'nuretral account' form 'the Times of India'? Aren't India and Pakistan 'enemies'? Wasn't the world all worried about them lobbing nukes at each other a few years back?
On Wed, Apr 22, 2009 at 2:09 PM, Larry Lyons <[email protected]> wrote: > > This is not too surprising, given the degree of corruption and inequity > that has existed in Pakistan for so long. The Taliban are succeeding there > for the same reasons they came into power in Afghanistan originally. In > response to a very corrupt system. > > That said, your first sentence really does expose your degree of > misunderstanding and to some extent ignorance of the area. Try reading some > relatively neutral accounts like the Times of India etc. > > >Must be them moderate Taliban folk we want to talk to. I wonder how long > >it'll be before they have nuclear weapons. > > > >Taliban Seize District Near Islamabad > >http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124041153700943789.html > > > >Pakistan's Taliban have seized control of another district in the > country's > >northwest just 70 miles from the capital after consolidating their hold on > >the Swat valley following a peace deal with the government, according to > >local government officials and residents. > > > >The latest Taliban advance into the Buner district has spurred fears that > >the controversial accord, which allowed the militants to enforce Sharia > law > >in Swat, has emboldened them to expand their influence. > > > >Militants have been moving into Buner since the Swat peace deal was signed > >in February. But starting Tuesday night they seized control of the entire > >district, which has a population of more than one million people, local > >government officials and residents said. Heavily-armed militants, > streaming > >in from Swat, occupied government offices and set up their own checkposts. > >Terrified residents fled their homes. > > > >Dozens of hooded fighters carrying rocket launchers and machine guns > >ransacked the offices of international aid and development agencies > working > >in the district and took away their vehicles. Some employees of the > agencies > >were also briefly taken hostage. The militants set up their headquarters > in > >Buner town after driving out government officials. > > > >The Taliban have banned music and television and stopped women from > entering > >into a popular shrine of a Muslim saint. They are also using mosques to > >invite local youth to join them. > > > >A Taliban commander said Islamic Sharia courts would soon be established > in > >the district as they have already done in Swat. Mohammad Khalil said the > >main objective was to end the "sense of deprivation" among locals and > >provide speedy justice to the people. > > > >Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the information minister for Northwest Frontier > >Province, warned that the militants' activities in Buner were in violation > >of the Swat peace accord. "After the agreement, there is no justification > to > >take up arms," Mr. Hussain said in a statement Wednesday. He denied, > >however, that the Taliban have total control over the area. > > > >Rehman Malik, the federal home minister, said the government has the > option > >of using force if the Taliban did not withdraw from Buner. A senior > military > >official said a military operation could not be ruled out to stop the > >Taliban advance. > > > >In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Taliban > >advances pose "an existential threat" to Pakistan and urged Pakistanis > >world-wide to oppose a government policy yielding to them. > > > >Pakistanis "need to speak out forcefully against a policy that is ceding > >more and more territory to the insurgents," Mrs. Clinton said in testimony > >before a House committee. She pointed to "the seriousness of the > existential > >threat posed to the state of Pakistan by the continuing [Taliban] > advances, > >now within hours of Islamabad." > > > >Analysts said the fall of Buner to the Taliban came as a serious blow to > the > >government's efforts to contain Islamic militancy, which poses a major > >threat to Pakistan's security. The people of the area had previously > beaten > >back Taliban raids, but lack of support from the security forces broke > their > >resistance. > > > >The development came after Sufi Mohammed, a radical cleric who played a > >central role in signing the peace accord called his followers to continue > >their struggle for the enforcement of Islamic rule in the entire North > West > >Frontier Province. > > > >Addressing a large crowd in Mingora, the main town in Swat on Sunday, Mr. > >Mohammed declared that there was no room for democracy in Islam. "The > >Western democracy is infidels and should be rejected by Muslims," he said. > > > >U.S. officials have warned that the Swat peace deal could turn Swat into a > >launching pad for militant expansion into Pakistan's more densely > populated > >plains. The militants have made it clear they would not lay down their > >weapons, which is a crucial plank of the peace accord. > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software 8 is the most important and dramatic release to date Get the Free Trial http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;207172674;29440083;f Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:295632 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
