduct:

Pakistan’s Double Game

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 27 Jul 2010 07:59

And normally, the NYT is very pro-Pak and anti-India

Guilty conscience pricks the mind.

kasthuri · Post by **kasthuri** » 27 Jul 2010 08:01

arun wrote: The “cynical collusion” between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s military intelligence service and the Taliban demonstrated by the documents disclosed by WikiLeaks despite the billions of dollars the US has sent in aid to Pakistan triggers a New York Times editorial deploring Pakistani conduct:

I may be wrong, NYT is better among the lot I guess.

Consider this: Wikileaks row is the last thing Nato needs

The details regarding Pakistan's alleged support for the Taliban are harder to substantiate.

Again, the reports are authentic but their content is shaky to say the least. Afghanistan and Pakistan's respective intelligence agencies have a deep mutual distrust.

So those reports that paint the ISI, the Pakistani agency, in a damning light and which are based on information provided by the NDS, their Afghan counterparts, need to be treated with a degree of scepticism.

Still, they do provide further fodder for those convinced the ISI never really cut its links with the Afghan Taliban, an organisation it openly nurtured from 1994-2001.

Nandu · Post by **Nandu** » 27 Jul 2010 08:14

IIRC, the original "SAMe to you" cartoon was by Ajit Ninan and was published in India Today. Kudos to him for the catching the essence of GWOT so successfully.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 27 Jul 2010 08:21

shiv wrote: Every Pakistan army chief has to "prove his credentials" by starting some action against India - no matter how hopeless or brutal. We know about Ayub and later Yahya. We know about Mushy (Kargil) and I am certain that Kiyanis "Proof of manhood" was 26/11

So one reason for extension to Kayani is that they did not want an attack at this time?

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 27 Jul 2010 08:23

arun wrote:Pakistan’s Double Game

Should quote back to them Musharraf's post-9/11 speech and ask them just which part of it did they not understand?

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 27 Jul 2010 08:27

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/ju ... fghanistan

But the extension of Kayani's service exposed the weakness of the civilian government, which did not wish to grant him three more years. Analysts believe the government could not force Pakistan's military, which has ruled the country for most of its existence, to change its policy towards Afghanistan or investigate Afghan actions.
"We have a political establishment that does not have the authority to engage the military," said Ayesha Siddiqa, author of Military Inc. "We don't have the mean to know how deeply the agency (ISI) was involved. All intelligence agencies have contacts."The leaks put pressure on Kayani, tell him what the Americans want him to do. But he also faces pressure from the rest of the [Pakistani] military high command. He is being embarrassed in front of his generals. He's caught in the middle."Pakistan's critics have consistently questioned whether the country is ally or foe in the battle in Afghanistan. The truth appears, to many, that it has played both sides. Pakistan's military nurtured the Taliban in the mid-90s as a force to bring stability to Afghanistan and keep out the influence of its arch-enemy, India.
With uncertainly about the strength of the West's commitment to Afghanistan, the ISI has hedged its bets. "No amount of money, threats, incentives ... nothing can make the Pakistan army do something it doesn't see in its national interest," said Mosharraf Zaidi, a newspaper columnist based in Islamabad. "The Taliban are genetically an extension of the Pakistani security establishment. Those links have never been severed."

( Hss US paid the Jaziya tax for 2010 yet)

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 27 Jul 2010 08:31

Muslim cleric accuses Pakistani Christian minister of committing blasphemy
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/m ... /26359.htm

