Related: Warning: Last Chance Before A Military Coup In Pakistan
"Pakistani president’s tenure appears increasingly fragile" by Pamela Constable, Washington Post | November 22, 2009
The Washington Post is the CIA 's newspaper so the die has been cast!
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - President Asif Ali Zardari, who entered office 14 months ago on a wave of post-dictatorship good will and sympathy for his slain wife, Benazir Bhutto, faces growing public anger and disillusionment over his presidency. Some critics are urging him to step down, and others predict he will be forced from office within months.
In interviews, opinion articles, and talk shows, a diverse range of people are denouncing Zardari as a corrupt and indifferent ruler. They accuse him of living in posh isolation while his country battles Islamist extremists, shortages of energy and food, and a host of other problems.
I swear, LEADERS are the SAME in every country -- especially our puppets, America!
Although they are considered unlikely to stage a coup, army officials have made no secret of their unhappiness over Zardari’s compliant relationship with Washington. The United States is allied with Pakistan in the war against extremists, but Pakistani army leaders here remain wary of US ties with India, and they were infuriated by the controls on military spending included in a recent American aid package for Pakistan.
Yeah, it is called REPRESENTING the NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS of YOUR NATION! The U.S. could take some lessons from the Pakistanis!
Poor and working-class Pakistanis, meanwhile, blame the government for protracted shortages of gas, electricity, and staple foods.
You know, the THING I CARE ABOUT!!!! The PEOPLE!
They also feel increasingly unprotected, with more than 350 civilians killed in suicide bombings in two months.
Related: The Western Jihad in Pakistan
“There is a sense that the government is adrift and rudderless at a time the nation needs strong leadership,’’ said Rifaat Hussain, a professor at Quaid-i-Azam University, adding that Zardari is widely seen as using his power for personal benefit. “There is huge disillusionment,’’ he said.
Zardari’s deepening unpopularity has put Washington in a bind because of its avowed commitment to bolstering democratic politics in Pakistan after a decade of military rule. If he is forced from power, either on old corruption charges or through a collapse of the ruling coalition, analysts said, Washington might have to deal with new leaders who are less friendly and no better able to solve Pakistan’s problems.
Do you know what a vote of confidence is?
It's a reaffirmation of a person, usually just before he is fired.
I only mention it in passing as I analyze the agenda-pushing press.
Zardari rarely gives long interviews or unscripted speeches, but aides insist he is not the man his critics portray. They describe him as hardworking, tough-minded, and bursting with ideas for improving the economy. They say he is not corrupt, attributing such accusations to a mix of political rivalry and the country’s sensationalistic TV talk-show culture.
Yeah, right, BLAME IT on the Pakistan MEDIA!!
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!
“The president lives in a glass house, and he knows his responsibilities to the country. I can assure you there is no wheeling and dealing going on,’’ said Fauzia Wahab, a legislator and spokeswoman for the ruling Pakistan People’s Party. “People keep bringing up old cases, but it is just to humiliate and ridicule him.
To be negative is fashionable.’’
Yup, NOTHING GOING ON HERE despite the STENCH you SMELL!!!
Legally, the issue most likely to bring Zardari down is corruption. A businessman known as “Mr. Ten Percent’’ when his late wife was prime minister in the 1990s, he was accused of orchestrating kickbacks and spent nearly eight years in prison on various charges, although he was never convicted of a crime.
For the moment at least, Zardari cannot be prosecuted on any past charges, an immunity he gained under a provisional constitutional change decreed by his predecessor, General Pervez Musharraf, before leaving office. But Parliament unexpectedly did not give the decree final approval last month, and it is due to expire Saturday.
After then, the Supreme Court, led by the iconoclastic chief justice whose reinstatement Zardari fought to prevent, could declare his election illegal and reopen cases against him and some of his aides. Even though he will probably not be sent back to prison, the specter of prosecution could deal Zardari a fatal political blow, leaving leaders scrambling to form a new government in the middle of a war against terrorism.
Yeah, except there is to be no end to this war.
--more--"
The first day of forever:
"Pakistani army kills 40 militants, officials say" by Associated Press | November 23, 2009
KHAR, Pakistan - Pakistani troops killed nearly 40 suspected militants yesterday in a series of operations in northwestern tribal areas near the Afghan border, officials said.
The army launched an offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan in mid-October, but many militants fled north to escape the fighting. Yesterday’s attacks, which could not immediately be confirmed, appeared to be targeting areas to which they escaped. The deadliest strike was in Shahukhel, a town in the tribal area of Orakzai, in which at least 12 militants were reported killed and 14 detained in search operations by border forces, according to officials with the Frontier Corps.
So to which torture chamber were they brought?
An attack helicopter also pounded several areas elsewhere in the region, killing at least four militants, intelligence officials said. At least 11 other suspects, including an insurgent commander, were killed in fighting when the army repulsed an attack in the Bajur region, which was the site of a major operation earlier this year, officials said. The battle broke out after an army base came under rocket fire.
You know, I keep hearing government is winning and the offensives are winding down, but.... ?????
The military had been tipped off to the attack and opened fire on the militant positions, they said.
Hmm.
Officials said 10 other militants were killed in military action elsewhere in Bajur. The military campaign against the Taliban there ended with a declaration of victory in March and continued activity underscores the resilience of the militants who are routed only to return to affected areas.
I'm sorry, but I see only CIA and Blackwater when I read the word "militants" or "insurgents" now. Newspapers lie here in AmeriKa!
Here is an on the ground report that causes me to reconsider some:
"There’s no question that a ragtag army of mountain fighters who do not enjoy the full support of the people of the area they are based in--the people of that area are pouring into other parts of Pakistan where temporary camps have been set up for as long as this military operation goes on--that such a militia cannot sustain itself in the face of a large and well-organized army.
--MORE--"
Of course, he is not really ruling out the nefarious covert actions of CIA and the like, is he?
Related: Blackwater’s Secret War in Pakistan
