Taliban Closing In On Islamabad

[jiimbergin]

If this happens, I assume it will have an influence on the price of gold?
Somehow I don't think the Taliban will take Islamabad within a week as Sinclair says is possible, but the situation is serious.

http://jsmineset.com/2009/04/23/tali...n-on-islamabad


This situation has gone critical here and now! The West will act immediately if we have a nuclear capable Taliban.
It is not standing weapons as much as the knowledge and raw materials for production that are the targets. This is a potentially world changing event that seems to not even be properly in focus today.
God help us all!
It is that serious, I assure you, because here is where the next chapter of world history starts. Remember how we had to assemble hundreds of thousands of troops because Saddam had WMDs? Well, here they are. There they are, and what is being done about it?
Soon what can be done about it? Soon is maybe one week

[World Traveler]

Re: Taliban Closing In On Islamabad

Every time that Obama has said that we need to switch our attention to Afghanistan, because that is now the critical theater of operations...

I think it is a code for Pakistan. I think Obama and his advisors are well aware of the dangers Sinclair is pointing out.

This whole situation is dangerous and bears watching.

[audrey_girl]

Re: Taliban Closing In On Islamabad

I guess the Somali pirates swimming around in the Arabian ocean knocked this smaller story about a nuclear armed, Taliban controlled Pakistan off the front page of the MSM.

uggh

[Guest]

Re: Taliban Closing In On Islamabad

I think you are more likely to see a split Pakistan, with a Taliban controlled north, and a rump Pakistani state controlling the strategic arms (and the army) from Islamabad after the struggles are over.

There's got to be another fragment state in there as well. Three or four resulting distinct statelets, if the country fragments.

Deeply unfortunate times for Pakistan and those that maintained a dream of a nation there, if this occurs. But a nuclear arms crisis resulting from a Taliban controlled Pakistani Army? That may be the more speculative outcome. But who knows? Can't rule anything out there. I don't imagine Jim Sinclair's concern is easily diverted into non-issues, and he's been concerned about a disintegration of the Pakistani state for quite a while.

[*T*]

Re: Taliban Closing In On Islamabad

If this happens, I assume it will have an influence on the price of gold?
Somehow I don't think the Taliban will take Islamabad within a week as Sinclair says is possible, but the situation is serious.

http://jsmineset.com/2009/04/23/tali...n-on-islamabad


This situation has gone critical here and now! The West will act immediately if we have a nuclear capable Taliban.
It is not standing weapons as much as the knowledge and raw materials for production that are the targets. This is a potentially world changing event that seems to not even be properly in focus today.
God help us all!
It is that serious, I assure you, because here is where the next chapter of world history starts. Remember how we had to assemble hundreds of thousands of troops because Saddam had WMDs? Well, here they are. There they are, and what is being done about it?
Soon what can be done about it? Soon is maybe one week

My mother (of all people!) has long claimed that the US foreign policy was consistently to get a failed or puppet-govt Pakistan for strategic reasons. I never understood her reasoning, still, it seems to have some explanatory power as an explanation of events.

[flintlock]

Re: Taliban Closing In On Islamabad

If the Taliban takes over, I think we should ask for our billions in military aid back. Another example of just throwing money at a problem.

[Rajiv]

Re: Taliban Closing In On Islamabad

You might be interested in this article - The Destabilization of Pakistan: Finding Clarity in the Baluchistan Conundrum

As in all of his analyses of the battle for Pakistan, Talha Mujaddidi provides a rare look into the internal struggle of the Pakistan people and the interference in their domestic affairs by the United States, India and other foreign elements. For those who are unfamiliar with the terms, places and names in this report, Talha provides a glossary at the end of the article. It is especially important that we learn and understand what is happening in Pakistan as Washington is opening up a new front in this country in their "war on terror". - Les Blough, Axis of Logic Editor
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

[*T*]

Re: Taliban Closing In On Islamabad

You might be interested in this article - The Destabilization of Pakistan: Finding Clarity in the Baluchistan Conundrum

REALLY good article, thanks Rajiv.

So the prizes are gas exports from Iran to India and China and a warm water port, and Indian security.

