The Daily Graphic: Not All Pakistanis Support Terrorists

All we ever hear about Pakistan is how out of control the FATA region is, the Taleban are taking over and Osama bin Laden is viewed as Robin Hood.  The latest public opinion polling there by the Pew Global Attitudes Project shows most Pakistanis are not in the tank for terrorists.

From the abstract of the research:

…  headline-making assaults have, however, been perpetrated in a country where public support for extremism has declined sharply in recent years. Surveys by the Global Attitudes Project have found progressively lower levels of acceptance of suicide bombing as well as waning confidence in Osama bin Laden. There is only modest support among Pakistanis for al Qaeda or the Taliban. And few agree with their widely noted tactic of preventing education for girls.

Nonetheless, while the trends are positive, sizeable minorities still embrace extremism — for instance, one-in-three continue to express confidence in bin Laden, who many intelligence analysts believe is hiding somewhere in western Pakistan. And while most Pakistanis are worried about religious extremism, polling by the International Republican Institute suggests they are not convinced the Pakistani army should be used to fight radical groups. Instead, most would prefer making a peace deal with extremists.

Yet More Political Uheaval in Pakistan

From Reuters is an informative Q&A format story on the background of the current trouble for the Paki government. Excerpt:

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

Pakistan’s latest attempt at democracy is at risk.

Musharraf’s successor as army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, has vowed to keep the army out of politics. But, the danger is that if the crisis becomes acute, the military, which has ruled for more than half the country’s 61 years of history, will feel forced to act.

Hundreds jailed – New York Times

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The civilian government banned a national protest march and arrested hundreds of political workers on Wednesday, evoking for many Pakistanis the sweeping security restrictions of the military dictator, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

The unusually tough action deepened the popular discontent with President Asif Ali Zardari, whose six months as leader of Pakistan have been marked by a worsening insurgency by Al Qaeda and the Taliban, a weak economy and what is widely perceived as rule by an accidental leader.

The ban also heightened the showdown between the titans of Pakistan’s politics: Mr. Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto and the head of the secular Pakistan Peoples Party, who is backed by the United States; and Nawaz Sharif, a former prime minister who surveys suggest is more popular among Pakistanis but whom Washington sees as less committed to quelling the insurgency in Pakistan.

Zardari on collision course – Dawn

Rivals hope a show of street power by opposition leader Nawaz Sharif will precipitate Zardari’s ouster, but they are probably being premature, unless, analysts say, Zardari overuses repressive tactics rather than engage in reconciliation.

‘The question is how much this weakens Zardari,’ said Nasim Zehra, director of current affairs for Dunya Television, as news broke of bans on right of assembly in Punjab and Sindh provinces.

‘It is incredibly stupid to barricade towns, carry out midnight raids and detentions, when every action is broadcast on television within seconds,’ she said.

Transcript: President Barack Obama, First Press Conference, February 9, 2009

(Source: CNN)

President Obama: Good evening, everybody. Please be seated.

Before I take your questions tonight, I’d like to speak briefly about the state of our economy and why I believe we need to put this recovery plan in motion as soon as possible.

Read more

AfPakanistan – What Has Barack Obama Inherited

U.S. Marine under fire in Afghanistan, Spring 2008, Reuters

U.S. Military Surge in Afghanistan Can It Work?

U.S. Ally Pakistan – Working Next Door at Cross Purpose

If you’re at all interested in the future of the “War on Terror” and the current version of the Great Game being played out Afghanistan and Pakistan you need to read two stories from the Sunday New York Times:

• Fearing another Quagmire in Afghanistan
• In Pakistan, radio amplifies terror

What a mess.

No question about it, we didn’t finish the job in Afghanistan.  We pulled personnel and resources from the fight and sent it all to Iraq.  Six or seven years later, the Taliban controls swaths of territory, they use the Afghan-Pak border like a revolving door and they still terrorize those who don’t bend to their Dark Ages world view.

I’ve read that President Barack Obama is sending anywhere from 7,000 to 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in order to deal with a resurgent Taliban, drug lords and assorted other characters from Earth’s version of Tatooine’s Cantina.  He might listen to former Secy of State Colin Powell:

Think Iraq was hard? Afghanistan, former Secretary of State Colin Powell argues, will be “much, much harder.”

