DC to Delhi: Only Our Missiles -- Not Yours

Comments (7)

1. I'm going to put this under the category of leave India be. They are a parliamentary democracy that more than likely can't indulge in the power-mad excesses that our dear King George seems like he will get away with.

   Posted by yutsano at 12/01/2008 @ 11:41pm

2. You are, of course, correct on this one, Ms. Flanders.

   It is incredibly tragic that the U.S. has forfeited its credibility so badly over the last seven years or so. Who is going to step in and provide key global leadership on such tough issues as the India-Pakistan impasse?

   There are likely to be many more more of these emerging crises in the near future while the U.S. is struggling to regain its lost stature.

   Best of luck to us and the rest of the globe.

   By the way, as a mildly off topic aside, after reading Jane Mayer's masterful "The Dark Side" --probably the most disturbing book I've ever read--, it is going to be fascinating to witness how the Obama administration deals with the "detainees" it's housing at Gitmo and elsewhere.

   This is a staggering case of Catch-22. Obama must either continue the insane Bush policies of eternal internment, or try these guys in a legitimate legal environment. In particular, the highest profile prisoners are almost undoubtedly destined to get off scot-free since the evidence of their mistreatment is abundant and will allow a dismissal of any testimony thus obtained.

   Good luck to the Obama administration on this hellaciously hot potato.

   Houdini had it so much easier.

   Posted by b_kool_66 at 12/02/2008 @ 12:00am

3. It's like I said on another thread...

   if India was run by their own "Dubya", they'd be building up for an invasion of ....Myanmar. Telling us General Shwe had "reconstituted their nuclear program" and that "it will only cost $50 Billlion and Burmese oil will pay for it and the Indian Army will be welcome as liberators!"

   Posted by Mask at 12/02/2008 @ 07:16am

4. 'Musharaf said the ‘kind of violence' now witnessed in Pakistan had ‘never happened during my time'.

   He said, "I made up my mind early on that I was going with America against terrorism. I have done anything in my power to block terrorists and fundamentalists."

   "There is only one way to deal with terrorists – to fight them," said Musharraf, who quit in August to avoid impeachment by the Pakistan People's Party-led government.

   Musharraf said Pakistan is his home and he would not leave it even though he may face threats to his life there, the interview that appeared in ‘The News', said.

   "I would not leave Pakistan. It is my home. Am I safe there completely? Of course not. If there are risks but it is not new for me to live with risk. The army is protecting me. But of course - everything is possible," Musharraf said.

   Pakistan is in a "very bad shape", he said. "I brought foreign investments. I built roads. Nobody invests there anymore."

   When the interviewer pointed out that he was first Pakistani ruler who had not been executed, jailed or exiled, Musharraf said even the interviewer was getting emails ‘from people who would like to have me back'.

   Musharraf said he did not miss the ‘good old days' when he was in power. "I have found time to spend with my family and friends. But I do care about Pakistan. It is obvious that I keep watching what is going on," he said.'

   Musharraf blames Pak Govt for tensions with India Posted: Dec 02, 2008 - Indianexpress.com

   Hmmmm..........very interesting. And where did all the US gov't aid to Musharraf go?

   Posted by OneVote at 12/02/2008 @ 11:47am

5. 'Most analysts believe that the Bush Administration's support for the government of Gen. Musharraf contributed to a systematic rise in militancy over the last few years. Musharraf sought to marginalize and ban popular liberal opposition parties while allowing fringe religious parties to fill the vacuum; he assumed that he could control these parties and their figures. In reality, the religious parties became the primary outlet for anti-Musharraf sentiment and some of them fueled a rise in militancy. Policy analysts who recognized that Pakistani spikes in militancy occurred when the country was ruled by the military accurately predicted that history would repeat itself under Musharraf. The situation is most grave in the hard-to-govern tribal areas that border Afghanistan where a historic mistrust of central government, a rise in militancy and the relocated Taliban and Al Qaeda have created a security crisis.'

   Partnership for a Secure America, After Mumbai: A Nuanced Approach to Pakistan; Raj Purohit; 12/01/08

   Posted by OneVote at 12/02/2008 @ 12:49pm

6. US official: India knew of plot on Mumbai's coast By RAMOLA TALWAR BADAM, Associated Press Writer Ramola Talwar Badam, Associated Press Writer 2 hrs 8 mins ago

   'MUMBAI, India – India received a warning from the United States before last week's attacks in Mumbai that militants were plotting a waterborne assault on the city, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday as domestic intelligence officials said they were aware of a Pakistan-based plot.

   Another U.S. official added that there is reason to suspect the assailants were part of a group at least partly based across the border in Pakistan.

   As the evidence of the militants' links to Pakistan mounts, a list of about 20 people -- including India's most-wanted man -- was submitted to Pakistan's high commissioner to New Delhi on Monday night, said India's foreign minister, Pranab Mukherjee.

   The revelations come as the Indian government faces widespread accusations of security and intelligence failures after suspected Muslim militants carried out a three-day attack across India's financial capital, killing at least 172 people -- including six Americans -- and wounding 239.

   India has already demanded Pakistan take "strong action" against those responsible for the attacks, and the U.S. has pressured Islamabad to cooperate in the investigation. America's chief diplomat, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, will visit India on Wednesday.

   A Bush administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of intelligence information, said Tuesday that the U.S. passed on information to India about a potential attack on Mumbai from its long waterfront. But the official would not elaborate on the timing or details of the U.S. warning to Indian counterparts.'

   Posted by OneVote at 12/02/2008 @ 2:27pm

7. This is the same thing happening here in the U.S., economic disparities, and treatment of minorities. BTW, we don't have a middle class here anymore.

   In the past 8 years, we've lost our middle class, we've lost our jobs, we've lost money from investments, we've lost most of our freedoms.

   As far as economic disparities, I refuse to shop anymore. I only buy what is needed. I try my best to buy what is made in America. I don't shop Walmart. In fact, I try to do without.

   I refuse to just shop and buy when these companies are going overseas. I'd like a new car, but I will drive my 2003 Toyota until it break down. Ah, yes, I drive a Toyota, but the fact remains, it was made here in America.

   Posted by Annjell at 12/03/2008 @ 03:05am