Good News: Got Another One In Pakistan
Bad News: Why are so many of them in Pakistan?
A top al-Qaida leader whose links stretch from Osama bin Laden’s training camps to extremist networks in Europe has been captured in Pakistan, a U.S. law enforcement official confirms for the first time.Pakistani officials also told The Associated Press that Mustafa Setmarian Nasar, a dual Syrian-Spanish national with a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head, had been flown out of the country to an unspecified location.
Nasar was captured in a November sting in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta that left one person dead,
…It would not be the first time Pakistan _ a key U.S. ally in the war against terrorism _ has detained al-Qaida terrorists and turned them over to the Americans.
Pakistan says it has captured more than 750 al-Qaida suspects since the Sept. 11 attacks and has handed most of them to the United States.
Now adjusting for reportage (e.g. folks captured elsewhere are less likely to get the press conference treatment than Pakistani’s seems to give), it says a lot about the state of governance in Pakistan that the Northwest Frontier is somehow a more hospitable place for these folks than… say… Afghanistan.
next up: racial profiling of pasty-faced white dudes 🙂
Vinod
Those who live by sword die by it.
Regards
what goes round , comes around.
Gaurav (#2):
Teehee, I couldn’t resist this.
I’m not convinced that there’s a higher concentration of al-Qaida operatives in Pakistan than elsewhere; they’re being caught more in Pakistan than elsewhere, and since we only find out about them when they get caught, they’re more visible in Pakistan. Why are they being caught more in Pakistan? The government has more incentive to nab them there than other governments do.
come on vinod lad, out with it… what do you really want to say about our fellow brown Pakistani’s
MV, posting on this thread is just asking for trouble. 🙂
Here’s how it will work. either, people will ignore it and it will become a conversation among random law-and-order and anti-Muslim types that will be an abomination OR it will be a loud and vitriolic argument in which someone reasonable tries to convince those types that they don’t understand anything about Muslims, terrorism, Al Qaeda, etc. and that devolves into a shouting match and then the comments will get closed. Either way you can’t win 🙂
This is not to say that there aren’t people like Richard Clarke who present arguments from an anti-political violence standpoint that are actually worth engaging. Just that anyone remotely like that here is probably going to get drowned out.
See here 🙂
errr…. not sure what you’re trying to imply here. BUT, I’m actually quite a fan of Pakistani people… and relative to most here, warmer on Musharraf (in part for stories like this). What I lament is the state of Pakistani governance. Surely one is able to criticize something happening TO a group of people without the insinuation that one hates “fellow brown”….
I knooooooooow, but I just couldn’t resist putting up that picture of Narendra Modi proudly holding up a sword! Oh well, come what will.
Vin mate don’t beat around the bush, as they say don’t hide your light behind a Bushel…. lets get it all out in the open.
A psychological problem aired, is a psychological problem shared….
Maybe its paranoia, I have to agree with MV, threads such as these, usually are only put up to illicit a certain type of response.
Elicit
entirely false. mushie is constantly worried about being overcome by a military coup led by taliban/al qaida sympathizers. he’s stuck with catching just enough of them to keep the US happy, while not enough to prevent pissing off anyone who would want to displace him.
Vinod:
I actually Mushy is alright and Paks are decent folks, generally.
Met a Bihari Pak guy the other day in a Indian restraunt.
absolutgcs (#12):
I don’t think this necessarily contradicts what I said. The Pakistani government has more of an incentive to catch them than other governments do, and a disincentive to catch too many of them. How’s that?
Or why are so many of them Pakistani : ?
Good News: Got Another One In Pakistan
Bad News: Why are so many of them in Pakistan?
Pakistan, historically has been a place for attracting students to learn Taxila (then called taksh-shila) was an ancient Hindu and Buddhist seat of learning, connected across the Khunjerab pass to the Silk Road, attracting students from all over the world. Ancient Takshashila was renowned all over the Buddhist world as home to the world’s first university
They are continuing the tradition of educating folks, too bad it is “terror education” now..
Vikram, I’m not really sure how anyone can read either or both of the articles we’ve posted and come to an informed opinion as to whether Lodhi is guilty or innocent.
I agree. But then, I would expect that you will lend the same gratitude to people subscribing to Hindu Rashta?
I’m sure you have your opinion, as do other people who have posted on this thread and others…
Vikram your obsession with demonizing Pakistanis is obviously very deep. Did a Paki steal your girlfriend or something?
Interesting that you use the derogatory term “Paki” while asking me that question… funny in a bizarre way. Obviously you are somewhat mixed as to who is demonizing whom… 😉
Look, you can’t even make a single post without attempting to disparage them further.
Err may I say it’s paranoia? Anytime SM posts anything perceived as anti brown everyone has the same knee-jerk reaction. It’s like all the pro brown stuff that gets posted daily immediately cancels out because of one post. Are we really that thin skinned that we feel rattled by hearing the obvious stated?
I disagree that there isn’t a higher concentration of al-Qaida operatives in Pakistan. There is too much history to prove otherwise. Yes of course it’s a good thing that Musharraf govt is going after them and has been successful in “smoking em out” but Pakistan has always been a hot bed of harbored terrorism and Musharraf has been forced since 9/11 to make nice with Bush.
