Obama has also taught us that prominent government intervention into the private sector often makes things worse, and invites crony-capitalist corruption. Nearly three years into this administration, it is striking how seldom Barack Obama brags about Cash for Clunkers, the Chrysler and GM bailouts, or Solyndra. He either is quiet about them or sort of shrugs, as if to say, Stuff happens. Even creative bookkeeping cannot mask the fact that the auto-company bailouts (begun, to be sure, by the Bush administration, but made worse under Obama) will prove a huge drain on the Treasury. No one even attempts any more to convince us that we will like Obamacare once we read the legislation, or that it will save us costs in the long run, or that it will cheer up businesses so that they will invest and hire. All that was dreamland, 2009, and this is reality, 2011, when we hear only It could have been worse.
Obama has also taught us that a presidents name, his fathers religion, his ethnic background, loud denunciations of his predecessor, discomforting efforts to apologize, bow, and contextualize past American actions none of that does anything to lead to greater peace in the world or security for the United States. And by the same token, George Bushs drawl, Texas identification, and Christianity did not magically turn allies into neutrals and neutrals into enemies.
Israel, Britain, and Eastern Europe are not closer allies now than they were in 2008. Iran is still Iran and may be even a more dangerous adversary after the failed Obama outreach. Putins Russia, despite reset (a word we no longer much hear), is still Putins Russia. China still despises the U.S., and feels in 2011 that it is in a far better position to act on its contempt than it was in 2009. North Korea never got the hope and change message. Europe is collapsing, reminding the world where the United States is headed if it does not change course. Outreach didnt seem to do much for the Castro brothers, Hugo Chávez, or Daniel Ortega. We are helping Mexico to sue our own states, but that does not seem to persuade its leaders to keep their citizens home. Muslim Pakistan went from a duplicitous ally to a veritable enemy. The more we bragged about Turkey, the more we could feel it holds us in contempt. We hope that the Libyan rebels and the Cairo protesters are headed toward democracy, but we privately admit that they seem to have no more interest in establishing it than we have in promoting it. In other words, Professor Obama reminds future presidents that the world will transcend their rhetoric, their pretensions, and their heritage. Other nations always calibrate their relations with the United States either by their own perceived self-interest, or by centuries-old American values and power, or both.
[Dawn] `PEACE negotiations` and `give peace a chance` are attractive catch phrases and slogans plagiarised from old events.
The news of offer of negotiations through some unknown front man by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) to the government has been creating waves in the media for some time, without any concrete evidence.
Many people doubt the authenticity of such news, and for good reason. Some people connect this with the recent All Party Conference resolution while others think that the Taliban movement in Pakistain has become weakened and that the Orcs and similar vermin are looking for breathing space.
Another Taliban front man also added that his organization had ceased their operations in Pakistain. This was followed by quick denial. In fact, the whole affair appears to be shrouded in mystery.
The APC was held to send a strong message to the US after an offensive deployment by US/NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... forces opposite North Wazoo coupled with threats and accusations by various US/NATO officials hurled at Pakistain through the media that if Pakistain did not comply with US demands it could face possible kinetic operations by US/NATO ground and air forces particularly in North Waziristan.
These threats were so effectively articulated by the western media that the Pakistain military high command held a meeting on a Sunday to review this dangerous development and to work out possible contingencies to meet this extraordinary challenge.
These threats were taken seriously because an attack by NATO and a superpower like the US had probably never entered the thinking of our military or politicianship.
Hopefully the military high command worked out possible scenarios and responses in that crucial meeting, as army chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... calmly stated after the conference that Pakistain should not be equated with Iraq or Afghanistan and that the responsibility for turning Pakistain into an adversary from an ally would lie squarely with the US and its allies.
This was a well-calculated and sensible statement. In the second phase, an APC was to be held to send a strong message to the US from our politicianship. Unfortunately, this APC, due to the ineptness of our politicians, failed to rise to the occasion and instead politicised the issue.
The resolution called for negotiations with the so-called Pak Taliban (terrorists) besides other things. The message meant for the US/NATO got diluted.
This conference was so important that the US ambassador in Pakistain was following the proceedings of this conference minute by minute and he must have heaved a sigh of relief as the conference concluded with a weak resolution. He must have had a good laugh
The main proponent of this negotiation mantra was no other than Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... ; when he was asked in a subsequent TV talk show whether he could name factions of the Taliban with whom these negotiations would be held, he had no answer.
The offer of peace negotiations appears to be related to this APC resolution. The unknown Taliban front man speaking to the media also claimed that two to three preliminary meetings had already taken place with the government.
All agencies of the government, including the information ministry and ISPR, denied any negotiation.
This government has already had long negotiations with the Orcs and similar vermin in all sincerity in 2008-2009. But it finally reached the inescapable and unfortunate conclusion that the Taliban are not interested in peace and that they are using negotiations and agreements to further their agenda.
In May 2009, Pakistain`s armed forces were ordered to take action against these elements and the people fully supported the resultant operations.
The rest is history.
It`s a well-known fact that the so-called Pak Taliban have used negotiations and agreements to regroup, recoup and reorganise themselves on various occasions in the past and that is how they have moved from strength to strength to the detriment of the state of Pakistain.
