The Pakistani Powder Keg
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Foreign Affairs | Pakistan — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
As might have been expected, the government of Pervez Musharraf has suffered a comprehensive defeat in parliamentary elections. The smart thing for Musharraf to do at this point is to try to work with the Pakistan People's Party in creating some form of political consensus in the country. Instead, what is likely to happen is that the Musharraf government will try to curb the PPP's power by fomenting some form of confrontation. The Bush Administration would do well to immediately call on the government to respect the results of the election and it should reach out to the winners to create ties that may be needed in the event that Musharraf falls.
We are at the end of the beginning when it comes to Pakistan. If, dear reader, you have a nagging and uncomfortable feeling that things are about to get tense and bloody in the country . . . well . . . I hope that you are wrong, but your nagging and uncomfortable feeling would show that you are quite familiar with Pakistan's political history.
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The Pakistani Powder Keg 3 Comments (0 topical, 3 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
A new clear future, it isn't. A nuclear future it is. Let's not forget from where the nuclear know-how of North Korea and Iran came. The threat from Saddam was manageable. The threat from Iran is tempered by political and economic realities. The threat from the team lead by A. Q. Kahn is wide, amorphous, and soon-to-be unrestrained. A pro-Islam group of nuclear scientists that believe the West is best countered by the spread of nuclear know-how.
Do we have a plan for this one, Dick?
You can trace the problem of Pakistan's religious fundamentalist problems right back to Saudi Arabaia and the Wahhabis.
"Austere, intolerant, well-armed, and blood-thirsty, in their own regions the Wahhabis are a distinct factor which must be taken into account" - Winston Churchill, 1921
There is a much more important question than how to make their political parties work together, it is, How many nukes do they have and how do we secure them?