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India-Pakistan
McCain warns Pakistan of Indian air strikes
2008-12-07
ISLAMABAD: United States Senator John McCain has said there is enough evidence of the involvement of former Inter-Services Intelligence officers in the planning and execution of the Mumbai attacks.

If Pakistan did not act swiftly to arrest the people involved, the Senator said, India would be left with no option but to conduct aerial operations against select targets in Pakistan.
At the very least ...
Senator McCain told a select group of Pakistanis at an informal lunch in Lahore on Saturday that this was conveyed to him by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.

Ejaz Haider, a senior editor at the Daily Times, who was at the lunch said Mr. McCain told the group that Washington would not be able to do much to stop India, as the Mumbai attacks were its "9/11."

"The democratic government of India is under pressure and it will be a matter of days after they have given the evidence to Pakistan [that they decide] to use the option of force if Islamabad fails to act against the terrorists," Mr. Haider quoted the Senator as saying.
McCain is correct, and the Paks will be lucky if the Indians restrain themselves to selected air strikes ...
Mr. McCain, who arrived in Pakistan from New Delhi on Friday and met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Islamabad in the evening, told the group that Dr. Singh was "visibly angry and reeling from the shock of the attacks."

He said if Pakistan did not act to get the "bad guys," India would have no option but to use force. "We were angry after 9/11. This is India's 9/11. We cannot tell India not to act when that is what we did, asking the Taliban to hand over Osama Bin Laden to avoid a war and waging one when they refused to do so," Mr. McCain said.

An official statement of Mr. Gilani's meeting with the Senator said he had assured him that his government was determined to fight terrorism and had offered India all help in the Mumbai attacks. He reiterated that Pakistan wanted good relations with its neighbours.
Then again, Gilani isn't in charge of anything, so who cares what he says ...
A report quoting the Dawn newspaper said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was understood to have told Pakistan that there was "irrefutable evidence" of involvement of elements in the country in the Mumbai attacks and that it needed to act urgently and effectively to avert a strong international response.

Contrary to the formal statements issued by Pakistani authorities and her own statement at the Chaklala Airbase before her departure, sources said she "pushed the Pakistani leaders to take care of perpetrators, otherwise the U.S. will act."
Posted by:john frum

#10  From the article...

He said if Pakistan did not act to get the “bad guys,” India would have no option but to use force.

Rite.
Posted by: .5MT   2008-12-07 19:17  

#9  um....... Hinjoooo.com... salt. Heeps of it.
Posted by: .5MT   2008-12-07 19:14  

#8  This is playing right into the hands of the terrorists, AlQaida or whatever they call themselves now. The 'prize' is a nuke. The 'nuke store' is open
assuming that India trusts us enough to tell us they are going to do something, you can bet we have the nukes' location pretty well known. so we can either send in a team to hold or abscond with them, or destroy them with a B2 strike.
that assumes India trusts us. but i think i already said that.
Posted by: USN,Ret.   2008-12-07 16:45  

#7  No, my dear Nimble. It's "Kill them all and let G-d sort them out".

One must respect our betters.
Posted by: Milton Fandango   2008-12-07 15:37  

#6  Wouldn't it have been great to have the McCain-Rice team for the next 4 years? Better than 'no pre-conditions' Barry.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon   2008-12-07 10:36  

#5  Yeah. Kill em all and let God sort it out. That's our policy.!
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2008-12-07 07:49  

#4  Yes, yes logi_cal. We should never respond to Muzzi violence with violence because it only makes things worse.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2008-12-07 05:57  

#3  Ummm...just a note, guys (IMO):
This is playing right into the hands of the terrorists, AlQaida or whatever they call themselves now. The 'prize' is a nuke. The 'nuke store' is open, and has a weak governing structure & is infiltrated.
Any destabilization that occurs, resulting in a conflict will DEFINITELY allow nukes to go 'missing'.
I guarantee that if war breaks out between India & Pakistan, a nuke will be used in a terrorist action within 12 months.
McCain is using the Bush tactic of 'if you don't cooperate, we can't stop 'em', while Condi's calming the Indians before war breaks out.
Smart moves.
While I believe Pakistan will ultimately be a smoking hole in the earth, a limited regional conflict now will have much worse long-term security consequences for the West & the US.
Posted by: logi_cal   2008-12-07 01:11  

#2  Don't hold yer breath, Commodore Frank. However, I believe in hope and change, and, by gum, India just might take on the terrorists and give the hornets' nest a good smack.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2008-12-07 00:27  

#1  perhaps something will actually come from this? Actual consequences to the Paks and ISI? Boggles!
Posted by: Frank G   2008-12-07 00:23  

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