Saturday, July 7, 2007

Packistani Standoff

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is learning that you can't play neutral when it comes to Muslim extremists. In a showdown between the government and the militant followers of Islamic cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi, Musharraf has threatened to kill them all unless they surrender. The extremists, mostly students, have been holed up in a mosque in the capital city of Islamabad. They have said that martyrdom is favorable to surrender. The extremists want a change in Pakistan to Islamic rule similar to that of the Taliban. They have women and children in the mosque with them.

For too long, Musharraf has been straddling the fence on the war on terror, striking deals with the tribesmen in the north and pretty much making the north a safe haven for the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. He is now discovering (like the Saudis) that deals with terrorists only last as long as the terrorists want them to. Musharraf needs to buckle down and get serious with these terrorists, just like the governments of Indonesia and the Philippines have. Both of these governments have made great strides in ridding their populations of these vermin and are truly players in the Global War On Terror.

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10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Correcto.

This man is accepting our hard earned US dollars and at the same time he is making deals with our enemies.

tlrb

Paul Champagne said...

tlrb ... It is often the nature of the folks in that part of the world to negotiate for the best deal possible. The problem is that if both parties aren't negotiating in good faith ...

Terri@SteelMagnolia said...

I am in full agreement with you...
and tlrb!

I love your tribute on the side of your blog. I think part of the problem is, people ARE starting to forget!!!!

David said...

Great tribute.
Great post.
When people engage in gaining power through unholy alliances it comes back to bite them hard! I hope he makes the right decision and cracks down.

snowelf said...

Hi Paul!

Another superb, excellent point making post! :)

Have a happy weekend!

--snow

Shibari said...

I love the tribute...
And I don't know if I am cynical.. but it seems that this is becoming more and more prevalant with the middle eastern companies. Shall we call it double speak?
Frustrating!

Mike Minzes said...

Great to see the old Paul back in action.

Have a great week!!

Jackie said...

I don't think these students are just ordinary 14 and 15 year olds!
Heavy automatic weapons?? Using them with expertise? I've read that 24 have been killed already!

There are too many "fence-straddlers" in the world.

Blancodeviosa said...

Maybe he will learn you can't make deals with terrorists and win.

Paul Champagne said...

terri ... thanks, I got the tribute from capnbob's blog. He has made it available to anyone who wants to display it. You are right, too many have begun to forget.

david ... he is engaged in a political game of chess. He obtained power through a military coup, not by popular election. He is now trying to molify all the elements of the country. I don't care which country it is ... you can not please everyone.

snow ... thank you, platitudes are always welcome (and encouraged).

shibari ... I think the focus is just on the middle east right now. If you want an example of people trying to please one group ... look at the democratic candidates for president. They all have the same opinions on every issue. When one of them gets the nomination ... watch their opinions change so that they can please the moderates and independents.

mike ... please do not use the words "old" and "Paul" in the same sentance. I am already feeling my age :)

inspired ... these are not your typical teenagers. These are children that have been indoctrinated in radical Islam since an early age and have been taught to hate. That is the real crime here ... teaching children to hate.

blanco ... I think he has learned this, the question is ... was it learned too late. Faustian deals are almost never winnable.