[Rajiv]

Re: Taliban Closing In On Islamabad

Here is a Times of India opinion piece on this - The Endgame

With the Taliban's push into Buner, the situation in Pakistan is nearing a flashpoint. Its dimensions are now alarming enough to evoke an unprecedentedly strong reaction from the US. Secretary of state Hillary Clinton has termed Pakistan a mortal threat to the safety of the US and the world while defence secretary Robert Gates has warned that Pakistan's relations with the US will be threatened unless Islamabad takes concrete steps. Coupled with these is the core message that Islamabad had refused to acknowledge so far; the Taliban, not India, is the enemy. With the situation reaching a tipping point, it is time that it paid heed to it.

The Taliban's advance has laid bare the folly of the Swat valley deal. As feared, they have wasted little time in reneging on it, refusing to disarm or halt their expansion in the Malakand Division. The push into Buner places them within striking distance of the North-West Frontier Province's (NWFP) second-largest city, Mardan, and the arterial road connecting Peshawar to Islamabad. And yet, Islamabad continues to pursue its fatally flawed policies. Ill-equipped paramilitary forces have been dispatched to Buner instead of the army in order to maintain a strong military presence at the border with India. Concurrently, interior minister Rehman Malik has blamed India for the insurgency in Baluchistan. Whether it is self-delusion or wilful misrepresentation, it does Islamabad little good to pursue this tack. It is not New Delhi that is calling for the implementation of sharia throughout Pakistan or offering Osama bin Laden sanctuary in the NWFP.

The fact that a significant portion of Pakistan's nuclear assets believed to number about 85 weapons are situated near Islamabad adds to the urgency of the situation. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's assurance notwithstanding, there is a real possibility that these may be jeopardised if the Taliban advance continues unchecked. Under these circumstances, for Islamabad to believe that compromise and political settlement are still possible Malakand authorities have stated that the Taliban have agreed to vacate Buner is untenable. A strong, coordinated military response to roll back the creeping advance of radical forces within Pakistan's borders is now Islamabad's only feasible option. It is a strategy that should have been employed months if not years ago; no time must be wasted in its implementation now if Pakistan is to exist as a nation state.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

[nitroglycol]

Re: Taliban Closing In On Islamabad

You know the Afghan war is a failure when Irshad Manji is willing to admit it:

There was a time when I believed. With every fibre of my feminist Muslim being, I believed in Nato’s Afghanistan mission. No longer.

[D-Mack]

Re: Taliban Closing In On Islamabad

You know the Afghan war is a failure when Irshad Manji is willing to admit it:

To determine if something is a failure, you have to first ask what the objective was.


All this reminds me that I have to finish reading "The Grand Chessboard", which I haven't done yet.


I wonder if there are still enough sane voices out there, like this Navy girl.

Real research into stuff like fusion could do the trick.....

Steps the U.S. should take:
In an effort to maintain a strong foothold on energy, there are three steps the U.S.
should take. First, it should continue to carefully monitor China’s involvement in global
energy. Second, the U.S. should take the necessary steps to maintain a strong political
hold on its current global resources. Finally, the U.S. should continue to seek ways to
diversify its energy sources. Part of this diversification strategy should entail increased
research into energy alternatives such as renewable energy. This research can be
expanded through cooperation. Cooperation with China in renewable energy could
prove to be fruitful in many ways. Increased renewable sources of energy would
decrease dependency on oil. It would also help to increase China’s own sense of
energy security. By cooperating with China to improve its energy security, the U.S.
could help reduce the overall wariness of both countries and form a stronger bond.
...
http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/doc...squest0107.pdf

[skidder]

Re: Taliban Closing In On Islamabad

To determine if something is a failure, you have to first ask what the objective was.


All this reminds that I have to finish reading "The Grand Chessboard", which I haven't done yet.


I wonder if there are still enough sane voices out there, like this Navy girl.

Real research into stuff like fusion could do the trick.....

