[Pak Daily Times] The death of an important Taliban figure is a cause célèbre at drone central. Here, not so much. Here, we prefer to sit around the fireside and wallow. That in turn pushes drone morality, illusory sovereignty violation, the untimely demise of the peace talk genie, and terrorism US 'shtyle' to the top of the agenda while the smiling face of a dead Mehsud looks on.
The US-made spanner, which upset the Wazoo bound applecart, was unexpected. Or was it? An incident took place in Afghanistan prior to the appearance of that Predator. Killing Hakeemullah Mehsud -- a man with a double bounty over his head (in dollars and Pak rupees) -- comes on the heels of Latif Mehsud's capture in Afghanistan in early October 2013. The Tehrik-e-Taliban's (TTP's) right hand man, allegedly caught canoodling with KHAD/NDS and picked up by our mutual friends, may hold the key.
Rumour has it that Mehsud was being cultivated as an Afghan asset to get even with Pak agencies. There is no love lost between KHAD/NDS (National Directorate of Security) and ISI or Karzai and Nawaz, notwithstanding all this talk of 'Mohammedan brotherhood'. The Pak-sponsored science project (the original Taliban) foisted on them, reportedly haunts Afghans to this day. If Mehsud had been turned, then the so-called truce was automatically void. No one likes a spy.
What would be the reaction of the state when Mehsud's allegedly unholy alliance came to the fore, assuming that it did as a result of shared 'intel'? Pakistain could not have wanted an Afghan stooge in their carefully cultivated peace mix. Wasn't it in their joint interest then to have him taken out of the equation? In a way, Hakeemullah Mehsud's demise was well timed. And in an ideal world no one would blame them for neutralising duplicitous heads who have the blood of Pak/Afghani/American citizens on their hands.
Mehsud granted an interview to BBC days after his henchman's run-in with the Americans. The transcript is illuminating.
The TTP continues to keep jihad against infidels, and by association Pak men, women and kiddies as the centrepiece, even after the US withdrawal. The most telling part, however, is their precondition for a ceasefire, which is an end to drone wars. Mehsud also threw in support for future conflicts with other enemies as a bonus in what could be an attempt to bait an India-obsessed army. For someone who kept insisting that the media will not be used to convey terms, conditions or used for proxy negotiations, there were plenty strewn about.
With his trusty deputy in US custody, did the TTP leader realise he was on his way to becoming a statistic? Latif may have sung since he is in Bagram, and given up Mehsud's location. But the Taliban leadership is never stationary. This could be when Mehsud Sr saw the proverbial writing on the cave wall and decided to vie for the precious immunity pin by dangling the same old lie knowing Pak's kindly (read gullible) nature. The sense of complacency that followed perhaps helped pinpoint his whereabouts.
In the past, treaties have been mere stalling tactics giving TTP time to regroup, order more ammo, recap on their training and wait out the winter. This time, as 'talks about talks' were underway, the body count on the Pak side kept mounting but not once did anyone question the purely one-sided arrangement. The idea that the November 1 attack could turn out to be part of a covert strategy, which felt that slicing the head to make the writhing TTP more amenable to talks, could effectively drown out the howls of political/media pundits. And such surgical strikes take a leaf out of the Taliban's own playbook: don't let talk of peace get in the way of war.
Such ideas are rarely aired in toxic environments. Not when Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the brightest knife in the national drawer... 's charged appeal to stop NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... supply and Chaudhry Nisar's outraged presser to question the sinister timing of said attack, and maybe let slip that this is not our war, take the lead.
The last time NATO supply routes became news was after the Salala incident where 24 Pak soldiers came in the line of (US) fire. This time it is to protest the slaying of a terrorist. Somewhere, our fallen are turning in their graves.
The US-Pakistain alliance frosts over yet again; the US ambassador has been served with a demarche while the state continues to maintain plausible deniability over possible intelligence sharing ops that ensure the success of such strikes. It would be naïve to think that the terror network will remain in disarray or the leadership void be left empty for long. The TTP scale may not register degraded capability but this might count as a psychological victory in some circles. Unfortunately, this could also trigger the dreaded Dire Revenge™ cycle.
The 'Most Wanted' holed up in Pakistain and safe havens dotted across the countryside threaten the integrity of a sovereign state far more than any drone ever could. Stacking a viable peace strategy with the right proportions of carrot and stick and less emotional leaders at the helm might yield a more durable framework. The TTP will always be suspicious of any overtures, as long as the drones stay overhead, but they have yet to earn the state's trust. Or its sympathy.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/10/2013 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: TTP
[Pak Daily Times] Pakistain has been tormented with terrorism for almost over a decade now. Pakistain has been fighting the war against terror, and has lost thousands of innocent citizens who were not even aware of what their fault was. It is an unfortunate fact that Pakistain's soil is being used for extremism, a recent example of which is the September 22 terrorist attack on a church in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. city, killing over 150 and injuring around 200 worshipers. The faceless myrmidons claimed that it was in accordance with the sharia law. This is the view of an extreme mindset, but I was relieved to read an article by a holy man who quoted examples from the Koran and other important events in Islamic history, making a convincing argument that destroying non-Moslems' places of worship is against the Islamic religious tradition.
