An article by Paul Wells on Pakistan, Oct. 25:
[External Link]
Draws heavily on Steve Coll's "Ghost Wars":
[External Link]
Mark
Ottawa
Scary.
I wonder...Does NATO have a contingency plan if the Islamofascists take control of nuclear-armed Pakistan?
What new threats would be faced by our troops if support from Pakistan for the Taliban and Al-Queda increases?
This didn't work:
[External Link]
"Musharraf Warned Not to Impose Emergency Rule
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 2 — A senior American commander, Adm. William J. Fallon, warned Pakistan’s president on Friday not to impose emergency rule, saying that doing so would jeopardize American financial support for the military here...
Publicly, Pakistani government officials said Friday that emergency rule could be justified because of clashes in the past week between security forces and Islamic militants in the Swat Valley, in the North-West Frontier Province, and because of the increasing number of suicide attacks against military and police installations.
On Thursday, a suicide bomber rammed into an Air Force bus in central Punjab province, killing eight people, including Air Force personnel. Two days earlier, a suicide bomber killed seven people in an attack on a police post less than a mile from General Musharraf’s army residence in the garrison town of Rawalpindi..."
Mark
Ottawa
Looks like the Admiral's pressure won't be followed up significantly:
[External Link]
'For six years, the United States has staunchly supported Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, choosing to back a military leader seen as a strong ally in the "war on terror" rather than push the general more forcefully for democratic reforms.
But the risks associated with that strategy have become increasingly apparent in recent months, as Al Qaeda and the Taliban have gained strength in Pakistan's northwest frontier area despite billions of dollars in military aid to Musharraf's government since the Sept. 11 attacks.
That funding is Washington's main source of leverage over Musharraf. But officials said that it would be risky for the United States to withhold such aid to pressure Musharraf to reverse the emergency powers he decreed Saturday, acknowledging that the United States is dependent on Pakistan and can't afford to alienate its leadership.
"The problem is we have a war in Afghanistan, and Pakistan is a coalition partner," said a senior U.S. official involved in Pakistan policy matters who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We have troops on the ground in Afghanistan, and it's hard to have a good outcome there if Pakistan is not cooperating."
Largely for that reason, officials said, the United States is likely to continue to scold Musharraf but not impose significant sanctions.
The aim will be "to indicate our displeasure and to try to reduce the extent to which we become the target of the kind of ire of Pakistanis that is primarily directed at Musharraf himself," said Paul Pillar, a former CIA counter-terrorism official and senior analyst on South Asia...'
Canada is saying all the Right Things:
[External Link]
'Canada's government also condemned the measures. A statement released by Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier called on Musharraf to "immediately" cancel the state of emergency and the new provisional constitutional order.
"These measures undermine democratic development, judicial independence and the possibility of free and fair elections to which the people of Pakistan are entitled," said Bernier.
"We urge the government of Pakistan to end emergency rule and call on the government to respect judicial processes and reinstate the judiciary, adhere to the rule of law, and allow free and fair parliamentary elections to proceed as planned." '..
Mark
Ottawa
This is a strategic blow against the terrorist safe haven inside Pakistan, allowing the goverment to arrest at will any and all suspects. Much like Cambodia in the Vietnam war, the war in Afghanistan cannot be 'won' against an enemy that is allowed a safe haven and recruitment and training area, so although this has been condemned worldwide it would be apparent that the actions taken can serve to give an advantage to the coalition forces in Afghanistan by taking away the safe havens in Pakistan and also from Musharraf's position preventing the US from having to go into Pakistan chasing the terrorist groups, and he can quickly crush the hardline Muslim leaders in the country conspiring against his life. Good timing too a decisive victory in Afghanistan would certainly help the US conservative election campaign...
Posted at 2007-11-07 00:47:41 [PermaLink]