Category Archives: Pakistan

Dr. Shakil Afridi

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This is the doctor who is now in prison in Pakistan for helping the CIA confirm bin Laden’s whereabouts.
Ignatius writes about how using this doctor who vaccinates children is going to cause further distrust between people and health organizations. True.

The doctor was sentenced last week to 33 years in prison for treason, prompting indignant protests from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

U.S. officials shouldn’t treat the Afridi case simply as outrageous behavior by Pakistan. They’re right that the doctor’s actions weren’t treasonous: He was seeking information about terrorist leaders who were Pakistan’s enemies.

Who the hell outed him? That’s who Ignatius should be writing about. CIA missions should not be in the papers. They shouldn’t be taking credit for UK plants and they sure the hell shouldn’t be letting anyone know that they used a local physician to confirm bin Laden’s location.

I don’t want to even see the letters CIA in the papers. How else can they do their job?

All Over the Map Today

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Let’s start in Texas where apparently some judge thinks it’s “Unconstitutional” to defund Planned Parenthood. huh?

A federal judge on Monday stopped Texas from removing Planned Parenthood clinics from a state women’s health program because the organization provides abortions.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel in Austin cited evidence that the state rule banning Planned Parenthood from the program was unconstitutional. He imposed an injunction against enforcing the law until he can hear arguments in the case.

After seeing the reaction to the Komen funding and Planned Parenthood situation we know there is an incredibly loud demographic out there but sheesh how about some sense. Planned Parenthood provides for abortions. Texas taxpayers do not want to aid in that situation why is Texas required to fund them? Is it because they started funding them ala Komen and now can’t quit due to the Federal (not the state) constitution?

Moving to India where we find that the UK gave funds to provide for forced sterilizations to reduce populations and thus reduce climate change. [ht Coyote Blog who appropriately entitles his post “And We Climate Change Skeptics Get Called Evil”]

The UK agreed to give India £166m to fund the programme, despite allegations that the money would be used to sterilise the poor in an attempt to curb the country’s burgeoning population of 1.2 billion people.

Sterilisation has been mired in controversy for years. With officials and doctors paid a bonus for every operation, poor and little-educated men and women in rural areas are routinely rounded up and sterilised without having a chance to object. Activists say some are told they are going to health camps for operations that will improve their general wellbeing and only discover the truth after going under the knife…………..Yet a working paper published by the UK’s Department for International Development in 2010 cited the need to fight climate change as one of the key reasons for pressing ahead with such programmes. The document argued that reducing population numbers would cut greenhouse gases, although it warned that there were “complex human rights and ethical issues” involved in forced population control.

Don’t you love it when massive government bureaucrats take things into their own hands for your betterment?

And as long as we’re on forced sterilizations, let’s go to China.

Have you noticed as Mollie Hemingway has that Chen Guangcheng’s reason for imprisonment was because he opposed forced sterilizations and used his legal skills to do so? Maybe not, because it’s not in most of the news stories about him. Doesn’t fit the narrative. [ht Maggie’s Farm]

And finally Chile where Mary O’Grady has noticed that the lack of positive voices for freedom and free markets is what has created a danger in Chile of moving leftward. It isn’t that things aren’t going well, or that the people haven’t seen improvements…it’s that the ideals need to be spoken about and not hidden in a back room and taken out every time the left gains too much ground. [ht Three Sources]

Then there is his education reform which tries to placate Ms. Vallejo’s aficionados without giving in to the demand for a free university system. It guarantees scholarships for the bottom 60% of the population and 2% real interest rate loans for all but the richest 10%.

The technocrats might be congratulated for holding free university education at bay considering the political pressures. But the reason Ms. Vallejo has them on the run in the first place is the more fundamental problem. If Mr. Piñera wants to solve it he will have to become an advocate for freedom.

The left – note the stories above – is loud and powerful and can make well meaning people feel bad about themselves. Someone – no, all of us – need to speak out in defense of freedom at every opportunity. Every opportunity and more.

ps – On a side track but a fun one; thank you Navy Seals for using your freedom to share your thoughts on how Obama has used you.

National Review’s Morning Jolt had this great quote on the subject:

It’s the first of May, and already Obama is playing the I-killed-bin-Laden card. Yes, there was political and diplomatic risk in authorizing the mission, and yes, President Obama was entitled to take a victory lap. And it’s wildly unrealistic to expect the Obama campaign not to mention it frequently; the only truly popular thing President Obama has ever done is to authorize a unilateral military strike in an unsuspecting country without U.N. approval.

Drones, Petraeus and my neighbors

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Drones are a new tool of war. While they keep Americans safe in the shelter of headquarters somewhere, you have to admit, they seem a little unfair(?), distasteful(?), uncomfortable(?)…something.

