Pakistan Update: The Missile Attacks Haven't Gone Away....

With all the attention given to Mumbai and its aftermath --- The Washington Post had an editorial today castigating the Zardari Government for "denying the truth" --- the local situation in Pakistan has receded from attention here in Britain.

It shouldn't:

Suspected US missile strikes killed at least eight people Monday in volatile north-west Pakistan.

As The Times of London writes about the links "between [the Pakistani intelligence service] ISI and the likes of LeT [the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba]: it's a monster we created and now we can't get it back in the bottle", it may want to consider what other monsters are being created with events such as yesterday's.

Corruption and Intrigue in Afghanistan

Sarah Chayes, who runs a cooperative in Afghanistan, has a compelling but disturbing account (printed in full below) in The Washington Post. In contrast to most headlines that focus on "the Taliban", Chayes' anger is directed at the Government:

Most of my conversations with locals about what's going wrong have centered on corruption and abuse of power.

Chayes rejects negotiations with the Taliban: "Ask any Afghan what's really needed, what would render the Taliban irrelevant, and they'll tell you: improving the behavior of the officials whom the United States and its allies ushered into power after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks." She makes the disturbing assertion, "What I've witnessed in Kandahar since late 2002 has amounted to an invasion by proxy, with the Pakistani military once again using the Taliban to gain a foothold in Afghanistan."

Indeed, that allegation is doubly disturbing because, on the same day, The Times of London writes of Pakistani Major-General Faisal Alavi, "murdered last month after threatening to expose Pakistani army generals who had made deals with Taliban militants".

Fact x Importance = News (Dec 8)

• American counterterrorism officials say Pakistan's ISI provided assistance to the Mumbai attackers.


• Lebanon is immune to the global financial collapse.


• One blogger fears a Yugoslavia-style break-up for Canada.


• Fox News is up in arms about "A Lego-style figurine resembling an Islamic terrorist strapped with explosives and made by a small American company." The company, which also produces Nazis, spies, World War 2 marines and a plethora of tiny weaponry, has currently stopped taking orders due to overwhelming demand.

[Photo via BrickArms]