Islamabad's 'message from Hell'

[Adsos Letter]

Source: BBC

The Marriott is just a half kilometre from Pakistan's national parliament and the residence of the prime minister.

Security sources believe these were the preferred targets, but the bomber (or bombers) was deterred by a huge security presence around those buildings.

At the time of the attack, President Asif Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and many members of parliament were having dinner at the prime minister's residence.

It is no more a stop-start battle of wavering ideals. It is now, without doubt, a battle to the death for the soul of Pakistan.



Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7627584.stm

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"It is now, without doubt, a battle to the death for the soul of Pakistan."

And with the US mounting operations into the tribal areas...and the response from the Pakistani military...

I know the historical context is not the same...but I keep wondering about how the overall affect of our current operations into the tribal areas might be akin to the bombing/invasions of Laos/Cambodia during Vietnam...pushing the NVA deeper into those two nations, and fueling the Khmer Rouge and Pathet Lao elements there.

I just wonder if we aren't going to see a similar result, although the Vietnam example was multiple factors greater, in terms of violence, than what we are seeing in the Tribal Areas, and this fight among Pakistani's (at this point) would be occuring with or without us...I just wonder how our operations into the Tribal Areas will play into all of this.

[EFerrari]

1. Well, that can't be good.

[Adsos Letter]

2. I just added to my original post...please tell me how you see it.

[EFerrari]

4. The reason the ISI and the Pakistani military work through proxies

is because their own home turf is too unstable to count on support without a turn over of power.

Our raids into Pakistan mess with that. It's much worse than pushing into Cambodia or Laos, imo. It's much more like invading China instead.

We're just now engaging the powers we went into Afghanistan to "fight". And what BushCo hopes to accomplish besides leaving Obama with a planet on fire, I don't know. We know they have no interest in catching bin Laden or in disbanding al Qaida.

[Adsos Letter]

7. I appreciate your thoughts. I suppose I have been musing

on the unexpected that history throws out so often...not that intelligent, thoughtful people shouldn't be able to do some pretty accurate guessing on the broader scale. Still, the unanticipated really does reshuffle the deck.

[EFerrari]

8. It sure looks as if BushCo has been trying to provoke Pakistan.

And that is very strange. Because it has been known for some time that Mullah Omar has been sitting in Karachi and that al Qaida is building in the tribal region. None of that is news, exactly.

:(

There is so much here that is so unstable. I fear for the people of Pakistan. And of course, for our troops and for us.

[Mojorabbit]

3. It creeped me out when I read of the bombing

today. I am worried about another front being opened up in these middle east wars. I am afraid we will be sucked in. I remember Biden saying during the debates that Pakistan was a danger. I just don't know enough about it all to make an informed guess.

[Adsos Letter]

5. I don't either....

But open civil war in Pakistan will change the dynamics in the region tremendously...China, India, the US...how will any of these react?

[EFerrari]

6. It's not really a different front. It's just the people backing the Taliban

on their home turf.

[Ghost Dog]

9. The USA is really not very good at winning hearts and minds,

is it. If it even bothers make the effort to try, that is.

[bemildred]

10. Gee, who could have predicted this? nt

[Turbineguy]

11. Pakistan is a mess

with massive over-population, a lousy economy, unfair distribution of income, corruption in government etc. In short: The perfect place to recruit terrorists.

Karachi is a model of Republican Party urban planning. 2 million homeless and the wealthy live in walled compounds with armed guards standing by the gates.

So, as usual, we are doing the expensive thing, military operations, when some sort of economic help is called for.

[cosmicone]

12. Pakistan is a fake country based entirely on a hatred of India

It needs to be broken up into little pieces, i.e. Sindh, Baluchistan, Punjab and Pakhtoonistan. This will reduce its military power and aspirations of being bigger than what it actually is -- geographically or militarily.

However, both US and now China keep using the tinpot failed country as a pawn. The former misguidedly and the latter to keep India from challenging its aspirations of Asian hegemony.

[bemildred]

13. Some of the deadliest terror attacks in Pakistan

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-- Aug. 21, 2008: Suicide bombers blow themselves up at two gates into mammoth weapons factory in town of Wah, killing at least 67 people and wounding more than 70.

-- Aug. 19, 2008: Bomb explodes outside hospital, killing 23 people and wounding 15 in Dera Ismail Khan, town in Pakistan's volatile northwest.

-- March 11, 2008: Suicide bombs rip through seven-story police headquarters and house in Lahore, killing at least 24 people and wounding more than 200.

-- March 2, 2008: Suicide bomber attacks tribesmen discussing resistance to al-Qaida and Taliban in Darra Adam Khel, killing at least 40.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pakistanattacks21-2008sep21,0,5236116.story