If terrorists refuse to abide by the rules of war, I am ok with using drones, but not without a little sickness in my stomach.

David Petraeus is now the head of the CIA and will be going up to testify before congress on some of their complaints. Here are some quotes from the story which is worth a read.

Some also complain that Petraeus has failed to adequately explain why the pace of CIA drone missile attacks in Pakistan has dropped since he took over the spy service in September.

…..

Some officials close to the agency praise major espionage operations he has approved but say he has clashed with senior officers at the counter-terrorism center, a powerful fiefdom inside the agency that helps run the covert drone war.

Those officers are frustrated by the drop-off in drone strikes in Pakistan, including an undeclared two-month moratorium that ended Jan. 11, according to several current and former U.S. officials. In interviews, one member of Congress and four senior aides from the House and Senate committees said they were upset as well.

……

The CIA has launched 17 drone strikes in Pakistan since Petraeus took over last September, including three this month, according to the New America Foundation, a think tank that tracks reported attacks. That was down from an average of two a week under Panetta, who authorized 215 drone attacks in just over two years.

But critics in the CIA’s counter-terrorism center have told allies on Capitol Hill that the fall-off has reduced pressure on Al Qaeda.

1) Shouldn’t drones be used to kill actual targets and not just to “pressure” Al Qaeda?
2) How can Congresspeople complain about the number of drone strikes without knowing the number of enemy sitings by drones?
3) While understanding that I don’t much care about Pakistani feelings, I would be curious if fewer drone strikes equated to more help on the ground, but actual Pakistan experience is not part of the story at all.

My neighbors deal drugs. I know it, the police know it, the rest of the neighborhood knows it. Let’s say that we decided to get serious with the war on drugs and the police started sweeping up all who were involved with these people in mass arrests. No trials, just imprisonment. (no not drone death) I would be a sweepee as I interact with these folks just like with my other neighbors. (ok – in all honesty I’m a hermit, but while taking out the trash or weeding the garden we share pleasantries)

That’s what I feel about drones. The fewer that are needed, the better off we are. They have a place, but just because they have been reduced does not make me question the leadership of someone like David Petraeus.

Honduras (you knew I had to blog on this today)

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Let’s start with the news.

Michelleti and Zelaya have come up with an agreement that is satisfying to the international community. I don’t know the little details, but the big one is that Zelaya gets to come back if approved by Congress with the prior approval of the Supreme Court. (after which, assuming he’s approved, there would be some sort of power sharing until the winner of the election on November 29 takes over)

Here is the NYTimes story lede by a reporter in Mexico City. (Do they have no one in Honduras??)

A lingering political crisis in Honduras seemed to be nearing an end on Friday after the de facto government agreed to a deal that would allow Manuel Zelaya, the deposed president, to return to office.

Apparently this reporter didn’t get the crib notes. Or rather, she wanted that lede because the 2nd paragraph mentions the roll of Congress….”paving the way” for Zelaya’s return.

Hillary Clinton hurt herself while twisting around to pat herself on the back.

“I cannot think of another example of a country in Latin America that, having suffered a rupture of its democratic and constitutional order, overcame such a crisis through negotiation and dialogue,” Mrs. Clinton said Friday in Islamabad, where she has been meeting with Pakistani officials.

…..

“We were very clearly on the side of the restoration of the constitutional order, and that includes the elections,” Mrs. Clinton said in Islamabad.

Mr. Micheletti appeared to have been persuaded that the warnings were serious.

Dear reporter, there has always been constitutional order in Honduras. The US government is insisting it go away!!!

“The accord allows a vote in Congress on Zelaya’s possible restitution with the prior approval of the Supreme Court,” Mr. Micheletti said in televised comments late Thursday. “This is a significant concession on the part of our government.”

“We are satisfied,” Mr. Zelaya said, according to Reuters. “We are optimistic that my reinstatement is imminent.”

It just so happens that Congress AND the Supreme Court are the folks who ousted Mr. Zelaya oh reporter with no actual knowledge of the situation. The ONLY reason they will reinstate Mr. Zelaya is because of the strong arm tactics taken by our own Mr. Shannon.

From LaGringa.

supposedly Thomas Shannon has been pressuring the congressmen to vote for the restoration of Zelay or else! The exact words were that “Shannon scared the living hell out of everyone here including Micheletti.” Yeah, remember the press conference? “We’re just here to help. We aren’t going to intervene. We’ll respect any decision that the Hondurans make.” Yeah, right. Now they are even threatening elected Honduran officials that they won’t recognize elections unless they vote yes. I’m sure there must be economic threats as well.

