Despite, or possibly because of american efforts to prop up pakistan's military dictator musharraf, the normally contentious political parties in pakistan were able to come together and take a commanding majority in parliment.

The prime minister's promise to restore the judiciary musharraf dismissed and arrested is a clear and direct threat to musharraf's hold on power, and our ability to project power in pakistan through him.

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing


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There are many who will eloquently eulogize and expertly analyze in the wake of Benazir Bhutto’s death; and my suspicion is that you have already seen some of those who are far more capable than I weighing in on the event.

It’s my job to venture farther afield....to offer a view that you might not get by reading elsewhere, and that’s where we are headed today: into a conversation that offers practical, although sometimes controversial, advice from Mrs. Bhutto herself...and then suggests the events of the past 36 hours present an unexpected opportunity, if we can grab it.

Of course, this whole line of thought is extraordinarily risky—but with great risk can come great reward.

And with all that in mind, let’s get to work.

On first glance, if you believe what Bush, Condeleesa Rice, and the America Mainstream News Media are stating regard the situation in Pakistan - you are receiving far less than the picture as a whole. As I stated in a previous article - The United States bears some, if not much of the responsibility of Pakistan's woes that are currently handled via a state of emergency and martial law as declared by President Pervez Musharraf. (IMHO) Whether or not the call to suspend Pakistan's Constitution and declare Martial law was to circumvent a probable ruling by Pakistan's Supreme Court in reference to President Pervez Musharraf's eligibility to retain the Presidency remains to be seen, as there are many variables not being reported by America's MSM. In a prior aricle, I made note of this, which is also somewhat substantiated in the link that accompanies the post:

Today's news is disheartening and presents one of the most viable security risks to the stability of the Middle-East, and in comparison to Iran - the situation in Pakistan is dangerous to US interests, the fight against Al Qaeda, and the stability of the entire Middle-East. I have been attempting to draw attention to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Pakistan through other articles - but the United States has allowed Pakistan to fall into anarchy by ignoring these ominous signs that Al Qaeda has essentially become politically more powerful than the Musharraf government itself - and in consideration of Pakistan's substantial nuclear arsenal - we need to act and help to diffuse this situation immediately!

CNN is reporting that President Pervez Musharraf has declared a state of emergency:

'Martial law declared in Pakistan'

The tension is now reaching a critical stage in Pakistan – and the United States is partly to blame for compounding President Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s difficulty in holding together a country that is rapidly converting to - and is under direct assault by Radical Islam. Pakistan could be a vital resource for the United States – but our gun-barrel diplomacy, and remarks made by naïve and ignorant politicians are adding to the possibility of civil war in Pakistan, and remember, they already have a well-balanced arsenal of nuclear weapons. This is a nightmare we don’t need, and it’s time for the State Department and President Bush himself to understand that some of their statements are so inflammatory and ridiculous that they are stoking the flames of unrest throughout the Middle-east through nothing more than their ignorance and big mouths! Unfortunately, it isn’t just the GOP that’s complicating the situation, but the Democrats have joined-in to show their ignorance as well.

This whole Obama speech debate has led me once again to shake my head in wonder at how stupid people are. Clinton tried to get to Osama with actionable intelligence and missed by 20 minutes. Do you really think Osama has lived this long by staying in one place for too long? That is not the discussion I wish to have today though.

Barack Obama has a plan.

If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will.

He is a manly man! But I'm having a horrible flashback!