It seems rather clear that the extremist elements/militants were focusing their terror moreso outside of Pakistan until this latest series of events where this sham "peace agreement" fell apart between Pakistan's government and the tribal regions. Now, the extremists are focusing their suicide attacks inside Pakistan after declaring the peace agreement over. So far, it doesn't appear Pakistan can deal with this insecurity any more than it has been dealt with in Iraq. If someone wants to blow himself up in a crowd of people, then there is little they can do to stop it and it just forments violence. There are even talks of a civil war in Pakistan. It is pretty clear that Pakistan is the center of terrorism and almost all of it is directed outwards from Al Qaeda/Taliban leadership in Pakistan. The sham peace agreement that was in place was nothing more than a way for Pakistan to stop or reduce the violence from occurring within their own borders. Is anyone concerned about Pakistan and Musharaff falling to extremists and then extremists installing a Taliban-style Islamist state while also having nukes at their disposal? Is our government planning on this contingency? The way I see it is there is no way in hell we can let this happen. I don't know what the percentage of extremists to moderates is in that country but the extremists side seems firmly entrenched and growing. From reading the news reports coming out of Pakistan, Musharaff's balancing act clearly has the populace concerned over what will happen. If he takes the fight to the extremists killing "supposedly" innocent civilians in the vicinity of the fighting, then he risks angering the population and creating more extremists. If he backtracks, then he lets extremists and Taliban in the tribal regions continue to wage global jihad. So, how the hell are we supposed to deal with Pakistan? Does anyone think a war with Pakistan is in our future...especially if extremists are able to overtake the government either through elections or an overthrow? How long can we continue to let these lawless tribal regions just do whatever what they want while protecting Al Qaeda leadership? It is clear Musharaff has his hands full and they clearly aren't wanting outside help. They continue to want to deal with this matter internally but nothing is getting done nor do I believe it will get done. We all know where the front of the terror war is and it is not in Afghanistan or Iraq...it is in Pakistan where the Al Qaeda/Taliban leadership has safe haven to continue to train elements and direct this fight for years to come. Something has to be done about it in the next few years...one way or another. Another attack on US soil will only make this even more apparent. Your opinions/input?
our government has given pakistan billions in aid, yet pakistan made a truce w/ al-qaeda to allow them to occupy the northwest part of the country. didnt bush say that if you harbor terrorists you are our enemy? "you are either with us or against us". well, here is a country providing safe haven for the guy responsible for 9/11...why dont we git-r-done? the cia is very closely aligned w/ the isi, who are heavy supporters/sympathizers of bin laden and al-qaeda.
You definitely don't understand the politics of that region. It's actually difficult to understand without being from there. Secondly Al_qeuida is not a group of people but an ideology(extremism).
what did i say that was untrue? i would argue it is a group which operates under an extreme ideology. are the crips not a group of people?
That was only the vice-boogeyman. The main guy, is still out there, hiding in the shadows of caves, plotting the doom of western civilization. MUHAHAHAHA!
Pakistan seems like a no win solution for the US. Leaving Musharraf to his own devices hasn't been helping much recently and a US invasion will likely end up in Musharraf losing control as I doubt most Pakistanis will tolerate Musharraf not responding to a US incursion. At this point the best solution would be for Musharraf to reassert control over all of Pakistan. Whether he can do that I don't even think I can speculate on. In regard to a US invasion I don't think we are in a good position to do so. Our forces are still stretched thin with neither Iraq or Afghanistan stabilized. We still have to be prepared to deal with Iran if something arises along with a host of other potential problems.
Pakistan is a ticking time bomb. Has been for years. Be very afraid... Mango knows. D&D. Francis is Back! OMG!!!
Actually Al Qaida is both. It's a group of people with an ideology that has extended past the original group and turned into an extremist movement. But Bin Laden's Al Qaida is still very much intact.
If push came to shove, I dont think Musharraf could even hold Islamabad. He knows this, as does al-qaeda. Scary to think these guys are within reasonable reach of nukes.
thats just absurd. the military of any reasonable nation state will not just hand over nukes to rogue elements. take a political science class.
why do you think that? israel was actually one of about 2 dozen countries which warned the bush administration that bin laden was about to strike the u.s.
I just got back from Pakistan last week after spending a month there, and I can tell you that there is no danger of the extremists taking over the government. They are a very small uneducated minority, usually from the northwest frontier province, and the moderate muslim population of Pakistan far outweighs them in terms of size and power. My uncle is a brigadier in the Pakistan army and I can tell you with 100% confidence that the military is not about to hand over any nuclear weapons to extremists. If there's one impressive and disciplined institution Pakistan has, it's their military.
Musharraf must rule Pakistan similar to the way Saddam with Iraq. We see this is the only way to keep extremist in check, but wielding power and creating a state of fear in which people don't dare even speak of jihad against the government. I don't think democratic control can work is any of the pan-Islamic countries right now. Not with the extremist elements that would constantly seek to subvert it.
That's reassuring and I certainly hope you're right. Do you think the Pakistani army is going to try to reassert control over the Northwest provinces?
pakistan is a lot more dynamic and is certainly no arab country with only islamists as the alternative. bbc
It's actually just one province -- the NWF (Northwest Froniter Province). It's a remote region on the Afghanistan border. The people in this region speak the same language as Afghanis do (Pashtun), and are far more like Afghanis physically and culturally. At this point, I think the Pakistani army needs to step down and not rule the country. All of the money going into Pakistan from foreign aid (ie: the $3 billion sent by the US) is being distributed among the army officers to fund their extravagent perks and lifestyle. None of it is used to advance the country in terms of technology and infastructure. The army has always been a disciplined institution in Pakistan, but money and power make the best of us do stupid things. In my opinion, Musharraf needs to be replaced and a democratic government needs to be reinstituted in Pakistan. The country has a lot of potential that just needs strong political leadership. Although Pakistan is an "Islamic Republic", there is no way it will ever come under the leadership of extremists. From what I noticed, the educated and wealthy people in Pakistan were far from religious, let alone extremist.