According to Mr Hammadi's statement, published in Daily Jasarat, a Pakistani Urdu daily newspaper, the Muslim cleric said that Muslims cannot tolerate blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad.
]It is not a cruelty to kill blasphemers, rather blasphemy itself is such an enormous brutality that the one who commits it neither has got a right to live in this world nor is there any pardon for the blasphemer," Daily Jasarat quoted Mr Hammadi as saying. [/b]"Muslims won't tolerate even a slightest blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad. If Shahbaz Bhatti committed blasphemy he would be beheaded."He maintained: "A Muslim loves [the] Prophet Muhammad more than anyone else."
The newspaper quoted Mr Hammadi as saying that the incident of killing of the Christian brothers due to non implementation of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan.According to the newspaper, the Muslim cleric criticized Mr. Bhatti for stating that the law had been abused vis-à-vis the case of the Christian brothers."No law has been implemented in this case. Court implements the law not people," Daily Jasarat quoted Mr. Hammadi as saying. "Christian brothers were killed after Muslims became angry."Mr Hammadi, according to Jasarat, also demanded the arrest of Christian rioters who he said threw stones at the houses of Muslims after the murder of the Christian brothers.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 27 Jul 2010 08:32

In a very loose talk with a friend of mine, he said TSPA and TSP leaders are the most patriotic that a nation could probably have. They haven't conceded an ant that will be determinental to their national interests. They are bravely fighting with US. He may be true if US runs away after they use the planned-leaks that they did.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 27 Jul 2010 08:38

Muppalla wrote:In a very loose talk with a friend of mine, he said TSPA and TSP leaders are the most patriotic that a nation could probably have.

Mupalla - Pakistanis with an army background or army family background talk like this. The Pakistani army survives on this myth and making others believe this myth.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 27 Jul 2010 09:00

http://shadow.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2 ... es_nothing

If the Department of Defense's leadership is to be believed -- and I for one, believe them -- Pakistan has put a lid on ISI. No doubt the Pakistani experience with its own Taliban gave the military and intelligence community something to think about. Equally, the Karzai government has gone out of its way to work with Islamabad, often to the chagrin of New Delhi.

These guys are not going to change.

anupmisra · Post by **anupmisra** » 27 Jul 2010 09:09

Now that he’s got it....
by Kamran Shafi. He started talking about Kiya nahi's three year extension, then rambled on to the Wagah ceremony, but here's the part that I liked the best:

For many years have I, as a citizen of Pakistan and the subcontinent...

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 27 Jul 2010 09:13

Globe Editorial
The Boston Globe

Leaks hint at level of damage from Pakistan’s double role

hnair · Post by **hnair** » 27 Jul 2010 09:41

anupmisra wrote:Now that he’s got it....
by Kamran Shafi. He started talking about Kiya nahi's three year extension, then rambled on to the Wagah ceremony, but here's the part that I liked the best:

For many years have I, as a citizen of Pakistan and the subcontinent...

Actually not too bad for a pak journo. The only thing that made me

was the childish claim that we insulted Mushy@Agra. Really? I thought he was the one who was trying to ambush the GoI at that time and fell flat on what seems to be his face (in his case it is difficult to identify from his butt). Wasnt it Nirupama Rao who was harassed by KShafi's colleagues, the jerks of paki media?

And why shouldnt Krishna consult New Delhi umpteen times? They said the same about Vajpayee consulting Advani and George. Isnt that what democracy is all about? Asking other's in the system's opinion instead of being total dicks like their jernails?

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 27 Jul 2010 09:50

http://www.dailypioneer.com/271937/Kris ... shame.html

Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Krishna’s folly fetches shame

A Surya Prakash

As Headley spilled the beans, it became clear to American and Indian investigators that the ISI controlled and coordinated the operation from the beginning to the end. But Pakistan has shown no initiative to go after the perpetrators of the 26/11 attack because, after all, no Government can proceed against itself.

It is against this backdrop that our Ministry of External Affairs, prodded by the Americans, set the stage for resumption of ‘talks’ and the first meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the two countries in Islamabad recently. As expected, nothing came of these parleys. The only outcome was Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi aping his infamous predecessor and displaying singular lack of etiquette during Mr SM Krishna’s visit. However, despite the snub, the Ministry of External Affairs reiterated its commitment to ‘talks’ and even declared that it looked forward to the next meeting of the two Foreign Ministers in India later this year.

