Michael O'Hanlon and Fred Kagan provide a good primer on what not to do in Pakistan.
I'd like to figure out what planet these gentlemen are living on nowadays. It must be the same place from which they intend to bring in the thousands of extra American troops and "moderate Muslim" forces they will use to invade Pakistan.
And people actually mocked Obama for saying something far less insane.
Last edited by tequila; 11-19-2007 at 03:14 PM.
Tequila,
I always look for key phrases like "crack international" troops--then I know we have a used car salesman involved.
It is amazing how clear the world is when you never participate in it.
Scary, really scary...
Tom
- By Mentor and Proxy
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21909129/
"updated 2:27 a.m. ET, Wed., Nov. 21, 2007
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - When Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte visited Pakistan last weekend, he met once with President Pervez Musharraf, for two hours. But before he left town, he held three meetings with a lesser-known figure: Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani, the deputy army chief.
..................................
"To understand the power of Pakistan, you have to understand that it's the military that matters. And they are kingmakers here," said Shireen M. Mazari of the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad. "
Cricket matters more!
Another website reported today that the current series of Pakistan -v- India cricket matches attracts more attention from the public than politics.
At first I was sceptical, but a colleague who has just returned from Pakistan stated the State of Emergency and politics was disregarded by most Pakistani's. Politicians are held in low esteem and reported that Musharraf was finished.
I recall The Economist earlier this year reported that Pakistan only had two working national institutions: the Army and the national cricket team.
So perhaps cricket is more important to the "man in the street".
davidbfpo
In my darker moments, I sometimes wonder what percentage of the population of the United States would care if there was a military coup in this country, or if the Constitution was suspended. If the economy kept ticking along and the Super Bowl was played, would enough people care to make a difference?
I think the average Pakistani (if there is such a thing in such a factionalized place) knows that there will, in the end, not be a real place for him at the table once the players are done shuffling pieces. The game will be played out amongst the Army's corps commanders, the machine politicians of the PML-Q and PPP and PML-N, the United States, and the Chinese. The lawyers may play a small role as well. But either way, none of these groupings truly represents a broad cross section of the Pakistani public.
- in my darker moments, I'd say about 8% and in other moments, 9%
Pakistani politics opens up
Reported on the link the return of Nawaz Sharif to Pakistan; Benazir Bhutto's main secular rival and a man who opposes military rule. Interesting to note his return is a few days after Musharraf visited Saudi Arabia, where Sharif has been in exile.
http://www.pakistanpolicy.com/
Elsewhere the BBC report two suicide bomb attacks in Rawlpindi, including a blast on a packed bus at an ISI site.
davidbfpo
Oh wow, that is a truly stunning piece....Originally Posted by tequila
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