The TTP is a shadow of its former self now. There are other numerous groups with fancy names operating in North Waziristan and other tribal agencies. The TTP after having been uprooted from South Waziristan Agency decamped to North Waziristan Agency.
It has been learnt that Hafiz Gul Bahadur issued them a warning about two months ago to leave the agency and since then their whereabouts are not known.
Some people speculate that they are in Afghanistan and some think that they are in Orakzai Agency ... crawling with holy men, home to Darra Adam Khel, the world's largest illegal arms bazaar. 14 distinct tribes of beturbanned primitives inhabit Orakzai agency's 1500 or so square kilometers...
The present operation in Orakzai/Kurram/Khyber agencies should not be underestimated. About a division size of force is involved in the clearance of cut-throats from a very difficult mountainous area at the junction of these three agencies in which some stiff resistance is being encountered.
It is quite possible that the TTP is trying to wriggle out of this difficult situation through these offers of negotiations
Negotiations with elements that are repentant and prepared to work within a democratic dispensation have never been ruled out by the government. However, today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday... their negotiations as a `state` which they think they have created in Pakistain with the state of Pakistain should never be acceptable.
Those political elements who have been openly advocating the cause of the Taliban are well-known. People who are moderate Mohammedans are not likely to accept interpretations of Islam by the Taliban and Al Qaeda. The latter is already a weakened force after the elimination of the late Osama bin Laden ... who sleeps with the fishes...
With the departure of US, NATO and Isaf forces from Afghanistan the centre of terrorism will shift back to Afghanistan which is unfortunate but it will reduce pressure on Pakistain.
We are already seeing a reduced number of terrorist attacks in Pakistain. The government has been able to impose its writ in most of the area and we should be looking for an opportune moment to establish our writ in North Waziristan Agency.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/30/2011 00:00 ||
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h/t Instapundit
How do religions die? Generally they don't, which probably explains why there's so little literature on the subject. Zoroastrianism, for instance, lost many of its sacred texts when Alexander sacked Persepolis in 330 B.C., and most Zoroastrians converted to Islam over 1,000 years ago. Yet today old Zoroaster still counts as many as 210,000 followers, including 11,000 in the U.S. Christopher Hitchens might say you can't kill what wasn't there to begin with.
Still, Zeus and Apollo are no longer with us, and neither are Odin and Thor. Among the secular gods, Marx is mostly dead and Freud is totally so. Something did away with them, and it's worth asking what.
Consider the case of global warming, another system of doomsaying prophecy and faith in things unseen.
As with religion, it is presided over by a caste of spectacularly unattractive people pretending to an obscure form of knowledge that promises to make the seas retreat and the winds abate. As with religion, it comes with an elaborate list of virtues, vices and indulgences. As with religion, its claims are often non-falsifiable, hence the convenience of the term "climate change" when thermometers don't oblige the expected trend lines. As with religion, it is harsh toward skeptics, heretics and other "deniers." And as with religion, it is susceptible to the earthly temptations of money, power, politics, arrogance and deceit.
The storming of the British embassy in Tehran and William Hagues closure of the Iranian mission in London brings to an end the fruitless diplomatic reconciliation instigated by the last Labour government.
Mike Ledeen says that internal opposition in cooperation with some well placed regime dissidents are in charge of the latest few explosions at key Iranian weapon facilities.
In Mike's conclusion,
"If you were Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, what would you be saying... "they come and go at will; they obviously have the full cooperation of traitors at very high levels of the regime, even inside the Guards. They not only knew Moghaddam was going to be there, but exactly where and when. Now Isfahan, another heavily guarded base. That doesn't look like Zionists and infidels, whose pathetic collaborators we round up easily over and over again; it looks like people who are trusted and supported by the traitors in my own house.."..Recent events will have convinced the supreme leader that his own security may be as compromised as the shah's was...."
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
11/30/2011 07:29 ||
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#1
I'd suggest to them to check their ISI/Pakistan links.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
11/30/2011 18:23 Comments ||
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#6
heh.
Short step from Marshall Stax and Rickenbacker/Fender guitars to Nuke facilities
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/30/2011 21:23 Comments ||
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#7
Uh, uh, 'TIS IRANIANS WHOM ARE BLOWING UP IRAN???
Pesky Persians are Pesky, Boom-happy Iran goes Boom.
Pragmatically, as per NUCLEAR MILTERRS the US-WESt + Israel may had already "missed the ball" [literally], as below.
* WAFF, OTHER > PAKISTAN HAS DEVELOPED SMARTEST NUCLEAR TACTICAL DEVICES.
* PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > PAKISTAN HAS DEVELOPED THE WORLD'S SMALLEST NUCLEAR BOMB.
Repor is BASKETBALL-sized, good enough for the Bammer to play B-Ball wid friends on the WH courts.
An old worry during US-Soviet Cold War pertained to the development of MIRV'ed TACNUKES/WARHEADS it will be really bad for the World iff the MilTerrs + other pro-violence NGOS get their hands on these + learn how to safely use 'em for purposes of terror + anarchy.
Whenever I write in these pages about the corrosive effect of Big Government upon the citizenry in Britain, Canada, Europe, and elsewhere and note that this republic is fairly well advanced upon the same grim trajectory, I get a fair few letters on the lines of: "You still don't get it, Steyn. Americans aren't Europeans. Or Canadians. We're not gonna take it."
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
Orakzai Agency
