The article about the nanga parbat massacre has been updated, including corrected information about the poor cook (who turns out to be Shia after all).
http://www.brownpundits.com/2013/06/...rbat-massacre/
This time they knocked out the high-end climber-tourist industry.
http://www.brownpundits.com/2013/06/...rbat-massacre/
Excerpt:I just didnt have time to go back and fix the grammatical errors and generally meld the cut and paste parts about the casualties into one coherent whole.On June 23rd some 15-20 men dressed in the uniforms of the Gilgit Scouts climbed up to the base camp at the foot of the Diamir face of Nanga Parbat. There, at the height of 13000 feet above sea level, they pulled climbers, guides, porters and cooks out of their tents, smashed their phones, laptops and solar panels and put them in two groups. The locals were in one group, the foreigners were lined up on the other side. Then they shot all the foreign climbers in the back of the head. Since exit wounds are bigger than entry wounds and exit wounds were in the face, some of the foreigners are said to be hard to recognize. Looking at ID cards, they also shot a local cook whose name was Ali Hassan. If they had asked him, he might have told them that he was a Sunni, just happened to have a “Shia-sounding” name. But unfortunately the resistance-fighters (thank you Tariq Ali) didnt bother to ask. Another local who told this story to a friend survived because his name is Sher Khan. He is Ismaili. Luckily for him, they just looked at ID cards. He survived because his name doesnt sound Shia.
Last edited by davidbfpo; 06-25-2013 at 05:58 PM. Reason: fix quote
The article about the nanga parbat massacre has been updated, including corrected information about the poor cook (who turns out to be Shia after all).
http://www.brownpundits.com/2013/06/...rbat-massacre/
The local police chief says the attackers are still in the mountains, but not arrested yet.
http://www.geo.tv/GeoDetail.aspx?ID=107030
This is usually code for "we are negotiating with their bosses". Mostly likely a deal will be reached, low-level attackers will be arrested. LEJ honchos in the area will promise not to attack more climbers in exchange for XYZ concessions. Attackers will be well treated in prision (no routine torture). Eventually the courts may set them free since no on will turn up to give evidence..or the judge will magically die.
Its a pattern by now.
see full post here http://www.brownpundits.com/2013/06/...-in-pakistand/
For historical background on shia-killings
http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksd...-omar-ali.html
A report by Bill Roggio, based on a Pakistani newspaper story:Link:http://www.longwarjournal.org/archiv...ilitary_co.phpAn al Qaeda military commander and a Haqqani Network leader are among 17 jihadists who are reported to have been killed in a US drone strike that took place earlier this week.
Note the Haqqani group appears in many threads and one point of reference, originally a RFI, has been moved to this area. It may contain points of reference:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ad.php?t=10387
davidbfpo
Well, isn't that nice.
http://www.terminalx.org/2013/07/txsr-001.html
http://cryptome.org/2013/07/pk-tiny-nukes.pdf
Couldn't possibly be related to this...
http://www.policymic.com/articles/57...uicide-bombers
A scrimmage in a Border Station
A canter down some dark defile
Two thousand pounds of education
Drops to a ten-rupee jezail
http://i.imgur.com/IPT1uLH.jpg
TX is not a reliable source. If this is their stance on a "big story" is:Link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGixjL6lfNkZaki Khalid (TX Media Director) gives his views to Informe Especial host Santiago Pavlovic of TVN Chile regarding the fabricated OBL "kill attack" in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Applauding the development of Pakistani "mini-nukes" to be made available to partners is well.....enlightening about their credentials.
davidbfpo
A really detailed report on the recent jail break:http://tribune.com.pk/story/587120/s...n-jail-attack/
Insurgency is a local tradition, but this attack displays a higher degree of planning and far better kit than the state, such as:...they were equipped with night-vision goggles that made their navigation comfortable.
davidbfpo
I have a rather longish post up about this topic and welcome comments.
http://www.brownpundits.com/2013/09/...-consequences/
excerpt: I believe this is so because of three concentric circles of confusion that have come together uniquely in Pakistan. The first is the worldwide struggle of mainstream Islamic sects to find a way to harmonize medieval notions of the nature and role of Islam with the realities and challenges of the modern world. This problem is not unique to Pakistan, but it is especially potent in Pakistan because it is reinforced by the next two circles of coflict and confusion. The second layer of confusion arises from the myths promoted by the state as the foundational myths of Pakistan. Those myths are insufficiently based on the actual ethnic and cultural makeup of Pakistan and make it harder to resist Islamist forces in Pakistan, over and above what exists in all Muslim countries. Finally, a third layer of difficulties arises from very specific policy options initiated by the Pakistani state itself in the last 30 years. Taken together, these three layers of confusion have made it impossible for the Pakistani state to create a coherent narrative against terrorism; terrorism that is so vile and indiscriminate that ANY state would find it child’s play to convince people of the necessity to fight against it. Let us take a closer look at all three..