India’s humiliation did not end here. Some days after his return to New Delhi, Mr Krishna joined his Pakistani counterpart in berating our Home Secretary, Mr GK Pillai, for publicising the details of Headley’s interrogation and for saying that the ISI controlled and coordinated the 26/11 attacks from the beginning to the end. Is self-flagellation the cornerstone of our foreign policy?

It is unlikely that there is another department of the Government which is so completely out of sync with public opinion in the country. Every Indian who has the opportunity to track opinion on media platforms — be it print, television or the Internet — is aware of the growing anger of the people over the conduct of the Ministry of External Affairs. Who does this Ministry represent? Who is it batting for? When it comes to Pakistan, why do our diplomats display masochistic tendencies? These are questions that are upper most in the public mind.

There is also the feeling that by its conduct, the Ministry of External Affairs has betrayed its incapacity to safeguard India’s dignity and self-respect. Further, as the recent events show, its responses are inimical to the safety and security of every citizen. Unless the work of this Ministry is brought under scrutiny, there is danger of the South Block jeopardising our democratic way of life.

CRamS · Post by **CRamS** » 27 Jul 2010 10:01

Guys:

Even in the face of these so called leaks, one has to admire the nationalism, patriotism, and responsibility of western journos. I was listening to NPR this evening, and apparently, both the Wikileaks founder, as well as the NYT reporters; both first got clearance from thir respective govts. The NYT reporters got directly from white house, while wikileaks founder got clearance from UK military bosses that he won't be prosecuted. So much for bold & aggressive journalism. And in all the coverage I heard, while there is discussion of TSP's double game, none are calling on US to take an aggressive posture with respect to TSP. I think this is still a big no no among the Pentagon and CIA bosses, and no journo dare challenge that. So, from India's POV, these leaks amount to didly squat. TSP's war crimes against India, be it the Kabul bombing of Indian embassy, the Mumbai slaughter, and the most recent massacre of Indians in Kabul; will all go unpunished; as the last thing MMS wants is the tarnishing of his TSP brothers just in case Indian public wakes up and puts a spanner in his love fest with TSP. Even the NYT editorial is pretty benign.

R-man, good prediction on TSP's nuke mijjile tamasha tomorrow.

Airavat · Post by **Airavat** » 27 Jul 2010 10:03

Denial is a river in Egypt

Although some press reports cited anonymous Pakistani sources speculating that the Obama administration was behind the document dump, Pakistani civilian leaders contacted by the administration over the last couple of days appeared to accept that the U.S. government had no role in the leaks. The message to the Pakistanis was that the information was old, not reliable, and shouldn't derail ongoing and increasing cooperation between the two governments.

"The White House succeeded in calming our people," said one Pakistani source. "I think we've contained the damage on this one, at least on our end."

Jab miyan biwi razi to kya karega kazi? (When the unscrupulous American and Pakistani officials have acquiesced in this farce what can the outraged but impotent American people do?)

National Security Advisor Jim Jones "These irresponsible leaks will not impact our ongoing commitment to deepen our partnerships with Afghanistan and Pakistan; to defeat our common enemies; and to support the aspirations of the Afghan and Pakistani people."

The administration's relationship with the ISI has apparently not been derailed by the Wikileaks disclosures. ISI chief Lt Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha is expected to visit Washington soon, one of a series of meetings he's been having with U.S. officials.