“Iraq had a middle class,” Mr. Powell pointed out on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” a couple of hours before Mr. Obama was sworn in last Tuesday. “It was a fairly advanced country before Saddam Hussein drove it in the ground.” Afghanistan, on the other hand, “is still basically a tribal society, a lot of corruption; drugs are going to destroy that country if something isn’t done about it.”

Remember the post-Soviet era in Afghanistan? Forget about all the great powers that have had their militaries ground down in the mountain redoubts of the country, just think back to when the Soviets left.

Read more

Pemex Declining Output On Heels of U.S. Report of Mexican Instability

Wednesday’s news about the Mexican oil industry won’t be good, and the implications are not merely to the Mexican economy.

According to reporting tonight from Bloomberg, Pemex, Mexico’s state-owned oil company will report on Wednesday historic declines in production.

This comes just days after a report by the U.S. Joint Operations Command which said that Pakistan and Mexico are in danger of sudden collapse.  In my mind, this note from the Bloomberg article ties Mexico’s oil production to Mexico’s stability:

Mexico relies on Pemex for 40 percent of its budget. Falling sales may cut into funding for a 570 billion-peso ($41 billion)-a-year infrastructure plan President Felipe Calderon is counting on to keep the country out of recession this year, Schtulmann said.

Pemex is among the ten largest oil companies in the world and outside of Canada and Saudi Arabia, Mexico is the largest importer of oil into the U.S.  It’s astounding that 40% of Mexican government revenue is dependent upon Pemex.  Mexico faces all of the structural economic problems it always has.  Recently, the government has been locked in what seems a death struggle with drug cartels who are buying out or killing anyone that gets in their way.  In 2008, 5,000 murders were attributed to Mexico’s struggle with the cartels.

Oil prices fell below $33 per bbl today.  U.S. and international inventories are high; world demand has lowered due to the recession – barring an insurrection in Saudi Arabia, prices aren’t going up soon.  Mexico is screwed.

And, so are we if our little slice of the Third World goes Pakistan Northwest Tribal Areas on us any time soon.

Aside from the scary scenarios one may conjure over the breakdown of central authority in Mexico, there is yet another strategic question for the U.S.  Where do we go to replace the lost Mexican barrels?  When our economy takes off again and demand for crude goes back on the upward slope, from which international bad actor will we be purchasing more oil?

Indian Source: Surgical Cross-Border Strikes Into Pakistan On the Table

Over the past few days, the grumblings from the Indian government have been that the Pakistanis are not doing enough to go after and wrap up the terrorist organizations that call Pakistan home.  A story this evening in the Times of India quotes a source from a meeting of the Indian foreign minister and defense officials:

“The option of cross-border surgical strikes has not been abandoned. The armed forces, on their part, are maintaining a high level of alertness to meet any eventuality, as they have been directed,” said a source.

If you see the envoys from the United States and Great Britain upping their profile in Islamabad and New Delhi in the midst of more words like this from Indian or Pak officials, the West is trying to help the East not go nuclear.

Transcript: Bush Delivers Defense/Terrorism Speech at West Point | December 9

(Source: White House Press Office)

11:25 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Please be seated. Thank you, General, for your warm welcome. Thank you for inviting me here to West Point. I now know why you’re so happy I’m here — (laughter — all classes were cancelled. (Applause.)

I had the honor of sitting next to the General and Judy during the game over the weekend. I am disappointed I could not bring the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy with me. However, you just get the Commander-in-Chief. (Applause.)

This is my last visit to a military academy as President, so I thought I would exercise a certain prerogative of office one last time: I hereby absolve all cadets who are on restriction for minor conduct offenses. As always, I always — I leave it to General Hagenbeck to determine what “minor” means. (Laughter.) Read more

Transcript: Barack Obama on ‘Meet the Press’ | December 7, 2008

(Source: MSNBC)

Dec. 7: President-elect Barack Obama

MR. TOM BROKAW:  Our issues this Sunday:  In 44 days, Barack Obama will become the 44th president of the United States.  His new team is almost complete.  But since Election Day 2008, the list of challenges facing the incoming president has only grown:  that terrorist attack in Mumbai, growing turmoil in the financial markets, the worst unemployment in 15 years, and the auto industry on the verge of bankruptcy.  Tough problems all waiting on the desk of our exclusive guest, the president-elect of the United States, Barack Obama.

