Turmoil in Pakistan, where is the Bush admin?

[ProSense]

New Mideast Commander Off to Quiet Start

Admirers of Adm. William J. Fallon salute his reputation for deft diplomacy. Judging from his first weeks as top commander of American forces in the Middle East, a talent for tact has served him well in many countries of the region except, perhaps, the one that matters most _ Iraq.

Fallon is off to a quiet start as President Bush's surprise choice to succeed Army Gen. John Abizaid as head of Central Command. He is overseeing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while managing military relationships with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and other nations at the center of Bush's strategy in fighting terrorism.

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The white-haired admiral is concerned, too, about alienating Iraqi leaders, and that troubles some in Washington.

Fallon told a Senate panel this month that his chief priority is securing Iraq. He described himself as "guardedly optimistic," but he tread lightly on the question of how to push the fractious Iraqi government into the political compromises deemed necessary to stabilize the country.

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Quiet? Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan?

New Pakistan political riots break out

By ZARAR KHAN, Associated Press Writer Sun May 13, 9:58 AM ET

KARACHI, Pakistan - Pro-government and opposition groups blamed each other Sunday for Pakistan's worst political violence in years, as new riots broke out and the toll from street battles in Karachi rose to 37 dead and over 150 wounded.

Security forces in armored personnel carriers and pickup trucks topped with machine guns patrolled the streets, which were largely deserted.

But gunmen traded shots between neighborhoods dominated by rival ethnic groups, and police found the bullet-ridden body of a pro-government activist. Firefighters were called after a funeral procession left a row of shops in flames.

A crisis has been brewing since President Gen. Pervez Musharraf suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry on March 9 over allegations he abused his office. Critics accuse Musharraf, also army chief, of trying to sideline the independent-minded judge in case of legal challenges to efforts to prolong his nearly eight-year rule.

The push to reinstate Chaudhry as chief justice has galvanized Pakistan's opposition and amounts to the biggest challenge to Musharraf's rule since his 1999 coup.

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Pakistani, Afghan troops clash at border

By SADAQAT JAN, Associated Press Writer Sun May 13, 9:58 AM ET

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani and Afghan forces exchanged fire at their rugged border Sunday in their most serious skirmish in years. Pakistan claimed it killed six Afghan soldiers, but Afghanistan said just two Afghan civilians were killed.

Tension has been running high between Afghanistan and Pakistan, both key U.S. allies, over controlling their 1,510-mile shared border and stemming the flow of Taliban and al-Qaida militants that stage cross-border attacks inside Afghanistan. Pakistan's move to fence parts of the disputed frontier has also angered Afghanistan.

Pakistan army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad accused the Afghan army of firing at Pakistani border posts: "This was unprovoked and without any reason."

Troops from Pakistan's Frontier Corps returned fire and "six, seven" Afghans were killed, Arshad said, adding the Pakistani troops were able to see the casualties inflicted by looking across the border at Afghan posts a few hundred yards away. Three Pakistani troops were wounded, he said.

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Iraq has made America less safe. The terrorists are not on the run. Terrorist acts tripled between 2004 and 2005. Al-Qaida has spawned a decentralized network operating in 65 countries, most of them joining since 9/11. Only Dick Cheney could call this a success.

The situation in Afghanistan deteriorates steadily. The Taliban now controls entire portions of southern Afghanistan, and across the border Pakistan is one coup away from becoming a radical jihadist state with nuclear weapons. Only George Bush could declare this "mission accomplished." -- John Kerry