"It is critical that we not use outdated reports to paint a picture of the cooperation of Pakistan in our efforts in Afghanistan," Skelton said. "Since these reports were issued, Pakistan has significantly stepped up its fight against the Taliban, including efforts that led to the capture of the highest-ranking member of the Taliban since the start of the war."

amit · Post by **amit** » 27 Jul 2010 10:05

Yes, no, minister

Under fire thereafter for not countering that impression of agreement and also Qureshi’s attempt to equate India’s foreign secretary with Hafiz Saeed, a terrorist sought by India for 26/11, Krishna chose to take the higher ground, saying India did not want to get into a slanging match with Pakistan. Yet, a few days later he courted mediapersons to make his pique against the home secretary public. Pillai, said Krishna, could have waited for his return from Pakistan. Read any which way, this was a submission of agreement with Qureshi’s statement at the press conference in Islamabad holding the home secretary responsible for a diplomatic fiasco.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 27 Jul 2010 10:08

Pakistan both an ally and enemy

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 27 Jul 2010 10:23

Truely Vedantic!

Airavat · Post by **Airavat** » 27 Jul 2010 10:34

WSJ gives the Paki ambassador space to whine and deny

The documents circulated by WikiLeaks do not even remotely reflect the current realities on the ground. For example, a retired Pakistani general is named as the master planner of the Afghan Taliban's strategy. But this is a man who hasn't held any position within Pakistani intelligence or the military for more than 20 years.

So you're admitting that Hamid Gul is involved in acts of terror against Afghans, Americans, and Indians? What action are you planning to take against this terrorist? Arrest him, interrogate him, send him to Guantanomo?

For its part, Pakistan's current leadership will not be distracted by something like these leaks.

Meaning: our support to Taliban will continue.

We have paid an unprecedented price in blood and treasure over the last two years.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 27 Jul 2010 10:35

A_Gupta wrote:
Every Pakistan army chief has to "prove his credentials" by starting some action against India - no matter how hopeless or brutal. We know about Ayub and later Yahya. We know about Mushy (Kargil) and I am certain that Kiyanis "Proof of manhood" was 26/11

So one reason for extension to Kayani is that they did not want an attack at this time?

Leaks may have been done to put pressure and remove Kiyani which US establishment did not want it.
They want different officer. Any chief staying long gets too much loyalty and started executing plans which have been done by previous chiefs.

arun · Post by **arun** » 27 Jul 2010 10:40

Ralph Peters commenting in the New York Post about the classified documents on the Afghan War disclosed by WikiLeaks rightly states that his “government's been deceiving us about Pakistan's murderous behavior.”

Goes on to describe the relationship of the US with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan thus

:-

“It's like dating someone who's wildly, flagrantly promiscuous and hoping that patience will lead to his or her sudden reform. But tolerance only encourages more bad behavior.”

No question about it. The US is certainly acting the part of a fool in their dalliance with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan:

America Plays The Fool In Pakistan’s Double Game

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 27 Jul 2010 10:44

Looks like Uncle is going thru bad phase. All their carefully nurtured images of TSP are getting shattered.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 27 Jul 2010 10:59

Mullen visit
Dawn Editorial

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/daw ... -670-hh-03

amit · Post by **amit** » 27 Jul 2010 11:06

arun wrote:“It's like dating someone who's wildly, flagrantly promiscuous and hoping that patience will lead to his or her sudden reform. But tolerance only encourages more bad behavior.”

Isn't this also a very good description of MMS' repeated attempts to "talk" to Pakistan in the hope...

Carl_T · Post by **Carl_T** » 27 Jul 2010 11:07

shiv wrote: Every Pakistan army chief has to "prove his credentials" by starting some action against India - no matter how hopeless or brutal. We know about Ayub and later Yahya. We know about Mushy (Kargil) and I am certain that Kiyanis "Proof of manhood" was 26/11

Proof to whom though? His subordinates or the army as a whole or the civilians of Pak?

amit · Post by **amit** » 27 Jul 2010 11:09

ramana wrote:Looks like Uncle is going thru bad phase. All their carefully nurtured images of TSP are getting shattered.

Ramana ji,

It begs the question, is it all unplanned?

It's quite unprecedented how the ISI's role is being highlighted in mainstream media in both India (via the Headley revelations) and now in the US.

NYT and others and here TOI, Express etc.

