Monday, December 11, 2006
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It's a good news Monday.... not
Let's see, what's going on in the world today? According to Carlotta Gall and Ismail Kahn of the New York Times, it now doesn't matter what happens in Afghanistan -- because Al Qaeda and the Taliban have acquired a permanent and unmolested base in Pakistan's tribal regions anyway: Islamic militants are using a recent peace deal with the government to consolidate their hold in northern Pakistan, vastly expanding their training of suicide bombers and other recruits and fortifying alliances with Al Qaeda and foreign fighters, diplomats and intelligence officials from several nations say. The result, they say, is virtually a Taliban mini-state.For more on the deteriorating situation, click over to the International Crisis Group's report, "Pakistan’s Tribal Areas: Appeasing the Militants." They pretty much place the blame on the Musharraf government: Badly planned, poorly conducted military operations are also responsible for the rise of militancy in the tribal belt, where the loss of lives and property and displacement of thousands of civilians have alienated the population. The state’s failure to extend its control over and provide good governance to its citizens in FATA [Federally Administered Tribal Areas] is equally responsible for empowering the radicals. The only sustainable way of dealing with the challenges of militancy, governance and extremism in FATA is through the rule of law and an extension of civil and political rights. Instead, the government has reinforced administrative and legal structures that undermine the state and spur anarchy.And then there's Iraq.... One of the few things the Bush administrationostensibly prepared for in the run-up to Operation Iraqi Freedom was an expectation of massive refugee flows to neighboring countries. As Bush officials delighted to point out in first years after the invasion, that was one calamity that did not befall Iraq. How times have changed. The Boston Globe has been doggedly reporting on the growing refugee problem. This story by Thanassis Cambanis does a good job of illustrating the regional problems Iraqi refugee flows will create. It cites a UNHCR report that points out,""Iraq is hemorrhaging. The humanitarian crisis which the international community had feared in 2003 is now unfolding." Today's front-pager by Michael Kranish explains the dilemma for the Bush administration: Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who have fled their homeland are likely to seek refugee status in the United States, humanitarian groups said, putting intense pressure on the Bush administration to reexamine a policy that authorizes only 500 Iraqis to be resettled here next year.Here's a question for any remaining Bush-supporters -- is there any way you can still claim that this is all just an artifact of liberal media bias? posted by Dan on 12.11.06 at 09:10 AM Comments: I have it on good word that the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior denies there are any Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries. Therefore this must be another example of the traitorous media printing terrorist propaganda yet again. posted by: Tequila on 12.11.06 at 09:10 AM [permalink]And, if you wonder why folks are leaving Iraq (on a personal level), read this post. Unlike in our country, one cannot even escape reality by going to university . posted by: Appalled Moderate on 12.11.06 at 09:10 AM [permalink]Post a Comment: |
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