And yesterday in Chicago I did sit down with the president-elect, Barack Obama, to talk about those topics and much more.

President-elect Obama, welcome back to MEET THE PRESS.

PRES.-ELECT BARACK OBAMA:  Great to be here.  Thank you. Read more

Mumbai Attacks: More Suspects Captured, India-Pak Relations

Two More Suspects in Mumbai Attacks in Custody

• India police arrest two – Washington Post
• Terrorist SIM card trail leads to Calcutta – Times of India
• J&K cop arrested for SIM card used by terrorist – Indian Express

Tensions Still High Between Rivals India – Pakistan

• Op-Ed, Muzamil Jameel: Why Pakistan Won’t Give Up Lashkar – Indian Express
• Mumbai Terror Seige Politicizes an Upper Class – New York Times
• Mumbai Attacks test for Pakistan on curbing militants – New York Times
• Indian media stoking stoking anti-Pak sentiment – Dawn
• Report: Pakistan agrees to 48 hour deadline to act on Lashkar – NDTV 

What the Islamic Terrorists May Really Want: Strike the Match on Pakistan’s Tinderbox

One encouraging sign of potentially avoiding a violent dispute between Pakistan and India in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks was the planned visit to India by the leader of Pakistan’s sometimes rogue intelligence agency.

Known as ISI which stands for Inter Services Intelligence, the agency is ostensibly an arm of the Pakistani Army.  ISI is chiefly known for being the main conduit between the United States and the Afghani mujahadeen groups who fought Soviet occupation.  When the Soviets left Afghanistan, ISI threw in its lot with the Taliban.  The Taliban in turn eventually welcomed Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda back into the country and the roots of the current worldwide war on terror took hold.

So, to have the chief of ISI interacting with the Indian government would be a good sign.  Only the ISI chief essentially told Pakistani President Asif Zardari, “No.”  He didn’t make the trip. Read more

Captured Mumbai Terrorist: A Tale of Slavery and Drugs?

Azam Amir Qasab and Other Evidence from Mumbai

This article from the London Daily Telegraph brings home just what we’re dealing with regarding terrorists from the Third World.  Evil?  Sure.  But, we are also facing a mentality and level of human sophistiphication from the Middle Ages on steroids – literally.

Azam Amir Qasab, the captured Mumbai terrorist has reportedly told his captors he was sold by his father to the Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taibat.  Lashkar-e-Taibait is thought to be the group behind the training and planning for the Mumbai attacks. 

Qasab says he was sold to Lashkar to earn money for his family.  Additionally, it’s being reported that Qasab and his nine terror mates used cocaine and other drugs to stay awake during their rampage.  Finally, the muscle-bound crew had reportedly used steroids to help chisel their physiques for their Jihad fantasy.

We’re dealing with people from the Middle Ages with access to modern drugs and weapons.  The more of them we kill and the greater number of their countries we become embroiled in only emboldens the next cohort of warriors.  Isolationism is not the answer in our globalized society, but we do need to get off the black/white short-term solutions to the bigger problem.

What got Western Civilization out of the Dark Ages?

Transcript: Obama News Conference Announcing Hillary Clinton and National Security Team | December 1

(Source: CQ Transcripts Wire)

SPEAKERS: PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA; SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, D-N.Y.; SUSAN E. RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY WORKING GROUP LEADER, OBAMA-BIDEN PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION TEAM; GENERAL JIM JONES (USMC, RET.) SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ROBERT M. GATES;
GOVERNOR JANET NAPOLITANO, D-ARIZ., ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER, OBAMA-BIDEN PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION TEAM; FORMER DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER; VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

[*] OBAMA: Good morning, everybody. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Last week, we announced our economic team which is working as we speak to craft an economic recovery program to create jobs and grow our struggling economy.