All are generally establishment papers.

amit · Post by **amit** » 27 Jul 2010 11:15

Carl_T wrote:Proof to whom though? His subordinates or the army as a whole or the civilians of Pak?

Proof to the TFTA "cluture" of Pakistan. Think of it this way: You have an established gang where the leader's fiat is unquestioned due to gang hierarchy discipline. Now there's a change in leadership. The new leader has to "earn" the respect of the gang members in order to keep the hierarchy in order and to do that he has to prove he has the biggest stick of them all and that's why he's the leader. If the hierarchy breaks then the animals would be at each others throats and so the criminal enterprise would fail.

What Shiv was referring to is precisely this ritual of whipping out the stick and showing of its capabilities.

Rudradev · Post by **Rudradev** » 27 Jul 2010 11:20

Nandu wrote:IIRC, the original "SAMe to you" cartoon was by Ajit Ninan and was published in India Today. Kudos to him for the catching the essence of GWOT so successfully.

Nandu, you are right, it was the very perceptive Ninan who drew that.

On another note I would like to offer my apologies for calling you a "Kangress apologist" some days ago. I regret the poor and uncalled-for choice of words that I made in replying to your post about Parakram. I mostly differ with your political views but I have often enjoyed and appreciated the perspective that your posts have brought to this forum over the years. So, FWIW, I am sorry and I recant the accusation that I made.

arun · Post by **arun** » 27 Jul 2010 11:26

Excerpt from the White House press briefing of July 26th dealing with the malign role of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in fomenting Islamic Terrorism in Afghanistan disclosed by the release of classified US Intelligence documents by WikiLeaks:

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, 7/26/2010
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
1:07 P.M. EDT ………………..

Q Does the White House believe that the documents raise doubts about whether Pakistan is a reliable partner in fighting terrorism?

MR. GIBBS: Well, let’s understand a few things about the documents. Based on what we've seen, I don't think that what is being reported hasn’t in many ways been publicly discussed either by you all or by representatives of the U.S. government for quite some time. We have certainly known about safe havens in Pakistan; we have been concerned about civilian casualties for quite some time -- and on both of those aspects we've taken steps to make improvements.

I think just the last time General Petreaus testified in front of the Senate there was a fairly robust discussion about the historical relationships that have been had between the Taliban and Pakistan’s intelligence services.

Q So no doubts about Pakistan’s trustworthiness or reliability?

MR. GIBBS: No, no, look, I think the President was clear back in March of 2009 that there was no blank check for Pakistan, that Pakistan had to change the way it dealt with us, it had to make progress on safe havens. Look, it’s in the interest of the Pakistanis because we certainly saw last year those extremists that enjoy the safe haven there turning their eye on innocent Pakistanis. That's why you’ve seen Pakistan make progress in moving against extremists in Swat and in South Waziristan.

But at the same time, even as they make progress, we understand that the status quo is not acceptable and that we have to continue moving this relationship in the right direction.

Q On the WikiLeaks, one of the questions that this raises is whether it makes sense for the United States to continue to give billions of dollars of aid to Pakistan if they are helping the Taliban. And I’m wondering if that's a concern and what you think.

MR. GIBBS: Well, again, as I said a minute ago, on March 27, 2009, the President said, “After years of mixed results we will not and cannot provide a blank check. Pakistan must demonstrate its commitment to rooting out al Qaeda and the violent extremists within its borders.”

Again, I am not going to stand here on July the 26th and tell you that all is well. I will tell you that we have made progress in moving this relationship forward; in having the Pakistanis, as I said earlier, address the issue of safe havens, the issue of extremists operating in the country by undertaking operations, again, in Swat and in South Waziristan -- because over the course of the past more than year and a half, what the Pakistanis have found is that the extremists that once enjoyed complete save haven in parts of their country now threaten their country. So they’ve taken steps. We want to continue to work with them to take more steps.

We understand that we are in this region of the world because of what happened on 9/11; that ensuring that there is not a safe haven in Afghanistan by which attacks against this country and countries around the world can be planned. That’s why we’re there and that’s why we’re going to continue to make progress on this relationship.

