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02-08-2008, 10:37 PM
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He does apparently have some limitied experience as an international negotiator and is knowledgeable about the recent situation in Pakistan and the region diplomatically, but that does not necessarily mean he would make a good head of state. And besides that, Musharraf has the loyalty of the military and the military holds the keys to power in Pakistan. Beyond that, there needs to be a restoration of democratic process in Pakistan. That was short-circuited most recently when Bhutto was assasinated after being conspicously poorly protected by Musharraf's security forces. Second- about the "nukes...able to reach Philadelphia"- what like Colin Powell, Cheney and Bush using the mushroom cloud image to scare people into supporting the bogus war in Iraq based on non-existent WMDs? Or like Romney, for instance, whom had the gall to say on his way out the door that basically a vote for a Democratic president is a vote for "the terrorists" (or whomever the Republican Boogey-Man-of-the-Week happens to be)? That is the ONLY way these neo-cons have held their precarious grip on our federal government- through saber rattling and fear-mongering. No thank you. We need a bridge builder and unifying leader who will help our nation heal from these past 8 years of the Bush trainwreck, and also restore our deeply tarnished image in the world community. The situation in Pakistan is one urgent reason why we need leadership in Washington who A) understands and heeds the lessons of history B) has the courage to actually lead and engage in meaningful, substantive diplomacy C) actually cares about more in international policy than placating and war profiteering.
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Peace, John My Librarything MySpace My eBay World . . . . "The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.
Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.”" -Randy Pausch, from "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," also known as The Last Lecture Last edited by peacemover : 02-08-2008 at 10:43 PM. 
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02-09-2008, 12:29 AM
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Ijaz has a pretty good grip on what's going on there now, his future projections though, are just that, projections (intelligent guesses). [Aside, I'd be happy to debate SDI's effects, but it's very tangential to this thread] Quote:
If their overall goal was to live in a peaceful, equitable world, then you'd be absolutely right. Heck, I'd even go so far as to say Dennis Kusinich would be an excellent President. However, that's not their overall desire. While there's different factions with different goals, a sizeable portion wants to project it's will on others in the region by violence. Be it ripping Kashmir from India, controlling the mineral and gas deposits in the eastern Stans, or making Iran into a pawn, they'll do it through the most effective means, and that's threat (or actual use) of force. Further, the islamic hardliners would love to see The West smouldering in a post nuclear ruin and then be converted to islam. When your opponent's goal is your destruction, there's not a lot of negotiating to be done. Your best bet is to keep them from power and that's the role Moosh plays.
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The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? - Psalm 27:1
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02-09-2008, 10:47 AM
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"Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything." - Josef Stalin http://www.thosewhocount.com/
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02-10-2008, 02:10 AM
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I was being facetious about Ijaz being a potential PM candidate after Musharraf. That is just such a wild region over there, Musharraf is not going to be able to hold things together forever- but maybe he doesn't have to- maybe the answer is to build alliances with moderate leaders in the tribal areas, and exert peer pressure, if you will, on the radicals, while containing them with the military.
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Peace, John My Librarything MySpace My eBay World . . . . "The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.
Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.”" -Randy Pausch, from "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," also known as The Last Lecture
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02-10-2008, 02:11 AM
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__________________
Peace, John My Librarything MySpace My eBay World . . . . "The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.
Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.”" -Randy Pausch, from "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," also known as The Last Lecture
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02-10-2008, 02:26 AM
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I just saw this article about an emerging pattern of alleged terror suspects apprehended in Europe with Pakistani ties:
Terror Threat From Pakistan Said to Expand
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Peace, John My Librarything MySpace My eBay World . . . . "The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.
Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.”" -Randy Pausch, from "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," also known as The Last Lecture
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02-10-2008, 01:15 PM
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See, I just don't think there's a lot of moderate leaders, especially in the tribal areas. But even if their were, if we start reaching out to them, Moosh, who's an effective place holder (if nothing more) is obviously going to catch wind of that and realize that we're at least making plans for what to do when his head is on a pike. If he's less than helpful now, imagine what it'll be like when he begins to turn more fully to ISI and the mad mullahs to bolster his support. If you could perfectly time this, if there were moderate leaders in the Tribal regions, if those leaders were strong enough to take over for Moosh, then, maybe, that'd be a good idea, but the pieces aren't in place.
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The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? - Psalm 27:1
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02-10-2008, 01:42 PM
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Ya- the CIA, NSA and all those other three letter word orgs are probably already working feverishly on this with their operatives... they just need to cool it with these drone missile strikes and really develop ties and work with some influencers in the tribes to try to sway them to get rid of these wackos. A big part of the problem is that they are so dominant, well-funded, and supported, and embedded in that region it is a very tall order to "take care of them" without opening up WWIII in the form of an all out jihad against the U.S.
Musharraf is small potatoes and he knows it. That is why he has been Bush's yes man and why he is stockpiling arms and munitions for his army. He knows there is a battle coming and eventually he will be forced from power- when and by whom is the big question, though. Quote:
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Peace, John My Librarything MySpace My eBay World . . . . "The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.
Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.”" -Randy Pausch, from "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," also known as The Last Lecture
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02-12-2008, 12:00 AM
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Here is what I think is a very informative and thoughtful article on the Pakistan situation in the tribal areas:
In Pakistan, Doubts Over the Fight in Tribal Areas
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Peace, John My Librarything MySpace My eBay World . . . . "The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.
Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.”" -Randy Pausch, from "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," also known as The Last Lecture Last edited by peacemover : 02-12-2008 at 12:05 AM.
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02-20-2008, 07:59 AM
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It looks like Musharraf's ruling party has been voted out... and they have apparently accepted the mandate of the people of Pakistan.
The victorious opposition party of the late Benazir Bhutto, now led by her widower, Asif Ali Zardari, also apparently wants to open up wider dialogue with Islamic militants: Pakistan Victors Want Dialogue with Militants Do you believe this is good or bad? For the U.S.? For the region? There are certainly a lot of changes taking place over there... Could this lead to better containing militant factions, or does it lend a sense of legitimacy to Islamic militants that is undeserved; or is it an example of a sovereign state essentially kowtowing to terrorist organizations?
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Peace, John My Librarything MySpace My eBay World . . . . "The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.
Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.”" -Randy Pausch, from "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," also known as The Last Lecture Last edited by peacemover : 02-20-2008 at 08:03 AM.
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