What's actually going down in Pakistan?

Al Qaeda and the Islamist, MMA, Waziri, Pushtun view....“We terminated the most precious American asset..." blah blah, yadda yadda, god will slay you like a goat.

I took a look back at this and the theme is pretty clear.

Pakistan a weakly lead nation, with a history of corrupt democratic leadership, weak military leadership and since the 70's (duh...what was it that happened again in 1973?) a VERY strong Islamist bent, and might well end up like gaza in a truly free election. They are more properly viewed as being on the OTHER side in this war, but a strong minority want no part of that either, even though they dislike us anyway. Those who don't dislike us thoroughly are more likely right here, which given the events since 7/7 thru yesterday is a cause for a large mental note.

So why would Al Qaeda kill Bhutto? Their allies have a clear shot at winning

From an interview in 2006 in Pakistan's Daily Times:

Talking to the Sunday magazine of a national Urdu daily, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader Qazi Hussain Ahmad revealed that he had repeatedly met Osama bin Laden and that the Al Qaeda leader had visited him at Mansoora, the Jamaat headquarters in Lahore. According to him, Osama was willing in 1990 to buy parliamentarians’ loyalties to ensure Nawaz Sharif’s election as prime minister. Bin Laden had said that if there was a way to buy votes, he was willing to pay for them. Qazi said, “He was a big supporter of IJI (Islami Jamhoori Ittehad) and Nawaz Sharif.” He said Bin Laden was also interested in a deal with the JI, which he (Qazi) had declined because he did not agree with Osama’s “methods”. He also said Bin Laden could not have carried out the 9/11 attacks because he lacked the “ability”; he said the Jews had done it, first giving the day off to all Jews working in the World Trade Centre.

Is Sharif Al Qaeda's perceived asset?

Benazir Bhutto too has accused Nawaz Sharif of taking money from Osama bin Laden to oust her from power. Then we had the most extraordinary event of Ramzi Yusuf trying — after his attempt at blowing up the World Trade Centre — to kill her. He failed while the chemicals burnt his hands and he had to be hospitalised. According to reliable sources the attempt (in Karachi) on Ms Bhutto’s life was funded by Khalid Shaikh Muhammad — the man who also funded Al Qaeda’s assault on the World Trade Centre in 2001. When Khalid Sheikh Muhammad was finally caught it was at the house of a JI member.

Sweet story?

I will remind readers also that it was the supreme court's decision FORCING the legality of Sharif's return that began this series of crises leading to this moment.

Snake pit. Any idea that we can help the development of what WE passingly, and fleetingly acknowledge to be a democracy with individual rights guaranteed and the rule of law and not men in this instance, given this set of realities RIGHT NOW had better take second place to making CERTAIN bad people cannot get their hands on the nukes.

Pakistan looks like a state more amenable to sine wave of chaos democracy and military leadership vying with greed and deobandi extremism as a governing system.

It looks like a failed state. A failed nuclear state, with neither realistic plans, or intentions of breaking the cycle of events which has brought us to this point.

The idea of muscular, interventionist nuclear non proliferative actions as a firm part of American national policy has never looked better.

BTW, Obama was right, we might as well have gone right after every bastard in Waziristan we needed to. And that singular part of his ideas is a lot firmer than than the water soaked instant oatmeal we are getting from this administration these days. Go and rectify that.

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