My latest on this strange saga http://www.brownpundits.com/2013/10/...tim-patsy-spy/
And now on drones and anti-drones.
http://www.brownpundits.com/2013/10/...nd-anti-drone/
Omarali,
Given the pakistani official and establishment reaction to the US drone strike on Pakistan Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud last week, how can anyone claim there is an anti-terrorist narrative?
Here is part of one commentary:Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...an-peacemaker.Mehsud, we should remember, was a brutal and effective guerrilla dedicated to imposing strict Islamic law in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the destruction of Western influence across the region. He was responsible for the deaths of thousands in his own country, including the lorry bomb that destroyed the Marriott hotel in Islamabad in 2008.
Yet the politicians in Pakistan have reacted with shrill indignation, treating the demise of the 34-year-old as a national humiliation and the removal of a potential peacemaker in a pivotal position to change the course of the conflict.
What the strike reveals - again - is that Pakistan fails to protect itself.
Last edited by davidbfpo; 11-04-2013 at 02:20 PM. Reason: Strike not stroke - my error
davidbfpo
There is method to this madness. The hope is that the US will blink first. The backup position is: we can always back down in exchange for some money.
The fatal flaw in the process is that the brainwashing of the public and the narrative that is being established is not fully reversible. The accumulated residue will become unmanageable at some point.
The cynical calculation by some likely includes: we will be outta here by then.
An old post for background: http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksd...omar-ali-.html
It could have been different. But all the mistakes were not made in Pakistan. Uncle Sam made his share.
Anyway, here is an optimistic take from 2011: http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksd...-omar-ali.html
and the 100 onions and 100 slaps strategy is explained here: http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksd...-omar-ali.html
A puzzling Pakistani explanation in 'The Dawn', over-long alas, but some insight is there:Link:http://dawn.com/news/1055337/the-fear-factorWhy is one side always so quiet, always ceding so much space to even the mainstream enablers and sympathisers of the Taliban?
Last edited by davidbfpo; 11-13-2013 at 07:58 PM. Reason: FIX quote
davidbfpo
More here (unfortunately, mostly in Urdu)
http://www.brownpundits.com/2013/11/...-web-we-weave/
btw, the Air Marshall sahib representing the Pakistani army is the core of this post...
A short note about Baloch separatist terrorism:
http://brownpundits.blogspot.com/201....html?spref=tw
and about anti-TTP ops part X
http://brownpundits.blogspot.com/201....html?spref=tw
my latest piece: http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksd...tionality.html
A rather curious Pakistani press report on the Pakistani Army, the language verges on the skeptical, if not cynical:http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-New...-network-an-FO
This analogy is sharply made:..the beauty of the Pakistan Army. They were the first to really screw-up on the extremism front, but they’re now leading the charge to fix it. It’s the classic case of the heart surgeon who smokes himself. But this heart surgeon claims he’s done smoking, and we should quit, too.
davidbfpo
The author (Wajahat Khan) is an American educated youngster who seems to have a lot of access to the army. I dont know him personally, but he reminds me of some other army brats I knew...Paknationalist, a bit shallow, very hip, able to get rides on helicopters and talk to officers because everyone is "uncle Jimmy" or Uncle Jimmy's friend, and Uncle Jimmy is a very senior officer....he seems to be the Pakistani-American face of ISPR (inter-services public relations) these days, which means he probably does represent the views of the "modernist paknationalist" faction of the army...not an insignificant faction in the upper echelons.
They are not as modern as they think they are (operating mostly on the TIME magazine and what-ho-old-chap frequencies), but I am sure they mean well.
I guess almost everyone means well. The critical question to ask them would be "what do you intend to do in Afghanistan and Kashmir?". If that answer remains unchanged, then its likely to be more of the same. IF that answer has changed, then its genuinely good news..
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