Is Pakistan the solution to the budget impasse?

So, Pakistan has decided to begin restricting their support of anti-terrorism. And the USA has pushe back, threatening to cut off military aid. And finally, Pakistan has threatened to pull out of anti-terrorism efforts altogether. There seems like a simple solution here - end all aid to Pakistan and pull our troops out of Afghanistan.

We save $2 billion in aid, plus the trillions we are investing in the War. In return, Pakistan suddenly has to face its own internal problems without an international scapegoat, while simultaneously having to face what they have made in Afghanistan by refusing to fight the Taliban.

It's time for our allies to understand that we can't afford to pay extortion money anymore. We're looking to fill trillion dollar holes in our budget. Pakistan just volunteered to do that for us.

Pakistan is NOT our ally

With the capture and death of Osama Bin Laden, it is time to face an uncomfortable truth. After a decade and trillions of dollars in aid, Pakistan is not really our friend or ally in the War On Terror. This has been evident for years, became obvious during the OBL capture, and is now something we can no longer ignore. During a recent set of sting operations on terrorist bomb-making factories, the Pakistani military or intelligence warned militants time and time again before raids

The two sites' locations in the tribal areas had been shared with the Pakistani government this past week, the officials said Saturday. The Americans monitored the area with satellite and unmanned drones to see what would happen.

In each case, within a day or so after sharing the information, they watched the militants depart, taking any weapons or bomb-making materials with them, just as militants had done the first two times. Only then, did they watch the Pakistani military visit each site, when the terror suspects and their wares were long gone, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss matters of intelligence.

It is an uncomfortable truth. But clearly it is time to scale back our aid to this nation, as we prepare to eventually pull out of Afghanistan.

Good News in the War on Terror

Finally some good news is being reported in the war on terror. CNN has up a story telling of how local civilians in Pakistan have formed a Militia to fight Taliban fighters in their area. About 400 Militiamen have taken up arms against the Taliban who recently detonated a bomb at a Mosque during Friday prayers. 40 people were killed and 80 other wounded. These people have had enough and are willing to fight back. The Pakistani military so far has supported the militia and has helped when requested. This is a great happening in the war on terror and should be encouraged.

Will Pakistani uprising give Al Qaeda a nuke?

Amidst the Swine Flu - I mean H1N1 flu - panic, we have somewhat lost sight of a sobering reality in the country of Pakistan. An uprising lead by Taliban and Al Qaeda sympathizers has been winning battles in Pakistan, and has begun to capture towns and cities near the capital. Why do we care, you ask? Because there is a very real possibility of the insurgents capturing a nuke from the Pakistani security system.

Several current officials said that they were worried that insurgents could try to provoke an incident that would prompt Pakistan to move the weapons, and perhaps use an insider with knowledge of the transportation schedule for weapons or materials to tip them off. That concern appeared to be what Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was hinting at in testimony 10 days ago before the House Appropriations Committee. Pakistan’s weapons, she noted, “are widely dispersed in the country.”

“There’s not a central location, as you know,” she added. “They’ve adopted a policy of dispersing their nuclear weapons and facilities.” She went on to describe a potential situation in which a confrontation with India could prompt a Pakistani response, though she did not go as far as saying that such a response could include moving weapons toward India — which American officials believed happened in 2002. Other experts note that even as Pakistan faces instability, it is producing more plutonium for new weapons, and building more production reactors.

Allowing a nuclear weapon - any nuclear weapon - to fall into the hands of terrorists is clearly a worst-case scenario. Hopefully, Pakistan will be wise in their use of these weapons, and America will aggressive in its intelligence-gathering and oversight of the arsenal. But here's hoping President Obama shows the toughness he has always claimed to have in addressing this threat with Islamabad.

When The Shoe is on the Other Foot

Imagine this, many of the inmates at DU have decided that they don't really mind bombing of sovereign nations as long as it is a Democratic president authorizing the bombs. To be fair, there are a small handful of people who are upset about the Pakistan bombing which is being reported to have killed several civilians, including children.

But it's amazing how many hawks there suddenly are in the progressive camp. But hey, at least they're finally coming around...

How involved was Pakistan in the Mumbai attacks?

While Americans were busy eating turkey and shopping for Black Friday deals, India was busy dealing with their own equivilent of 9/11, as 10 gunmen invaded railway stations, hotels, and shopping areas killing hundreds before all but one were killed by Indian commandos. The question now is how complicit was Pakistan in the attacks? The answer could decide whether two nuclear-armed countries go to war int he next few weeks.

The announcement blaming militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, threatened to escalate tensions between India and Pakistan. However, Indian officials have been cautious about accusing Pakistan's government of complicity.
A U.S. counterterrorism official had said some "signatures of the attack" were consistent with Lashkar and Jaish-e-Mohammed, another group that has operated in Kashmir. Both are reported to be linked to al-Qaida.

(AP) Mourners gather for a memorial to pay tribute to Mumbai police officers who lost their lives in the...
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Lashkar, long seen as a creation of the Pakistani intelligence service to help fight India in disputed Kashmir, was banned in Pakistan in 2002 under pressure from the U.S., a year after Washington and Britain listed it a terrorist group. It is since believed to have emerged under another name, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, though that group has denied links to the Mumbai attack.

My own impression is that it is unlikely that Pakistan incited these attacks, but that it is very likely one or more Pakistani officials looked the other way to allow them to happen. Pakistan is in the midst of a transition from one government to another, and in that time there is a power vacuum. Who knows who may have stepped in?

Blast in Islamabad

In case you haven't heard just how big the blast was in Islamabad, here's an account of what the scene looks like. Though no one, as of the writing of the article, has taken credit for the what appears to be the largest terrorist bombing in Pakistan, it is thought that it is the Pakistan Taliban.

Last May, the top commander of the Pakistan Taleban, Baitullah Mahsud, had this to say when he spoke to the BBC: "We do not expect the new government to change anything. But we will fight it, every way we can and if we are not safe in our homes, neither will they be."

'They' has now come to signify ordinary Pakistanis and that shift speaks volumes of how this war has changed in character.

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.

Photos Immediately Before, During, and After Bhutto Assasination

This is what it means to live in a digital age. Days after the event, a photographer can narrate, in his own voice, what he experienced during the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, with his digital photos taken in the moment.

Fair warning, some of these images are graphic and may not be suitable for young children.

Pakistani Opposition Leader Assassinated

I must admit that I have not been following the political debate in Pakistan very closely, but I know that a lot of people considered Benazir Bhutto a far better leader than President Pervez Musharraf. Others claimed she was the country's best hope for a truly democratic government. She has been a harsh critic of Musharraf, and has been imprisoned on multiple occasions for airing her views. She was assassinated in what appears to be a suicide bombing.

The bomber detonated as he tried to enter the rally where thousands of people gathered to hear Bhutto speak, police said.

The number of wounded was not immediately known. However, video of the scene showed ambulances lined up to take many to hospitals.

The attack came just hours after four supporters of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif died when members of another political party opened fire on them at a rally near the Islamabad airport Thursday, Pakistan police said.

Several other members of Sharif's party were wounded, police said.

Bhutto was participating in the parliamentary election set for Jan. 8, hoping for a third term as prime minister.

Will this be the end of opposition to Musharraf? Or it is more likely to create a martyr to the cause and crystalize dissent into outright revolution? Only time will tell. But additional unrest in Pakistan is likely to greatly hinder American attempts to keep the Taliban fighters from reorganizing.