Quote:
Originally posted by sgtclub
we have minimal support from other countries, with the exception of the UK and more recently Pakistan,
|
Y'know, I keep having the nagging feeling that 10-20 years down the line people are going to look back on this time and say "I never knew until this day, it was Pakistan all along."
Maybe I've seen Moon over Parador too many times, but no one seems to remember that Pakistan gave material support to the Taliban back when they were practicing their particularly odious style of religious totalitarianism. After 9/11 Musharraf came correct, renounced his ties to the afghan regime and suddenly everything was forgiven.
Since then we:
- suspect OBL and Mullah Omar have been hiding out at least part of the time in Pakistan
- accept Musharraf's excuse that he can't track them down because the folks in that region don't take kindly to government visitors
- accept Musharraf's staunch refusal to base any American troops on his soil
- accept Pakistan's statement that AQ Khan was running his nuclear weapons lemonade stand alone, with no additional government involvement
On top of all that now the DoD is
saying that "we are in a broader sense trying to help repair a relationship with Pakistan in the military area that really suffered badly over the last 20 years" by selling them weapons.
I'm just saying that on paper we're eating a great big shitburger from these guys and I'm not even sure who's side they're really on. I don't dismiss that they've been doing a great deal in catching the top al Qaeda people, but who's to say that they aren't just picking out some sacrificial lambs to keep the real heat off their own necks?
I think what gets me and some of my lefty friends IRL the most angry about Bush and Iraq is that they trotted out the "mushroom cloud" scare quotes on a country that didn't have nukes, and now is offering to sell arms to the largest known illegal weapons proliferator in the world. If it ever comes time to deal with Pakistan or some other proliferator, I'm not sure anyone is going to give us the help we need in pressuring them to come correct, for real this time.