If one wishes to change how religion manifests itself in society, one cannot ignore the social function of religion and its interpretation by the religiously learned community. To recognise this function is to be able and willing to contribute to the religious discourse in the public domain. While I agree with the necessity and God-given right of an individual to interpret religion for one's own purposes, it can neither propel alternative discourses nor transform the existing ones, unless it is considered authoritative in the public sphere for its serious engagement with religion and tradition.
Salmaan Taseer, the former governor of Punjab, was assassinated by his own bodyguard in Islamabad for supporting an innocent woman, who was allegedly accused of committing blasphemy by a local holy man in her village. An illiterate woman, who is a Christian, has been in solitary confinement since November 2009 for a crime that was not even proved beyond all doubt. Her only crime was that she was a Christian. Taseer was assassinated because he spoke up against the misuse of the blasphemy law, which is used against the marginalised and the vulnerable. His assassin was praised as a hero by many and showered with petals as he was brought to the court.
Similarly, there are countless names who have been killed in the name of religion for having views against the Death Eater mindset.
This provoked a debate on Pakistain's blasphemy laws, which provide a safeguard only to Islam. Activists and NGOs spoke up to stop the abuse and misuse of these laws, but the Death Eater mindset threatened the same fate as Salmaan Taseer to anyone who even dared to think about amending these laws.
These faceless myrmidons are indeed so influential in Pak society that they managed to pressurse the government to the extent that it had to take a U-turn on its stance to amend the blasphemy laws. Now the question arises how the faceless myrmidons become so influential.
Largely, this is due to our education system. All over the world educational policies are revised after every five to 10 years, but in Pakistain, in the past 65 years, this has been done only three times. Life For All Pakistain, a humanitarian NGO, has been researching educational reforms, and they published a booklet of over 50 pages, which contains the hate speech material being taught in schools and how the minds of children are being manipulated. I met a Hindu teacher in the interior Sindh, who told me that he was forced to teach children against his religion, Hinduism.
What is being promoted?
When the education minister was questioned about the hate speech material being taught in schools, he simply said that he could not do anything, because if he tried to change anything he would be declared an 'infidel'.
But still, we have not lost hope. In a recent article by Ayesha Nasir, a former student of the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Lahore, after the attack on the Church in Peshawar, she wrote, "The prayers, which we were made to recite before the school day, began at the end of the last period, on special occasions, and sometimes even during recess, always included declarations of love and peace for our country. Today, I am sorry Convent of Jesus and Mary that I have failed you. Along with the so many hundreds and thousands of women you educated and instructed, I have failed to live up to your expectations. I, along with the dozens of Head Girls and Captains you had such high hopes from, have failed you. We have returned your messages of love and compassion with hatred. We have responded to your preaching of tolerance with intolerance. And today, we have murdered your kin when you did everything in your power to protect us whilst we remained in your care."
I read about Guy Fawkes, a man who was tossed in the clink Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! guarding a huge store of gunpowder beneath the British Houses of Parliament on November 5, 1605. When questioned after his arrest, he was asked why he planned to kill the king and all the members of parliament sitting with him. He replied, "A desperate disease requires a dangerous remedy." He was paraphrasing Hippocrates who said, "Extreme remedies are appropriate for extreme diseases." It will be remembered that Hippocrates is regarded as one of the founders of modern medicine. Both Fawkes and Hippocrates were right, though perhaps the extremity of their remedies requires some modulation.
Education is the key to reforming the system in Pakistain. Only through education will the future generations be able to think and question. Reforming the education system is the root to counter extremism.
Currently, the government of Pakistain is trying to hold peace talks with the Death Eater groups. There have been over 214 acts of terrorism in the past four years, especially in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... . To hold peace talks with snuffies is indeed a challenging situation for the government, whereas recently the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) chief Hakeemullah Mehsud was killed in a drone attack by the US. The Pakistain government claims that this will affect and delay the process of holding talks with the TTP. Surprisingly, there has been a hostile reaction by the leading holy mans and even some of the politicianship against the killing of Mehsud.
Is holding talks the solution to the plague of terrorism? I want Quaid-e-Azam's Pakistain, where every individual is free to practise his/her religion. I want peace to return to my homeland.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/10/2013 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
The prophets speak ceaselessly about care for the needy and the poor. The call originates in the Torah. Deuteronomy 15:7 tell us that if there is a poor person among you ... do not harden your heart and shut your hand. On Yom Kippur we read from Isaiah, reminding us that the fast God wants is this: To let the oppressed go free; to break off every yoke. To share your bread with the hungry, and to take the wretched poor into your home. When you see the naked, clothe him... (Is. 58:6,7).
