Bush wants Musharraf to hold elections, but it may already be too late for that.
"Pak losing territory to pro-Taliban rebels," from the Times of India (thanks to James):
ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: Pakistan is fast losing chunks of its territory to pro-Taliban rebels. On Wednesday, it lost yet another town in the picturesque valley of Swat to the rebels with which, say officials privately, as much as 70% of the valley’s 94-km stretch is under the control of Mullah Fazlullah’s band of automatic-toting militants.Reports said that the militants have taken control of key towns like Matta, Khazakhela, Madyan and Charbagh.
According to one agency report, the town of Kalam, too, has fallen to the militants after dozens of paramilitary troops and policemen surrendered their weapons. Before capturing Kalam, the militants captured Bahrain, a strategic town poised over the raging Swat river.
Mr Spencer,
One of those long time pupils fascinated by your work. You are making a difference by waking us up.
Any thoughts on this story from Michael Yon?
http://michaelyon-online.com/wp/thanks-and-praise.htm
Thank you for your work.
Pakistan’s General Anarchy
By MOHAMMED HANIF
Published: November 7, 2007
THE power grab last weekend by Pakistan’s president, Pervez Musharraf, cleverly timed to stall the Western reaction for 48 hours, was essentially a coup against himself. Faced with increasing demands to give up his position as military chief and confront the complexities of civilian rule, General Musharraf decided to topple President Musharraf.
In an interview a couple of months ago, General Musharraf said that his army uniform was his second skin: “How can I possibly take it off?” His comment was dismissed at the time as old-school dictator-talk.
But a few weeks ago he submitted an affidavit in Pakistan’s Supreme Court stating that if his election as president was not validated, he’d continue to work as the army chief — indefinitely. As the Supreme Court contemplated this ultimatum, General Musharraf got the jitters and decided to lock up most of the court’s judges, and also to pull the plug on every independent news source in the country.
To understand the difference between the general and the president, one only has to look at the lists of people detained and released on the night of the coup. The first people to be arrested after the imposition of emergency were not the leaders of Pakistani Taliban, nor their sympathizers in Islamabad. There was no crackdown on sleeper cells that have orchestrated a wave of suicide bombings across Pakistan.
The people he has arrested in the last few days besides judges and lawyers have included peace activists, teachers, artists — basically the kind of people who have done more than anybody else to push ahead his avowed agenda of moving Pakistan away from religious militancy.
On the night he declared the emergency, General Musharraf released 28 Taliban prisoners; according to news reports, one was serving a sentence of 24 years for transporting two suicide bombers’ jackets, the only fashion accessory allowed in Pakistan’s Taliban-controlled areas. These are the kind of people who on their off days like to burn down video stores and harass barbers for giving shaves and head massages.
In what can be seen only as a reciprocal gesture, the Taliban released a group of army soldiers it had held hostage — according to the BBC, each soldier was given 500 rupees for good behavior.
Why do General Musharraf and his army feel a sense of kinship with the very people they are supposed to be fighting against? Why are he and his army scared of liberal lawyers and teachers but happy to deal with Islamist Pashtuns in the tribal areas?
The reasons can be traced back to the 1980s, when another military dictator, Gen. Zia ul-Haq, launched a broad campaign to Islamicize Pakistani society and the armed forces in particular. Back then, I was a cadet at Pakistan’s Air Force Academy, where I witnessed, along with hundreds of other aghast cadets, a remarkable scene in which a new recruit, out of religious conviction, refused to shave his beard. (Like most military training institutes in the world, the academy’s first right of passage was to turn the civilian recruits into clean-shaven jarheads.)
The issue was eventually referred to the Army high command in Islamabad, and as a result procedures for training institutes were amended — the boy was allowed to keep his beard and wear his uniform. The academy barber never recovered from the shock.
Within months there were other changes: evenings socializing to music and mocktails were replaced by Koran study sessions. Buses were provided for cadets who wanted to attend civilian religious congregations. Within months, our rather depressing but secular academy was turned into a zealous, thriving madrassa where missing your daily prayers was a crime far worse than missing the morning drill.