This from somebody who calls them “Pakis”. I was making the point that “demonization” is an official educational tactic explicitly followed in Pakistan. And somehow I am accused of “demonizing” while posting a couple of news links ? Peculiar inference and logic…
Using the term Pakis is irrelevant in this case because no matter what terms and slurs I use with absolute venom and hate, I still won’t be able to match up to you 🙂
The evidence of my ‘demonization’ comes from diction, while yours is your identity on here.
See MV? 🙂 “And we’re off!”
Q: why are there so many in pakistan? Well if its al quaida, they are being saved for a rainy day. if its terrorist, well thats what there main export is
Without saying anything negative about the Pakistani people in general; the country is ruled by a military dictator. He is propped up by the fifty most influential and wealthy families in Karachi. They have nuclear weapons. They sponsor constant terrorist attacks into Indian-controlled property. The U.S. government is fully aware that Osama Bin Laden and many other of his cronies are currently hiding in Pakistan. And yet somehow this country is one of our “allies in the war on terror”? Something doesn’t add up.
MV’s comments:
I had a good laugh with the above paragraph. It is like reading The Onion.
hindutvavadi in California (#30):
I’ll be here all week. Don’t forget to tip.
MV (4#)
I couldn’t care less about Modi, he is a most unethical demagogue. However even then I would make a distinction between Osama & Modi (Let the slugfest begin)
Regards
PS Actually for some reason Indian politicians of all hue (from Modi Bhai to Sonia Ben) display sword in public rallies. I presume it is some sort of phallic complex or attempt to cover lack of conviction by display of senseless bravado.
I couldn’t care less about Modi, he is a most unethical demagogue.
And he is trying to come to the US again to address the Gujrati Assocation of something. Lets see if the State Department denies him the visa this time. Time to mobilize folks!
This time he is getting the visa, bring it on.
This time he is getting the visa, bring it on.
You must be so proud to be a supporter of Narender Modi.
I dont see why he will get the visa this time. He has not distanced himself from either his earlier statements or policies. HIs first visa was rejected because of his record of dealing with religious minorities (christians and muslims) and nothing really has changed to warrant a fresh look at his visa application.
AMD (35#),
I know this is going to raise your heckles, but denial of his visa was nothing but posturing to appease certain lobbying group. I believe he had been issued visa sometimes in 2001 or 2002 without much problem
While issuing visa is a prerogative of USA, Strictly speaking there are not very strong grounds to deny visa to Modi and issue them to politicians of Israel or Palestine.
Anyway why am I discussing Modi on a thread about Pakistan 😉
Regards
While issuing visa is a prerogative of USA, Strictly speaking there are not very strong grounds to deny visa to Modi and issue them to politicians of Israel or Palestine.
You forgot visas to the leaders of “the haven of religious freedom” (Saudi Arabia). The “visa denial” was a propaganda ploy by the Bush admin. to show that they are not entirely against Muslim demands, they do cater to those sometimes..
bring it on we shall see if it happens And my alliance w/ mody is of convinience.
incase you forgot 2 c the obvious tis about islam
Ok, because it takes so much effort to mobilize a campaign to deny a tyrant a visa, how about a simple division of labor? Some of us can work on Modi’s visa denial, some of us can work on getting visas denied to Saudi leaders, and we’ll all sign onto each other’s campaigns once they’re under way. How does that sound?
Gaurav, I’m waiting for you to make your distinction between Osama and Modi.
MV (40#)
Sounds cool, why not add enlightened ruler of the country-which-must-not-be-named and which you were defending in (4#)
Keep waiting.
Regards
Maybe it was because there was that pesky state-supported pogrom thing in the mean time?
PMG (42#)
You mean post Godhra* riots ? Well it had happened before his visit and subsequent reelection to US.
Regards
The Hindu, March 4, 2006:
MV # 31
A penny for your thoughts, ha!. Not worth even a penny. Some ideas are gold and some are pitthalai (brass) and yours is the later.
MV (44#)
Never realized it was about fun.
Anyway here is my contribution.
The Onion, March 4, 2007:
WASHINGTON DC: The Justice U. C. Banerjee Commission has held that the plane crash, which caused collapse of world trade centre on 11 September 2001 resulting in heavy casuality of civilians was a result of drunken pilots and has no connection with Al Qaeda.
Or alternatively
WASHINGTON DC: The Justice U. C. Banerjee Commission has held that the plane crash, which caused collapse of world trade centre on 11 September 2001 resulting in heavy casuality of civilians was a result of conspiracy by Haliburton/Israel/NeoCons/Kellogs.
Regards
MV # 41
And if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell here on the bay. You can cook books and you can cook reports.
hindutvavadi in California (#45):
I like brass. My horn is brass. It sounds golden. Anyway, I was talking about tipping your waiter. I make enough brass on my own to sustain myself.
it says a lot about the state of governance in Pakistan that the Northwest Frontier is somehow a more hospitable place for these folks thanÂ… sayÂ… Afghanistan.
Hmm, I’m not sure how you reached that particular conclusion.
There is enough evidence and more than enough reports which show that certain areas of Pakistan are very hospitable to the Taliban and the AQ. Baluchistan is one such province, and the mountainous ranges on the Afghan-Pakistan border are not easy to monitor. But given that Karzai’s influence spreads only as far as Kabul, and not too well at that, how can one judge the relative levels of hospitality?
The term “Paki” is used by a lot of my Pakistani friends as a way of self-description. So it really doesn’t have to be “demonizing” or “derogatory” unless you want it to be. I don’t think it’s delhite that sees the term as either demonic or derogatory, Vinod.