The Pakistan quagmireA tangled web of regional challenges
By Moammar Gadhafi - Washington Times
.... Pakistan is a Muslim country. In fact, Islam is the very foundation for the existence of Pakistan. Except for religion, there really are no other factors that unite Pakistanis. This explains why the Pakistanis are fanatic about religion. It is the essence of their nationhood. Islam is for the Pakistanis as Judaism is for the Israelis, a matter of existence.
.... Pakistan is unique. There can be no Pakistan without Islam, as Islam was the basis for its separation from India and its raison d'etre as a state. Truly, the Pakistani nuclear bomb is a Muslim bomb. Islam for the Pakistanis is not a question of faith only but also a question of identity.
What's At Stake In Pakistan?
It must abandon its support for radicalism in pursuit of peace.
By Sadanand Dhume - Forbes
.... Along with the revolutionary regime in Iran and Wahhabi Saudi Arabia, Pakistan is one of three countries whose significance to radical Islam can scarcely be overstated. Though they differ in important ways--Iran is Shia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia Sunni--all three derive their identity and purpose almost exclusively from their faith. Not surprisingly, Tehran, Riyadh and Islamabad have done more to spread terrorism as a tactic and radical Islam as an ideology than the rest of the Muslim world combined.
An Alphabet Soup Of Terror
Why did the Taliban attack the ISI?
By Bahukutumbi Raman - Forbes
.... While analyzing the Lahore attack, one has to keep in mind certain ground realities: The first is that there are Talibans and Talibans, and within each Taliban there are mini-Talibans. There are virtually as many Talibans in the Pashtun belt as there are tribal sirdars (leaders).
.... The various tribal sirdars, who are supporting the TTP, repeatedly make the following points: First, they did not want to fight against the Pakistan army; it was the army which forced them to take up arms against it by raiding the Lal Masjid and killing their children. Second, their real enemy is the U.S.-led NATO force in Afghanistan, not the Pakistan army.
Pakistan's Struggle for Modernity
The country's voters have never endorsed religious extremism.
By Fouad Ajami - WSJ
.... Say what you will about the ways of Pakistan, its people have never voted for the darkness that descended on Swat and its surroundings. In the national elections of 2008 the secular and regional parties had carried the day; the fundamentalists were trounced at the polls.
.... In truth, the U.S. can't alter the balance of power between India and Pakistan. For six decades now, Pakistan has lived in the shadow of India's success. This has tormented Pakistanis and helped radicalize their politics. The obsession with the unfinished business of partition (Kashmir) has been no small factor in the descent of Pakistan into religious and political extremism.
Iraq redux? Obama seeks funds for Pakistan super-embassy
By Saeed Shah and Warren P. Strobel - McClatchy Newspapers
The U.S. is embarking on a $1 billion crash program to expand its diplomatic presence in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan, another sign that the Obama administration is making a costly, long-term commitment to war-torn South Asia, U.S.
.... The scale of the projects rivals the giant U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, which was completed last year after construction delays at a cost of $740 million.
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