It is this crop of military officers that now runs the country. General Musharraf heads this army, and is very reluctant to let go.
For those who have never had to live under his regime, the general/president can come across as a rakish, daredevil figure. His résumé is impressive: here’s a man who can manage the frontline of the Western world’s war on terrorism, get rid of prime ministers at will, force his political opponents into exile and still find the time to write an autobiography. But ask the lawyers, judges, arts teachers and students behind bars about him, and one will find out he is your garden-variety dictator who, after having spent eight years in power, is asking why can’t he continue for another eight.
General Musharraf’s bond with his troops is not just ideological. Under his command Pakistan’s armed forces have become a hugely profitable empire. It’s the nation’s pre-eminent real estate dealer, it dominates the breakfast-cereal market, it runs banks and bakeries. Only last month Pakistan’s Navy, in an audacious move, set up a barbecue business on the banks of the Indus River about 400 miles away from the Arabian Sea it’s supposed to protect.
It’s a happy marriage between God and greed.
For now, the general’s weekend gamble seems to have paid off. From Washington and the European Union he heard regrets but no condemnation with teeth — exactly what he counted on.
General Musharraf has always tried to cultivate an impression in the West that he is the only one holding the country together, that after him we can only expect anarchy. But in a country where arts teachers and lawyers are behind bars and suicide bombers are allowed to go free, we definitely need to redefine anarchy.
Mohammed Hanif, the head of the BBC’s Urdu Service, is the author of the forthcoming novel “A Case of Exploding Mangoes.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/07/opinion/07hanif.html?_r=1&ex=1352178000&en=c828b266779ac57e&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&oref=slogin
Redux (with emphasis)
The first people to be arrested after the imposition of emergency were not the leaders of Pakistani Taliban, nor their sympathizers in Islamabad. There was no crackdown on sleeper cells that have orchestrated a wave of suicide bombings across Pakistan.
The people he has arrested in the last few days besides judges and lawyers have included peace activists, teachers, artists — basically the kind of people who have done more than anybody else to push ahead his avowed agenda of moving Pakistan away from religious militancy.
It's heartening to know that Pakistan has a liberal opposition that can mobilize masses of people on the streets, something American liberals haven't managed for years. I don't believe these good folks could win a fair election across all of Pakistan, but maybe they could without participation by the northern ultra-Islamist rebel areas.
Either the Paki army are a bunch of wusses or they have been infilltrated by a bunch of jihadist sympathizers. I dont know which is more disheartening.
Gross Conceptual Error
"My message was that we believe strongly in elections and that you ought to have elections soon and you need to take off your uniform,"
--President Bush
Percentage of Pakistanis who believe that Sharia must rule: 60%;
Additional percentage of Pakistanis who believe that Sharia should be a principal foundation of law: 21%
http://media.gallup.com/MuslimWestFacts/PDF/GALLUPMUSLIMSTUDIESIslamandDemocracy030607rev.pdf
"According to one agency report, the town of Kalam, too, has fallen to the militants after dozens of paramilitary troops and policemen surrendered their weapons. ...."
.....I would wager they did so without firing a single shot.....
...the Muslims showed up and said ...BOOO!...
...they rest of the story....the paramilitary troops and policemen are now former paramilitary troops and policemen....they are now called Taliban storm troopers....
Salami jihad, slicing off a piece for allah
Thanks for posting the NYTimes piece, Ynkdoodl2. It confirms my comments in two previous posts in which I contend that, uncharacteristically, both Greg and Robert had misread the meaning of the supposed "crackdown on extremists". The only extremists Mush is concerned with are his political opponents; he is not above allying himself with the very terrorists who've been calling for his overthrow -- indeed there is a good deal of evidence that that is precisely what he's doing right now.
In particular, Greg was wrong to have criticized the Bush administration for calling for the military rule to end. Indeed, if Mush is not stopped we are likely to see an Islamic superstate with at most a thin pretense at democracy, iron-fisted rule by a triumvirate in which Mush tries to hold the reins, while ceding control of various regions to Jihadist strongmen, and almost certainly will cave in and permit absolute Sharia law across the country.
