I recall the Taliban's Mullah Omar also talkig of taking the Red Fort
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| India-Pakistan |
| Asia Times so salt: A moment of truth for Pakistan |
| 2007-07-09 |
| [..] They are undoubtedly concerned that should they clear the mosque in one final military attack, violence across the country will only increase. Already, scores - if not hundreds - of people have died in the mosque siege. Indeed, there is even talk of the unrest becoming so widespread that it would justify calling in North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led troops in Afghanistan to extend the "war on terror" into Pakistan territory. For the al-Qaeda leadership sitting in the tribal areas, the situation is fast evolving into the promised battle of Khorasan. This includes parts of Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan from where the Prophet Mohammed promised the "end of time" battle would start. Jihadist circles clearly want to exploit the crisis to boost themselves as major players, and envisage even a share in the power in Islamabad. [..] Three Chinese nationals were killed in Peshawar, NWFP, on Sunday. They are unlikely to have been preferred targets, but militants want to make the brutal point that the writ of the government means little in this area. [..] "I don't see any solution except that the militants are given a safe passage, otherwise the situation will deteriorate and go way beyond the control of the government," said Gul, who is considered one of the architects of the jihadist movements in Pakistan, Kashmir and Afghanistan. "A serious situation is evolving and if any [further] operation is conducted against Lal Masjid it will simply radicalize the religious centers of the country. There are 250,000-275,000 mosques in the country. Think what would happen if all those centers were radicalized. "The jihadis want this sort of situation, and eventually it will prompt Western armies to enter Pakistan to attack Taliban and al-Qaeda targets. The government should realize what lies ahead. It is a pity that our army was preparing youths to seize Lal Qala [the Red Fort of Delhi] and they ended up seizing the Lal Masjid," Gul said. The Lal Masjid situation deteriorated on Sunday when a commando operation in the early hours of the morning went badly wrong. The commandos had planned to break down one of the mosque's walls, but were caught in a trap. The leader, Lieutenant-Colonel Haroon Ul Islam, died in the subsequent gunfight. A Pakistani official told Asia Times Online on condition of anonymity, "They [those remaining in the mosque] are not ordinary students or jihadis. They are very well-trained militants. The way they trapped our commandos, it just could not be the handiwork of a Pakistani jihadi. We are sure that there are some Arabs inside, and possibly a high-value target is commanding them." The establishment later gave out the names of two Arab commanders of al-Qaeda - Abu Zar and Abu Masoor - as being in the mosque. This could not be verified. On Sunday, Ghazi sent text messages to the mobile telephones of all the journalists with whom he had previously been in contact, including this one. It read: "We have all tied bombs to our bodies. We will fight till the last and will not embarrass our friends." [..] |
| Posted by:3dc |
| #10 Wel-l-l, Pakistan = USA is no different than Dubya's critics since Y2000, i.e. DEGREE/MAGNITUDE OF "REDNESS" INSIDE THE COUNTRY. Remember, Anti-US > WOT = WAR BTWN LIMITED SOCIALISM VZ FULL/TOTAL SOCIALISM, and the related. FASCIST > both a hated Hitlerist-Rightist whom is also a well-meaning but error-prone LIMITED/DE-REGULATED COMMUNIST. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-07-09 21:19 |
| #9 Ah, well. Probably why they got brave and talked about trying something there. Always easier for the brave jihadi's when there's nobody to shoot back. |
| Posted by: Laurence of the Rats 2007-07-09 20:56 |
| #8 The army is gone. The fort was handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India in 2003. |
| Posted by: John Frum 2007-07-09 20:24 |
| #7 John Frum - I recall the Taliban's Mullah Omar also talkig of taking the Red Fort Huh... I visited the Red Fort back in 2002. There was a decent sized Indian-army barracks built right inside the walls. A bunch of goons trying to "take" that place would be interesting... for about 15 minutes. |
| Posted by: Laurence of the Rats 2007-07-09 20:01 |
