Thursday, December 27, 2007
Benazir Bhutto assassinated!
Bhutto at a rally minutes before being assassinated.
Earlier today. Details via the NY Times here.
I wonder how the Bush administration will deal with this (not really a) curve ball (I mean who couldn't have seen this coming after what happened when she first returned to Pakistan)? It's possible that their so-called 'Ally in the War on Terror,' Pakistan's President Musharraf may have had a hand in this yet they still have an Iraq & Iran-focused foreign policy for the region when Pakistan is the country that actually has nuclear weapons and is in real danger of falling into the control of terrorist-sympathizing, Islamic radical-fundamentalists.
BTW: should I read anything into the timing of this murder/attack coming right after reports began to surface that $5 billion of the $10 billion in US military aid sent to Pakistan to help secure the border with Afghanistan and rout out the ('final') remnants of Al Qaeda and the Taliban has gone unaccounted for?
Labels: Benazir Bhutto, GOP incompetence, Pakistan, War on Terror
Monday, November 12, 2007
Pakistan: WTF??!!!
From an AP report by Matthew Pennington titled, "Musharraf imposes emergency measures":
"Gen. Pervez Musharraf suspended Pakistan's constitution and deployed troops in the capital Saturday, declaring that rising Islamic extremism had forced him to take emergency measures. He also replaced the nation's chief justice and blacked out the independent media that refused to support him.
Authorities began rounding up opposition politicians, cut phone lines in the capital and took all but the state television station off air despite calls from Washington and other Western allies not to take authoritarian measures.
The U.S. called for Musharraf to restore democracy. However, the Pentagon said the emergency declaration does not affect U.S. military support for Pakistan and its efforts in the war on terrorism. [emphasis added]"
Click here for full story.
More:
- How Musharraf's Move Could Backfire. [Time]
- Pakistan Rounds Up Musharraf’s Political Foes. [NYT]
- Ousted Chief Justice in Pakistan Urges Defiance. [NYT]
- Chaos around Benazir Bhutto's house arrest and subsequent release. [ABC News | CBS News]
- And while the US is bogged down spreading democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan and ratcheting up the rhetoric about needing to invade Iran to quell the nuclear threat there, Pakistan's weaknesses, nuclear arms pose threat. [amNY.com]
- Pakistan political instability raises nuclear risk. [Reuters via WaPo]
Labels: Benazir Bhutto, GOP incompetence, Pakistan, War on Terror
Sunday, October 21, 2007
War on Terror/Freedom in Iraq & the Middle East update
Peace in Pakistan!
Remember how Bush used to say that a 'free Iraq' (that is, one liberated from the Saddam Hussein regime and democratically electing governments) would lead to a spread of freedom and democracy throughout the Middle East? So four years later, how's that strategy going?
Peace in the Middle East:
In Iraq: "Iraqi officials expressed outrage early Sunday at what they say are civilian deaths in the wake of a massive military operation in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood.
The U.S. military said its ground forces are "unaware" of civilian deaths in the early morning raid that it said left 49 "criminals" dead." [from "U.S. forces battle militants in Sadr City" - CNN]
Iraq/Turkey-related: 12 Turkish Soldiers Killed in Kurdish Rebel Attack. [NYT]
And in Pakistan: "Two bombs exploded Thursday just seconds apart and feet from a truck carrying the returning opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, narrowly missing her but killing scores of people and bloodying her triumphal homecoming after eight years in exile.
According to reports on local news stations late Friday morning, 134 people had been killed and about 400 wounded." [NYT]
Homeland Security:
TSA report: most fake bombs missed by screeners. [USA Today]
J.F.K. Workers Moved Drugs, Authorities Say. Not that I believe it, but could dirty bombs be next? [NYT]
So much for peace in the Middle East! And while he should be worried about more "mundane" holes in basic security like the above, Bush continues on with his lunatic "war on terror" and his demented belief in visions of World War III starting if Iran goes nuclear. C'mon, is he friggin' serious?! [NYT]
Labels: Benazir Bhutto, George Bush, GOP incompetence, Homeland Security, Iran, Iraq war, Pakistan, War on Terror