Increasingly in modern society we do not see the poor in our daily lives. Wealth insulates and allows us to live among others who are doing well. There are still numerous challenges to life, but the grinding poverty that is a feature of so much of the world (and was prevalent throughout the ancient world) plays an increasingly small role in our everyday reality.
That separation is call to conscience. Our good fortune should be a spur to empathy and compassion. We who are so blessed must be more beneficent; we who have more gifts must show more gratitude. God has grasped you by the hand ... and appointed you ... to bring prisoners from the dungeon (Is. 42:6,7). Our mission is goodness and the right time is always now.
Rabbi David Wolpe is spiritual leader of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles
#1
Increasingly in modern society we do not see the poor in our daily lives.
Quite true. In the check-out lanes, they appear to be as well fed or better fed as the rest of us, and few pull away from the car parks in second hand F-150's.
#2
And in the New Testament, Jesus said to sell what you have and give it to the poor. He did NOT say to take stuff from someone else and give it to the poor, which is what the government does.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
11/10/2013 1:19 Comments ||
Top||
#3
True that Rambler. It is a call to the individual. Now the middle men become the insulation as an easy way to abdicate responsibility into others hands using others money. That is a purposeless inquisition other than to make more middle men.
Those middle men are taking half of all that is the Bounty right now alone, your 10% of tithe becomes 90% of your budget.
Resentment becomes natural by both.
I Pity the FOO that equates government with compassion.
Fix the world yourselves, starve the government, and get on with your lives.
#5
There have been poor, there are poor, there will always be poor. Free will means that there will be those who choose the self destructive behaviors observed for centuries as the seven deadly sins. You can't 'save' someone who chooses not to be saved. That's why the redistributionists don't waste their time about demanding change upon the poor. They just steal from others to assuage their own guilt.
Matthew 20:15
15 Dont I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?
#8
Jesus said, "The poor we will always have with us."
He didn't say anything about the DemoncRats gummint stealing from the rest of us to buy "the poor's" vote.
Posted by: Barbara ||
11/10/2013 12:07 Comments ||
Top||
#9
I think rabbi's point was for those who are better off should have an increased spiritual regard for the poor, rather than separating resources from those who do to those who don't.
#10
- John Galt (2 May 1779 11 April 1839) was a Scottish novelist, entrepreneur, and political and social commentator. Because he was the first novelist to deal with issues of the Industrial Revolution, he has been called the first political novelist in the English language.
#11
In the US poverty statistics are calculated BEFORE taking into account any aid. So, before welfare, medicaid, food stamps, etc. Given that we define the poverty level for a family of 4 at $36k/yr and that same family is eligible, on average, for $38.5k/yr in freebies I think it's fair to say that we have for all practical purposes already eliminated poverty in the US.
#12
Obamacare will restore that poverty for the middle class who won't get subsidies
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/10/2013 13:27 Comments ||
Top||
#13
In the US poverty statistics are calculated BEFORE taking into account any aid.
The US Census came out with a second set of results based on people receiving federal and state aid. Poverty numbers jumped in many of the the 'blue' states.
I think rabbi's point was for those who are better off should have an increased spiritual regard for the poor, rather than separating resources from those who do to those who don't.
Also mentioned was the injunction against the tendency to "shut one's hand." Then there's the line about "we who have more gifts must show more gratitude."
More appropriate is this comment:
Sadly we know about the poverty half a world away and not next door. From this stance it's easier to pay taxes or deductible dues and expect the government or synagogue take care if it. We do not take care of issues of poverty directly and silently so even the receiver knows not the giver.
#17
What bible verses mention Obama phones, SNAP EBT, Section 8 Housing, farm subsidies for people who do not raise or grow anything, crony capitalism....?
My biggest expense (3 times larger than the next largest) is my total taxes paid: federal, FICA, state, property, sales, utility and fees (that I explicitly know about)
#18
As I've often said, Americans who bitch about poverty in America should go to a country like India - where you see real poverty.
I often joke that in America, the "poor" complain that they can only get 200 channels on their cable. In India, people live in corrugated metal shacks next to an open sewer. And India is by no means the poorest country.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
11/10/2013 21:42 Comments ||
Top||
#19
#17 What bible verses mention...
Most likely falls under -
Exodus 20:17
King James Version (KJV)
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
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.
Wazoo
[Pak Daily Times] Pakistain has been tormented with terrorism for almost over a decade now. Pakistain has been fighting the war against terror, and has lost thousands of innocent citizens who were not even aware of what their fault was. It is an unfortunate fact that Pakistain's soil is being used for extremism, a recent example of which is the September 22 terrorist attack on a church in 