| #6 From AP Pakistan leaders' abrupt exits at a glance ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The careers of Pakistan's political leaders over the country's 60 years of existence have often been abruptly terminated — by coups, assassinations and, in one case, an air crash. A brief history of turbulence at the top (including years in power): _Liaquat Ali Khan, the country's first prime minister (1947-51), was assassinated. _President Iskander Ali Mirza (1956-58) was exiled following a military coup. _President Yahya Khan (1969-71) stepped down after defeat to India in a war that sealed Bangladesh's breakaway from Pakistan. _Prime Minister and later President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1971-77) was ousted in a military coup and hanged for murder in 1979. _President Mohammed Zia ul-Haq (1977-88) died in a mid-air aircraft explosion. _Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (1988-90 and 1993-96) was twice ousted from power over corruption allegations and has lived in exile since 1999. _Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (1990-93 and 1997-99) was ousted in a military coup by Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who has held power since — and has survived at least four assassination bids. |
| Posted by: John Frum 2007-07-09 17:38 |
| #5 "It is a pity that our army was preparing youths to seize Lal Qala [the Red Fort of Delhi] and they ended up seizing the Lal Masjid," I recall the Taliban's Mullah Omar also talkig of taking the Red Fort |
| Posted by: John Frum 2007-07-09 15:59 |
| #4 Indeed, there is even talk of the unrest becoming so widespread that it would justify calling in North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led troops in Afghanistan to extend the "war on terror" into Pakistan territory. Oh, joy! Miserable as it might be, cleaning out the rat's nest that is Pakistan needs to be done. If the terrorists manage to cap Musharraf we should use instability as a pretext to move in and confiscate all Pakistani nuclear weapons. As always, the terrorists simply do not understand how their crapulence may well lead to complete loss of prestige as a once-nuclear power that has been disarmed by the West. For the al-Qaeda leadership sitting in the tribal areas, the situation is fast evolving into the promised battle of Khorasan. This includes parts of Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan from where the Prophet Mohammed promised the "end of time" battle would start. Feh, "end of time" or "end of Islam"? Quite obviously this area has been a perpetual source of Muslim crapulence throughout Islam's entire history. Jihadist circles clearly want to exploit the crisis to boost themselves as major players, and envisage even a share in the power in Islamabad. I would sooner see Pakistan a glow-in-the-dark parking lot than ever have jihadists running the "I don't see any solution except that the militants are given a safe passage, otherwise the situation will deteriorate and go way beyond the control of the government," said Gul, who is considered one of the architects of the jihadist movements in Pakistan, Kashmir and Afghanistan. One question: Why is Gul not at room temperature or, at least, in captivity? If this scum bag is "one of the architects of the jihadist movements", he really needs to catch a slug. More evidence of Musharraf's insincerity about truly fighting terrorism. "A serious situation is evolving and if any [further] operation is conducted against Lal Masjid it will simply radicalize the religious centers of the country. There are 250,000-275,000 mosques in the country. Think what would happen if all those centers were radicalized. Think what would happen if there were suddenly 250,000-275,000 new targets? "Father of the Taliban" Maulana Sami ul-Haq, who is director and chancellor of a famous madrassa in NWFP and a politician, has warned that if Lal Masjid is destroyed, suicide attacks can be expected all over the country. As with Gul, why is Maulana Sami ul-Haq still breathing? Despite what a crap shoot this is, I'm hoping that the Coalition or NATO would be willing risk the odds and see if Pakistan's terror structure can't be toppled for once and all. It is the source of far too much Islamic crapulence and the longer we delay this onerous task the more danger we place ourselves in. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-07-09 15:42 |
| #3 I don't buy everything in the article but no doubt this is a big deal for the army - maybe even more than it is for Mush |
| Posted by: mhw 2007-07-09 15:14 |
| #2 What's a "contingency plan"? |
| Posted by: GWB 2007-07-09 14:47 |
| #1 I'm afraid Perv might be the one who needs safe passage. Out of Pakiwakiland, that is. It will be interesting to see how much longer that boy can cling to what little power he still has in that country. With what little I know I wouldn't bet on anything. I just hope Bush has some viable contingency plans. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2007-07-09 14:43 |