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2007-11-06 India-Pakistan

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Posted by anonymous5089 2007-11-06 15:10|| || Front Page|| [10 views ] Top

#1 Police confronted and reportedly beat with batons some who were part of what was said to be thousands of protesters led by lawyers on the streets in Lahore, home of the Supreme Court. Police also confronted and beat back protesters in other cities. But the protests are not yet epic in size. That's still to come. And it;s the police forces, the most loyal to Musharraf, and not the Army. That is also coming.

Will the Army put down tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands at a time protesting in the streets of Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi and elsewhere? It's coming, and we will soon find out. I have serious doubts they will.

If they do not and there is good reason to believe they will may not Musharraf is in even deeper trouble than he is in today. He will have lost the public and the Army many of whom are already defecting to the Taliban and al-Qaeda in a steady stream, though not much is discussed of this. Musharraf cannot last if he loses support of the army.

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The liberals want to gain power through democratic means in order to ensure an open democratic system going forward. The Taliban and al-Qaeda Islamists through those that identify with them in the large six party religious political alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) seeks to gain power through the democratic system in order to destroy the institution of democracy and replace it with Sharia rule.

This is why occasional talk now about the rise of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the leader of the MMA, as someone the West can do business with is somewhat troubling. He said in a 2003 interview, It has never been MMA's policy to use force to implement Islam. Islam is not a religion of coercion or extremism. The Frontier province is the most peaceful province in the country. As he says, the MMA party doesn't seek violence. However, it seeks to use the institution of democracy in Pakistan to remove the institution of democracy in Pakistan. Rehman, after all, has been considered by some to be the godfather of the Taliban.

Yet, I say 'somewhat troubling' because there are some intimately familiar with the MMA and its members who are convinced a majority of them have turned from the Taliban now that they are in Pakistan and not elsewhere in Afghanistan. Providing them an alternative or considering such is not an unhealthy exercise if so. After all, we did not turn the 1920's Brigades insurgents in Iraq by killing them all. We found common ground and leveraged it. And now they hunt and kill al-Qaeda, not our troops.

Posted by KBK 2007-11-06 18:27|| 2007-11-06 18:27|| Front Page Top

#2 so....clubbing and gassing lawyers and islamists..where's the downside as long as he keeps the nukes secure?

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2007-11-06 18:54|| 2007-11-06 18:54|| Front Page Top

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