And oh yes, I needn't mention ... they have nukes!
I'm not big on military invasions, but if it's a choice between Pakistan and Iran, I think it's now clear what the priority should be, and the longer the allies wait, the harder Pakistan will be to keep from completing its journey to the dark side.
Try the latter...seriously. Along with the Intel Services, in fact. Don't feel better, do you?
Newsweek's 'Most Dangerous Country on Earth - Pakistan' cover story made a lot of people begin to understand that our alliances with Islam are built on sand. It certainly wasn't all I could wish for from the MSM but the masses will begin to develop a GUT understanding that Islam=bad. Nuclear Islam VERY bad.
Those of us senior enough to remember Iran in '78 will be having a sense of deja vu. Wonder if plans are underway to secure or close the U.S. Embassy?
Exsgtbrown, Wanna buy a used Pakistani rifle? Never fired and only dropped once.
That joke will never get old.
Bush and Condi wanted the "Palestinians" to hold 'elections' too and we see what that got them ...via la democracy !
I've got a GREAT idea. Why don't we give Pakistan (the Taliban creator) another 10 Billion dollars and allow their president (our 'friend') to let the other half of Pakistan to fall under Islamist rule.
Without Musharraf the people would rise up against the Islamist rule in Pakistan. The USA is allowing the Taliban to play us like the fools we are. The ISI is the Taliban and we are giving the ISI money, intelligence, and military equipment.
We should ally ourselves with India, give them ABM technology and let them HELP us fight against the Islamists that they hate more than anyone. Musharraf has no interest in fighting the Taliban or Al Qaeda no matter what he says.
Musharraf is the best thing that could have happened to the Taliban, and Bush and America love him for it.
Anyone know what happened to Littlegreenfootballs? Seems they have lost it in there.
ThackerAgency,
Musharraf has tried to work with us as best he could...we just believed he could pull it off.
I don't blame him as much as I blame the ISI and small parts of the military for this internal failure. There is just too much infiltration by jihadists into these groups for it NOT to have happened this, no matter who was in charge. Bhutto would be in the EXACT same predicament.
I also blame us to a small degree...but you have to understand our failure is one of believing that there was an ability to foment a purely democratic state in one that was created to be purely Islamic and also fosters tribal rule (two BAD combinations).
But I do agree that we should be cutting off all funding for Pakistan (and everyone else, for that matter) for fostering this kind of activity. ALL FUNDING. PERIOD.
Therefore, according to my standards, NOBODY would get my money, ya know?
Thacker,
I agree...in principle.
If India withdraws from the main player in all this, the SCO (aka, "the main event"), that will happen...tomorrow.
Meanwhile, on NPR, a Lt. Legree from the US Army is interviewed concerning the plans to "win the war" in the only way it "can be won" -- which apparently involves the Americans hiring young Afghani males to build a 26-mile, 18-foot wide road, which will, you see, help lessen the local unemployment rate and keep those young Afghanis occupied so that they won't have to join the Taliban.
Query #1: What happens after the road is built, with all that American money? Now the Afghanis, 99% of whom are Muslims, can move about more easily -- and so of course can the Taliban, to whom so many have a vestigial or new allegiance. And if not the Taliban, then some other Muslim group, whose adherence to Qur'an, Hadith, and Sira are just as firm.
Query #2: after this road is built, don't those Afghanis go back to being unemployed? And won't they then, having pocketed the American money, and the road now available for all kinds of more mobile mischief-making, still be learning the same things, still adhere to the same texts and tenets, and therefore still be possible recruits for the Taliban?
Or is the great Secret Weapon of the American military in Afghanistan nothing more than a kind of permanent C.C.C., Civilian Conservation Corps, Putting Afghans Back (!) To Work, and paid for by the American taxpayers, and to continue forever, because the Total Belief-System of Islam makes all Muslims, everywhere, likely to become a menace unless we can keep them so very busy, on our payrolls, building this and building that.