Something tells me "Cold Fusion" isn't going to catch on. :rolleyes:

"

Media Censorship CBS Censors Cold Fusion Video - Was Fourth Most Popular Dear friends, The highly revealing 12-minute video clip from 60 Minutes on the fascinating resurgence of cold fusion I mentioned in a message yesterday has now been removed by CBS. I highly suspect media censorship at work here. A supporter emailed to tell me that the embedded video from an article I had posted on this at examiner.com was not working. Checking back on my original links to the video revealed that a weak clip of less than two-minutes had replaced the engaging, longer original. After some careful research, I discovered that the 12-minute video had moved up to the fourth most popular on the entire CBS website. Following the link on the CBS video page in the "Most Viewed Videos" section at the bottom, I found that though there were 70 comments posted under the video, it no longer functioned. I suspect someone didn't want us to see that video. What other reason would there be to censor this powerful clip? For more on this, see the informative article I posted here. " http://www.wanttoknow.info/mass_medi...ip_cold_fusion

[GRG55]

Re: Taliban Closing In On Islamabad

Something tells me "Cold Fusion" isn't going to catch on. :rolleyes:



"

Media Censorship CBS Censors Cold Fusion Video - Was Fourth Most Popular Dear friends, The highly revealing 12-minute video clip from 60 Minutes on the fascinating resurgence of cold fusion I mentioned in a message yesterday has now been removed by CBS. I highly suspect media censorship at work here. A supporter emailed to tell me that the embedded video from an article I had posted on this at examiner.com was not working. Checking back on my original links to the video revealed that a weak clip of less than two-minutes had replaced the engaging, longer original. After some careful research, I discovered that the 12-minute video had moved up to the fourth most popular on the entire CBS website. Following the link on the CBS video page in the "Most Viewed Videos" section at the bottom, I found that though there were 70 comments posted under the video, it no longer functioned. I suspect someone didn't want us to see that video. What other reason would there be to censor this powerful clip? For more on this, see the informative article I posted here. " http://www.wanttoknow.info/mass_medi...ip_cold_fusion

Far too many people seem to have a genetically encoded knee-jerk conspiracy-theory response to nearly everything that happens around them.

The media censoring a popular video clip? Give us a break. They probably pulled it because why show it for free when they can use it to sell some advertizing. After all that's the American way, isn't it...:p

[don]

Re: Taliban Closing In On Islamabad

The Army Times posted an article that showed Pakistan divided into three separate countries. Just a 'what if' mind you. ;)

from the boyz that brought you the 'color revolutions'.

Thinking Green, Orange, Whatever....:rolleyes:

[D-Mack]

Re: Taliban Closing In On Islamabad

May 9, 2009


REBRANDING THE LONG WAR, Part 2
Balochistan is the ultimate prize
By Pepe Escobar
PART 1: Obama does his Bush impression

It's a classic case of calm before the storm. The AfPak chapter of Obama's brand new OCO ("Overseas Contingency Operations"), formerly GWOT ("global war on terror") does not imply only a surge in the Pashtun Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). A surge in Balochistan as well may be virtually inevitable.

Balochistan is totally under the radar of Western corporate media. But not the Pentagon's. An immense desert comprising almost 48% of Pakistan's area, rich in uranium and copper, potentially very rich in oil, and producing more than one-third of Pakistan's natural gas, it accounts for less than 4% of Pakistan's 173 million citizens. Balochs are the majority, followed by Pashtuns. Quetta, the provincial capital, is considered Taliban Central by the Pentagon, which for all its high-tech wizardry mysteriously has
not been able to locate Quetta resident "The Shadow", historic Taliban emir Mullah Omar himself.

Strategically, Balochistan is mouth-watering: east of Iran, south of Afghanistan, and boasting three Arabian sea ports, including Gwadar, practically at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz.

Gwadar - a port built by China - is the absolute key. It is the essential node in the crucial, ongoing, and still virtual Pipelineistan war between IPI and TAPI. IPI is the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline, also known as the "peace pipeline", which is planned to cross from Iranian to Pakistani Balochistan - an anathema to Washington. TAPI is the perennially troubled, US-backed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline, which is planned to cross western Afghanistan via Herat and branch out to Kandahar and Gwadar.


...

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KE09Df03.html