The US & others working with Pakistan

[120mm]

Of course, stopping the importation of US dollars INTO Pakistan would be tops on my list....

[Jedburgh]

Of course, stopping the importation of US dollars INTO Pakistan would be tops on my list....

...the U.S. government puts a bit of official pressure on domestic companies to continue doing business with Pakistan, despite the threat, in the hope that it will contribute to stability there.

[MCMasterChef]

Considering Pakistan is already precariously close to state failure by a number of criteria as it is, I have to say I'm not really clear on how economic boycott / trade cessation could be seen as an ideal strategy for managing the problems it presents... or how we 'take out' their nuclear weapons without risking the irradiation of the subcontinent.

[goesh]

- we may have no choice but to pray for the bad aim of one-eyed Omar if Musharraf falls and fundamentalists get their paws on nukes, or succumb to major blackmail, hegemony via escalation in Kasmir and a massive Taliban escalation in Afghanistan. With Mullah Omar's fingers on the red buttons, I opt for massive irradiation.

[Jedburgh]

CEIP, 10 Jul 07:

Rethinking Western Strategies Toward Pakistan: An Action Agenda for the United States and Europe

Without Pakistan’s active and full cooperation, the United States and the broader international community cannot reconstruct Afghanistan, defeat the Taliban, and turn the tide of international terrorism. Yet most observers agree that Pakistan has not provided the fullest possible cooperation. Debate is growing about whether the Pakistani state is merely unable to do better or is actively undermining international efforts in Afghanistan and against terrorism.

This report makes the case that the Pakistani state bears responsibility for the worsening security situation in Afghanistan, the resurgence of the Taliban, terrorism in Kashmir, and the growth of jihadi ideology and capabilities internationally. At the core of the problem is the Pakistani military, which has dominated Pakistan’s politics since 1958 and has developed over the years a nationalism based more on its own delusions of grandeur rather than on any rational analysis of the country’s national interest. Inheriting a highly divided polity, the Pakistan Army has tried to muster solidarity by stoking religiosity, sectarianism, and the promotion of jihad outside its borders, particularly in Afghanistan and Kashmir....

[Ski]

We really are stuck in between the proverbial rock and the hard place with the Pakistanis.

Musharaff is able to keep the radicals somewhat at bay, but it is just a matter of time until he overthrown and assassinated. I think he's survived 8 assassanition attemps since he's been in power.

I am of the mindset that what comes after Musharaff is going to be much worse than what we have to deal with now. Even though we've done good things with the Pakistanis (Earthquake relief comes to mind), they continue to support terrorism in Kashmir, they have an ungodly amount of madrasses, and Waziristan has been given de facto autonomy.

So what de we do? Like Steve Metz said, plan a buttload of contigency ops against their nuclear facilities in case of the worst case scenario, and continue to support Musharaff in the meantime. What else can really be done?

[Tacitus]

Musharaff is able to keep the radicals somewhat at bay, but it is just a matter of time until he overthrown and assassinated. I think he's survived 8 assassanition attemps since he's been in power.

Even a cat is only allowed 9 lives. I wonder if fate is catching up with Musharaff?

This remarkable statistic is usually just glosed over. Can anybody think of a head of state who has survived this many attempts on his life? That's more than the reported amount of attempts on Castro by the CIA, I think. I checked the guinness book of world records website, but couldn't find a category for "survival of assassination attempts."

Perhaps he graduated from this course in Vegas?
http://www.crisisresponseint.com/sur..._execution.htm