And not a peep about asking the Saudis, our "staunch ally," to pay for this -- even though the Saudis receive about one billion dollars a day without any Saudi having to lift a finger, and even though they presumably are interested in the welfare of fellow members of the Umma (they are certainly interested in their spiritual and geopolitical warfare, which is why they spend so much on mosques and madaras all over the world), and even though they are supposedly "with us" in the "war on terror," it is not the Saudis nor any of the other rich Arabs who are paying for any this, but us, the American Infidels. Why?
Is this what it is to be? A New Deal for Muslims everywhere, paid for by Infidels determined to keep them all busy working, so they won't have time to attack us? The Infidel Man's Burden, forever and ever?
That's the strategy? That's it?
Musharraf is doomed. He just doesn't have the murderious personality needed to deal effectively with an Islamic population.
small correction in order...(not Hugh's fault, just an easy mixup)
Larry Legree is a Naval CDR, not a Lt.
The Lt. was Kareem Hernandez, also there.
(an easy thing to get mixed up so no biggie)
Reason I noticed...the material of that magnitude discussed is always done with Field Grade Officers or higher (flag officers). Here's the link...(pix inside)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16123139
(Field Grade= LtCdr/Major, Cdr/LtCol, Capt/Colonel)
not a Lt, except as an in-tow assistant to the Field Grade Officer.
Just a personnel clarification.
I think people should be allowed to practice Islam in this country (which is more than Islam's Head Office allows in Saudi). I just think it needs to be HIGHLY REGULATED. Allowed under the kind of checks and balances that are applied to medicines or nuclear energy.
If Islam goes unchecked, it can kill. If practiced responsibly, it can be as benign as any faith.
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=27845_Video-_The_Lyrical_Terrorist#comments
Yep, LGF is sliding into insanity.
Hugh,
The Afghan CCC program has merit. Keep them busy. Why not pay them to build the road or public works (whatever), then (mysteriously) send in the USAF to bomb it (accidentally on purpose), creating yet another project, and then let them rebuild it again? If they'd rather, we'll let them get their jollies by blowing it up themselves. Surely it is less expensive than keeping 100,000+ soldiers on permanent duty in the Muslim world.
$20 billion a year vs $10 billion a month?
Pervez has to convince us he can do the job.
It is likely he cannot (either do the job or convince us).
Nor can Bhutto.
Mix in the judiciary, ISI, islam, and the Taliban and one has a fascinating brew. Sorta feels like Lisbon during WWII.
Looks as though sharia-creep continues at a steady pace in Pakistan, whether with or without Musharraf seems a secondary matter. Another example of a dangerous world getting more dangerous and nine times out of ten when this happens the common denominator is, of course, Islam.
"Hugh,
The Afghan CCC program has merit. Keep them busy. Why not pay them to build the road or public works (whatever), then (mysteriously) send in the USAF to bomb it (accidentally on purpose), creating yet another project, and then let them rebuild it again? If they'd rather, we'll let them get their jollies by blowing it up themselves. Surely it is less expensive than keeping 100,000+ soldiers on permanent duty in the Muslim world.
$20 billion a year vs $10 billion a month?
Posted by: PMK "
...how about they use their opium profits to do the financing, they could use their own land, their own people and if they want roads, they can do it the old fashioned way...do it yourself...actually they need few roads, they have discovered roads are manned by Islamic terrorist check points and Islamic mines; but then they are Muslims just like the Islamic terrorists so there should not be a problem just staying home and tending your opium crop...besides most cannot afford to buy a car anyway, Islam does its best to keep them poor..and under the thumb of whoever is in charge (hmmmm, kinda of like the plan of the dhimmicrats).....oh well....it is still a good idea to Ban Muslim Immigration...
"Exsgtbrown, Wanna buy a used Pakistani rifle? Never fired and only dropped once.
That joke will never get old.
Posted by: Pelayo "
......oh so true!.....HA.....