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| India-Pakistan |
| During Indo-Paki thaw Siachen Glacier remains chilly |
| 2003-12-22 |
| EFL Why would it not remain chilly? It's a glacier, fergawdsake! Despite the cease-fire, which covers the heavily fortified frontline in disputed Kashmir and Siachen to the north, there can be no let up in deployment. The men posted here, often at heights above 18,000 feet, can survive for only three months, their bodies wasting away, starved of oxygen, and must be replaced by fresh troops. Pakistan and India have been fighting since 1984 for control of the Siachen Glacier, both sides laying claim to a region which until then had been so desolate and so remote, that no one had bothered even to demarcate it properly on a map. I suggest that a quick round of rock, paper, scissors should be employed with the loser being forced to keep that passes and clean up all the crap those bozo’s have left up there. Despite conditions which would defeat even the most able mountaineers — where the risks run from frostbite to altitude sickness to avalanches and crevasses — they have been unable to trust each other enough to agree on a withdrawal. Despite the cease-fire, winter is likely to bring fresh casualties as both frostbite and altitude sickness are more common in severe weather. And until India and Pakistan can make real progress in their tentative peace process, the two armies will continue to fight the weather, the terrain and the altitude on the most hostile battleground in the world. Let me be the first to wish them a white Christmas. |
| Posted by:Super Hose |
| #8 A glacier? Which direction is it moving? The correct answer is "UP". This is one of many glaciers in the Himilayas that's growing. So are the Himilayas - about a centimeter every 90 years or so. Can you imagine? The tallest mountains in the world are getting taller. That'll make it even harder for those Pak/Indian troops to face one another in another 500 years - and if the past is any indication, they'll still be at it then. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-12-22 11:35:00 PM |
| #7 Holy Pulmonary Edema, Batman! This one's for you, Steve White. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-12-22 4:17:55 PM |
| #6 A glacier? Which direction is it moving? My guess is downhill! Do I win a prize? |
| Posted by: phil_b 2003-12-22 3:47:28 PM |
| #5 I thought the glaciers had all melted because Bush hadn't signed Kyoto? |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-12-22 3:41:16 PM |
| #4 A glacier? Which direction is it moving? |
| Posted by: RonB 2003-12-22 2:56:27 PM |
| #3 ...loser being forced to keep that[sic] passes... and guarantee safe-conduct to tourists with bicycles and lederhosen. |
| Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) 2003-12-22 1:51:39 PM |
| #2 Maybe all that frozen water has some sort of therapeutic value. If so, I have the perfect replacement - Marvel's Mystery Oil. Guaranteed to cure any malady. Wanna buy some? I can get it at a discount... |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-12-22 1:48:20 PM |
| #1 Hey, guys, relax. It's a glacier, fer chrissakes... |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-12-22 12:39:58 PM |