Throwing in the Towel in Pakistan (Pakistan Army losing to Taliban)

[RamboLiberal]

Source: ABC News

As a widening political crisis distracts President Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's army appears to be folding in the face of a mushrooming Taliban insurgency sweeping down from the Afghan border, diplomats and Western military officials say.

"I am very concerned that they are sort of throwing in the towel because it's something the people don't support and since Musharraf is also on the ropes," a Western military official told ABC News.

A series of deadly attacks that have killed hundreds of Pakistani troops this year and the abduction of more than 200 soldiers in the volatile Waziristan district have convinced longtime observers that the military lacks clear direction from the top.

Foreign governments, including the U.S., Britain and other European nations that have suffered terrorist attacks on their soil, are particularly concerned President Musharraf has lost focus, amid a widening political crisis and his struggle to remain in power, diplomats say.

This week, the U.S. government pledged $750 million in USAID development funds to the tribal areas over the next five years. In addition, U.S. and U.K. troops will retrain the Frontier Corps, an ethnically Pashtun paramilitary force, in counterinsurgency tactics, Western military officials say.



Read more: http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/10/throwing-in-the.html

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. Now there's one serious ugly mess on the horizon that's being ignored

because of the mess that jr created in Iraq. Actually, Saddam would have been a good to have around at this point.

[blayne]

4. He would be great to have around right now.

[aquart]

2. Uh, they DO have the bomb, don't they?

Not soon or eventually. Now. Right?

[NickB79]

7. Yes, Pakistan has nuclear warheads

And missiles capable of carrying them hundreds of miles.

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/pakistan/nuke/index.html

"The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) estimates that Pakistan has built 24-48 HEU-based nuclear warheads, and Carnegie reports that they have produced 585-800 kg of HEU, enough for 30-55 weapons. Pakistan's nuclear warheads are based on an implosion design that uses a solid core of highly enriched uranium and requires an estimated 15-20 kg of material per warhead. According to Carnegie, Pakistan has also produced a small but unknown quantity of weapons grade plutonium, which is sufficient for an estimated 3-5 nuclear weapons.

Pakistani authorities claim that their nuclear weapons are not assembled. They maintain that the fissile cores are stored separately from the non-nuclear explosives packages, and that the warheads are stored separately from the delivery systems. In a 2001 report, the Defense Department contends that "Islamabad's nuclear weapons are probably stored in component form" and that "Pakistan probably could assemble the weapons fairly quickly." However, no one has been able to ascertain the validity of Pakistan's assurances about their nuclear weapons security."

According to the information here: http://www.saag.org/papers2/paper148.html, they are currently testing ICBM's with a range of up to 2500 km carrying a 1000-kg warhead.

[Strelnikov_]

11. A PolySci Prof on the local N(eocon) P(ropaganda) N(etwork) outlet,

in his weekly show, was bleating on about how the West will not allow an 'Islamic Bomb' (in the context of that new Greatest Threat Ever^TM, Iran, and the urgent need to bomb such threat).

I was about to call in and ask what the name of the capital of Pakistan was, but what the hell.

[Doctor_J]

3. The necons' ME crusade is going really well

Why dont they just stay home and persecute Democrats? That's one group they seem to be able to get over on at will.

[EnviroBat]

5. But but but, didn't I just hear one of the right wing propagandists

telling us that the Taliban were being defeated, and their numbers are dwindling? I'm sure that was the line of garbage I was just being fed not more than a week ago. Limbaugh? Hannity? Beck? Those guys know the score right?

[karynnj]

6. This is terrifying because they have the BCCI funded bomb

Hopefully, something will be done to strategically strengthen the saner people there to keep them in control. The root of this entire mess is that we were willing to over look organizations like BCCI and ISI because they were useful to US covert activities at one point.

[Kolesar]

8. One of the most important countries w.r.t. our problems "over there" is coming unglued

And the press is doing a horrible job of covering the story. Pakistan could break up for all we know. Even yet, the current government cannot control the "stateless" terrorists in the mountain region.
:thescream:

[JCMach1]

9. Pakistan was once an economically sound and forward looking state until it was drowned

under military spending and the constant erosion of democracy...

I think there is a lesson in there somewhere...

[ohio2007]

10. Waziristan was never really part of Pakistan. The Paki government had agreements

with the autonomous border tribes. The lesson is 'give em an inch and they'll claim themselves independent of Islamabad

[w4rma]

12. If I understand the situation, soon the Taliban will have access to nuclear missiles. (nt)