Q A blank check is one thing, but is there enough progress there to justify the aid that is being given to them?

MR. GIBBS: Again, look, we -- I think it was -- even if you look at some of the comments the Secretary of State made just last week in Pakistan, our criticism has been relayed both publicly and privately and we will continue to do so in order to move this relationship forward.

Q And I know you’re unhappy about the leak, but could you talk about how that part of the issue was characterized in the memos and whether you think it’s accurate?

MR. GIBBS: Which –

Q In terms of Pakistan’s role.

MR. GIBBS: Look, again, I would point you to -- as I said a minute ago, I don’t know that what is being said or what is being reported isn’t something that hasn’t been discussed fairly publicly, again, by named U.S. officials and in many news stories. I mean, The New York Times had a story on this topic in March of 2009 written by the same authors.

Q You say the President is very concerned with this release, this breach of federal law. But is he concerned with evidence in these documents about civilian casualties, about cooperation between the Taliban and the ISI?

MR. GIBBS: Chip, let’s be clear. Again, the statements that the President made in March of 2009 very much understand the complicating aspects of our relationship with both of these two countries, the existence of, as I said, historical relationships between the Taliban and Pakistani intelligence. And, look, during the recent debate about General McChrystal, remember a decent part of the Rolling Stone article discusses frustration within our own military about rules of engagement around civilian casualties.

So we’re not trying to either conventionally -- through conventional wisdom trying to deflect anything. What I’m merely saying is that what has been, I think what is known, about our relationship and our efforts in both Afghanistan and Pakistan are not markedly changed by what is in these documents. In fact, I think if, again, you go back to March of 2009, what the President says, we are clearly taking steps to make progress in dealing with Pakistan’s safe havens; certainly dealing with civilian casualties. We all know that in efforts like this to win hearts and minds, you’re certainly not going to do that with innocent civilians caught tragically in the crossfire.

Read all of the White House press briefing:

Clicky

amit · Post by **amit** » 27 Jul 2010 11:34

abhishek_sharma wrote:Mullen visit
Dawn Editorial

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/daw ... -670-hh-03

The Dawn Editorial seems to going out on a limb here:

The Pakistani state has long since acknowledged that the Lashkar-i-Taiba was involved in the Mumbai attacks and at least two of its senior operatives are on trial in an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi on charges related to the Mumbai attacks. But other than occasional noises about adhering to UN requirements and the dismissal of various dossiers proffered by India, little concrete action has come to light against a group whose foot soldiers have managed to send India and Pakistan into angry, defensive crouches. Someone here needs to explain why that is so.

Now I'm beginning to wonder if all stake holders are happy with Kiyani's extension?

I just hope Kiya-ni doesn't feel the need to reiterate his manhood in the same way Pakis need to fire a mizzile every time they are asked to Gubo.

James B · Post by **James B** » 27 Jul 2010 11:46

'Serious failings' in UK visa controls for Pakistanis

The UK Border Agency's independent chief inspector said a "significant number" of visa applications were not being "decided correctly".

John Vine said in the "worst cases", visas that should have been refused were granted, and vice versa.

Altair · Post by **Altair** » 27 Jul 2010 11:58

amit wrote:
ramana wrote:Looks like Uncle is going thru bad phase. All their carefully nurtured images of TSP are getting shattered.
Ramana ji,

It begs the question, is it all unplanned?

It's quite unprecedented how the ISI's role is being highlighted in mainstream media in both India (via the Headley revelations) and now in the US.

NYT and others and here TOI, Express etc.

All are generally establishment papers.

Its possible there is a clique (Drawn from US armed forces,Intel community and Administration) who are not impressed by Obama's Afpak policy and are trying to change the current course and the perception of American public. Gen.Stanley was definitely a casualty of this clique. If we observe closely, there is an order in chaos over the past month or so.