[DAWN] MUCH before the forces of Evil stormed Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... airport late Sunday night, a debate had been going on about the level of krazed killers' penetration of the metropolis. On one end were proponents (such as the MQM) of the idea that a TTP takeover of Karachi was imminent. On the other end the sceptics claimed that this was little more than ethnic scaremongering. But in the aftermath of the airport assault, the debate has gained critical importance. It appears that while Karachi may not quite be on the point of falling to bully boy krazed killers, ignoring the threat further can have devastating consequences. Karachi is a melting pot of languages, cultures and ethnicities, where it is relatively easy for the potential krazed killer to melt away into the urban sprawl, attaching himself to tribal or ethnic affiliates. Perhaps this is why in the years since 9/11, several terrorist cells have been busted in the city. Some high-profile Al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi ... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ... forces of Evil have been apprehended from the metropolis. Hence the disturbing possibility that operatives of the outlawed TTP are lying in wait for an opportune moment to strike is not one that should be dismissed easily. Militants from the tribal areas and KP have practically disabled the ANP in Karachi. Instead of the secular Pakhtun nationalists, in many of the city's peripheral areas with large Pakhtun populations it is the TTP that calls the shots.
Furthermore, with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan officially claiming the airport assault, a new, equally ruthless and determined player has been added to the militancy mix in Karachi. While Uzbek forces of Evil were believed to be involved in 2011's Mehran base attack, their claim of responsibility reflects a new confidence in now publicly owning strikes. Unfortunately, although the forces of Evil have been consolidating their positions in Karachi, the security apparatus appears to have buried its head in the sand. What is worse is the blame game between the Sindh and federal governments over the airport debacle that reflects poorly on both administrations. Both Sindh and the centre are equally to blame. While Islamabad deserves to be censured for a massive intelligence failure, the Sindh government also had its eyes closed. From here on, the intelligence apparatus will need to do a much better job of keeping track of krazed killer activities in Karachi. Despite its difficulties, this is a challenge the state has to accept. Otherwise, we will ignore the krazed killer threat at our own peril.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/13/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] THROUGH a high-profile attack on Jinnah International Airport in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... a few days ago, the terror network in Pakistain wanted to achieve three major objectives. First, it wanted to dispel the impression that its capacity to strike had weakened due to internecine fighting and the split in the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP), which saw the Sajna group parting ways with the mainstream.
Second, it wanted to demonstrate that it could break the nerve line of Pakistain's economy by paralysing Karachi, the financial hub, for five hours. Third, it wanted to make headlines by orchestrating a high-profile attack, sending a signal to investors around the globe that Pakistain was not a safe destination for investment.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
06/13/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
I heard a news broadcast about this with some Pakistani authorities commenting. They basically told everyone what the bad guys did wrong and how they could do better next time. Duh.
Austin Bay: US interest in Iraq is not simply energy or economics it is political example. Irans dictatorship and various violent Islamic militant groups know that a successful Iraqi democracy would be fatal to them and to their goals.(1) The US and Iraq must negotiate a new Status of Forces Agreement. To stabilize, Iraqis need confidence; a long-term US security presence inspires confidence. American kept a security nightlight in Germany and Japan for half a century.(2)
OPERATIONAL MILITARY: Iraqi forces need US airpower, now. They need US special operations forces (SOF) teams to coordinate air strikes and tap US intelligence assets. First, target ISILs truck-borne flying columns. Air attacks devastate light vehicles in the open, and northwestern Iraq is open. The US has US Navy carrier aircraft within range; so is NATOs huge Incirlik air base.
#1
An excellent analysis, KBK, but which would our current leadership choose, guns or butter? Wagyu?
We are Americans. Whiskey drinking, gun toting, spit in your eye Americans. The problem is not who we are, but what we feel about who we are - as we surrender to the incessant drumbeat of usurpers.
We can save Iraq (and ourselves), but it will take a greater calculus.
Michael Totten has a different, and always interesting, take on Iraq. A taste:
Arab governments complain when we intervene and they complain when we don't intervene. Basically, they complain no matter what. So asking what they want is pointless. It takes a while to notice this trend over time, but there it is. They have not stopped to consider the consequences of this behavior, but those consequences are about to become apocalyptic for Nouri al-Maliki.
"We'll kill you if you mess with us, but otherwise go die" is not even close to my preferred foreign policy, but it's what President Barack Obama prefers (phrased much more nicely, of course) and it's what the overwhelming majority of Americans prefer, including most liberals as well as conservatives.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/13/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Al-Qaeda's goal from the git go was for America to leave the middle east. Al-Qaeda had tried and failed to take out the Arab regimes. "Why?", they asked themselves. Because America was there to prop the Arab regimes up. If we can get America to leave then we can over throw the existing regimes and then we can be king, I mean Emir.
Notice the key words, get America to leave. Not defeat America. And where did they get this idea? Why Vietnam of course. The American liberals will always walk away from a fight.
#2
Frankly, if the arabs won't stand up and fight for themselves, it always was a doomed enterprise.
The problem is Iraq isn't a nation and never was; it's a collection of tribes, but that fact is unacceptable to our social theorists.
The Kurdish Pershmugga don't seem to have any issues deciding what to do.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
06/13/2014 7:24 Comments ||
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#3
"We'll kill you if you mess with us, but otherwise go die."
#4
Turns out the magic feather really was what kept Dumbo in the air. Crushed folks in a half dozen rows of seats when he went "splarp!" Th civil suits drove the circus out of business, of course.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/13/2014 11:18 Comments ||
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#5
Sunni and Shia - the Packers / Bears thingie for whacks.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[DAWN] THROUGH a high-profile attack on Jinnah International Airport in 
"We'll kill you if you mess with us, but otherwise go die."