Today, Vice President-elect Biden and I are pleased to announce our national security team. The national security challenges we face are just as great and just as urgent as our economic crisis. We are fighting two wars. Our old conflicts remain unresolved. And newly- asserted powers have put strains on the international system. Read more

Video: Obama’s National Security Team, Face the Nation, Woodward, Zakaria, Mayer, Dyson | November 30

The following 16 minute video is well worth watching – insightful talk with Bob Woodward, Fareed Zakaria, Jane Mayer and Michael Eric Dyson regarding President-elect Barack Obama’s announcement tomorrow unveiling his national security team.  One interesting comment from Woodward:

SCHIEFFER: …the president, if all goes as expected, at 10:50 Eastern time tomorrow will
announce his new national security team, to be headed by Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of
state.

Mr. WOODWARD: She never goes away, she and her husband. It’s an amazing national security team that Obama appears to have selected. It’s kind of like “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”

You’ve got too cool, which might be–or at least appropriately cool, General Jones as the national security adviser; Gates is kind of just right, in the middle; and Hillary Clinton, hot. This is going to be a whole new center of gravity for the news media, for the whole world. My assessment without having any knowledge, really, is that the economists and the economic team around Obama convinced him that the economic crisis is so deep and going to require to much time, go ahead and give Hillary and Bill the world.

Yikes.  I’m not sure that’s what I voted for, Bob.

Sunday Papers – November 30 – National – Economy, India, Pakistan, IL Cuts, Ted Stevens, Bill Clinton, Illegal Immigration, Opinion, Obama, Etc.

National

• Bill Clinton to name donors in deal with Obama – New York Times
• India faces reckoning as toll nears 200 – New York Times
• Attacks imperil U.S. role among two rivals – New York Times
• Mumbai Siege Tales – Washington Post
• Defiant Pakistan rejects Indian charges – Washington Post
• Auto dealerships in trouble – New York Times
• The General as Lobbyist – New York Times
• Healthcare: U.S. ‘Not getting what it pays for’ – Washington Post
• Economic rescue could cost $8.5 trillion – Los Angeles Times
• Illegal immigrants going home, labor market at risk – Miami Herald
• Opinion: What Would Keynes Do? – New York Times
• Op-Ed, Joseph Stiglitz: What Obama Needs to Do – New York Times
• Magazine: Google’s Gatekeepers – New York Times
• The Joint Chiefs and Obama – Washington Post
• Op-Ed, David Ignatius: Bush’s Iran Policy Has Failed – Washington Post
• Op-Ed, David Broder: Governors look to Obama on economy – Washington Post
• Illinois’ budget doomsday – St. Louis Post Dispatch
• Will Alaska pay price for ousting Stevens? – Anchorage Daily News

Pakistan Newspaper: Pakistanis Could Pull Troops from Afghan Border, Tribal Areas

Dawn, a Pakistani newspaper reports Sunday that Pak officials deem the next 48 hours crucial in determining the near future of Indian-Pakistani relations.

In the story, officials are reported as saying that the Indian government is turning up the heat on Pakistan without evidence of Pak involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks.  The officials are also reportedly saying that Pakistan would pull its troops from the war on terror on the Afghan border to ostensibly maintain a better defensive posture in the east on the Indian border. The text of the story is below:

By Mubashir Zaidi, Dawn Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, Nov, 29: Pakistan’s security apparatus on Saturday warned of mounting tensions with India in days to come following Mumbai terror attacks.

Quoting the recent statements emanating from New Delhi, security officials termed the next 48 hours crucial to determine how the situation was going to unfold.

The security officials said Pakistan would wind up its “war on terror” on the western borders if the situation in the east spiralled out of control.

In a background briefing for journalists, the top security officials categorised the current state of Pakistan-India relations as tense.

“They (Indians) are taking the escalation level up at a very brisk pace,” a top security official said.

The officials went on to dub the situation as crisis-like and said Pakistan would pull out ‘all the troops’ currently deployed in the country’s northwest in case India deployed troops on the border with Pakistan.

They said that there were about 90,000 troops fighting militant groups in the tribal belt.

They said no clue had been found so far about involvement of any Pakistani entity in the Mumbai attacks.

“If Indians have any evidence they should share with us,” said a top security official.

The security officials said officially India had only conveyed that Mumbai attack conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan.

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