Dear Congress/Supreme Court of Honduras….I don’t know what you’re being threatened with, but there are a lot of people on your side here. It hasn’t been major news, but our election on Tuesday is going to prove that our uninformed left has no business being in charge. I suspect that may help the media concentrate on more than just what they are being spoon fed by this administration.

According to Mr. Micheletti, the accord reached late Thursday would establish a unity government and a verification commission to ensure that its conditions are carried out. It would also create a truth commission to investigate the events of the past few months.

The agreement also reportedly asks the international community to recognize the results of the elections and to lift any sanctions that were imposed after the coup.

That was a smart move Mr. President. You obviously care about your country more than power. You have my admiration.

ps from the Washington Post you have another reporter with no understanding of the actual situation.

The key to the deal, Clinton said, was Micheletti’s agreement that Zelaya, who was forced from office in June, would be reinstated before the elections that are scheduled for Nov 29. It remained unclear whether Zelaya would exercise full presidential powers under the agreement. Clinton said the scope of his authority would be determined by the Honduran Congress.

Zelaya is not to be immediately reinstated.

I hate hate hate the Obama apology tours, but Obama owes these people a huge apology for his/our involvement in the affairs of their administration.

LaGringa has suggested a way to help.
Offer to be an election judge.

In other international affairs, Hillary – the person who I HAD been thinking would have at least have been better than Obama if only because she’s so despised maybe she couldn’t get as much done – let Pakistan know that she thinks they’re not doing enough about al-Qaeda.

“Al-Qaeda has had safe haven in Pakistan since 2002,” she said. “I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn’t get them if they really wanted to.”

I do hope she at least mentioned all the dead people that Pakistan has had to deal with since we chased the Taliban and al-Qaeda INTO their country!!!! [link is to the latest car bomb that killed over 100 people there just 2 days ago]

“at War with al-Qaeda”

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Just to catch you up, we are no longer involved in a war on terror.

Nope. Instead we are at war with al-Qaeda.

“The President does not describe this as a ‘war on terrorism,'” said John Brennan, head of the White House homeland security office, who outlined a “new way of seeing” the fight against terrorism.

The only terminology that Mr. Brennan said the administration is using is that the U.S. is “at war with al Qaeda.”

“We are at war with al Qaeda,” he said. “We are at war with its violent extremist allies who seek to carry on al Qaeda’s murderous agenda.”

That’s alright, I suppose, but then what the hell are we doing killing (or is it now murder) Taliban leaders?

Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of Pakistan’s fearsome Taliban militia, was killed Wednesday in a C.I.A. missile strike, two Taliban fighters said Friday, adding that a meeting was taking place to determine which of his top deputies would replace him.

…….. Maybe it was incidental….nope.

The U.S. government made killing or capturing Mr. Mehsud one of its top priorities this year. Believed to be in his late 30’s, he ranked as Pakistan’s enemy No. 1.

So we’re fighting Pakistan’s wars now? I just want clarity!

Muslims and Terrorism

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I’ve complained in the past about Muslims not confronting their own folks with the terrorism that emanates from there.

Today the Arab News does just that in talking about the Pakistani villagers who have had enough of the Taliban. (even calling them “the enemy within”)

A suicide bomber just killed an antiTaliban cleric in an attack on a mosque. (during an attack on another mosque)

Keep it up Taliban. You’ll find yourselves as welcome in Pakistan as Rosie O’donnell would be. (middle aged, outspoken, lesbian woman of 0 appeal)

One Step too Far for the Taliban

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The Taliban blew up a mosque in Pakistan.

Pakistanis have said “Enough”.

More than a thousand armed tribesman seeking revenge for a mosque attack surrounded two Taliban strongholds and destroyed the homes of Taliban fighters – including some commanders – in Pakistan’s northwest, an official said Monday.

Interestingly, none of the articles I’ve read on this explains why the Taliban attacked a mosque. ??
Hopefully I’ll have a followup later.

Neo-Cons

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I’m not sure, but I assume “they” would call Ralph Peters a Neo-con.
His kind is the kind I particularly like. Check out this quote from him today.

Washington always forgets that war is a human endeavor. Prisoners of our own bizarre superstitions, we pretend that war’s about numbers and weapons. But it’s always about the torments of the heart.

The next time a US official jets into Islamabad to threaten, cajole and bribe, he should pause to think through what we’re really asking of the Pakistanis.

He’s talking about civil war in Pakistan. Brother against brother and why this is a lot to ask of anyone let alone their current president.

Women=Big Threat

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At least according to the Taliban.

Or is it just me who gets the feeling that 85% of Sharia law are laws having to do with the behavior of women and how it affects men.

Pussies. Taliban men can’t handle their women so instead the make them illegal.