Apr 24, 2009

Hilary tells it like it is, sort of.

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By Hilary Clinton clarifying the issue in terms of its true nature than a better understanding can be made of the Pakistani problem. Pouring more money no matter how well intentioned is not going to solve the problems of Pakistan, and one thinks of South Vietnam during 1963-1975.

Some of Pakistan's national problems:

1. Terrorism
2. Religious Intolerance/religious fatalism, "Allah Hukum's"
3. Water Shortage
4. Inflation
5. Corruption
6. Provincial Disharmony---relationship between center and state etc.
7. Devalued Currency
8. Unemployment
9. Low Education levels/low government investments in education/madrases funded by Saudi Arabia.
10.Weak inconsistent Foreign Policy/ the foreign policy preferred by the military and that preferred by the civilian government.
11. Rogue corrupt military./huge military 800,000 unofficially, 300,000 paramilitary---their involvement in politics covertly, and economic activity.
12. ISI.
13. Failed state characteristics.
14. Foreign interference...USA/UK.
15. Rapid population growth......400 million by 2050.
16. Poor governance, especially by the center.
17. Poorly performing agricultural sector.
18. Post colonial elite...which has no fealty to Pakistan.
19. Poor infrastructure.
20. Small industrial base...low investment in this sector.
21. Weak financial system.
22. Capital flight.
23. Feudal society----backward, culturally and psychologically.
24. Aid dependent...foreign assistance.
25. Weak Civil society.
26. Weak compromised judiciary/justice system.
27. Corrupt and incompetent, lowly paid post-colonial police force.
28. Widespread malnutrition....stunted growth among children/poor health care.

What Pakistan really requires is competent effective administration which is not corrupt, with the full overt public backing of the USA. Zardari the felon who clearly is not competent needs to be replaced with a better team which should run Pakistan, for everybody's interests.

Sharif my do marginally better, but he also has his faults. Like Zardari, he too is a billionaire without doing a lot of business............however one does feel he will be better than Zardari, and he will make better use of the USA's investments in Pakistan.

  • Sharif never served two complete terms in office, so the two term rule clearly does not apply to him.
  • There are accusations that he tried to amass too much power whilst in office especially between 1996-1999, like almost those that of a dictator. I am going to give him a pass over this one because in light of the situation in Pakistan, where the military dominate I wouldn't blame him in trying to centralize and increase his power.
  • There are persistent accusations that he is in reality a "soft fundamentalist" who was in favor of introducing sharia law into Pakistan...............well the reality is that in his two terms in office he actually didn't introduce Sharia law in the whole of Pakistan, though clearly he intended to do so. He is however close to Wahabi Saudi Arabia, and is a protege of Zia ul Haq, the military general who introduced from the 1970's the Islamization of Pakistan. Perhaps the passage of time has convinced him that the introduction of Sharia laws will not begin to solve Pakistan's fundamental problems stated above but will merely intensify them. Further the introduction of sharia law will only embolden the extremist religious elements who will see the introduction of such laws as a tacit government approval of their agenda's, groups such as the Taliban who of course have no intention what so ever of sharing power with other parties (Afghanistan 1994-2001, Iran 1979--2009). Sharia law introduction was certainly the talk of the town in the 1980's and 1990's, and who can blame Sharif in trying to introduce it in light of his background and right wing credentials. However he must realize that in Pakistan's special case the introduction of Sharia law will have dangerous consequences for the country if he were to introduce it now.
  • There are persistent rumors and allegations, and court action over the years which state that Nawaz Sharif is corrupt, just like most civilian Pakistani politicians, and that as such he is no exception. He is among the richest men in Pakistan, and is part of the 30 "Commercial" families, where through political wheeling and dealing he amassed his wealth, and not through good honest business acumen, so the allegation goes. Well what can one say except if anybody ever finds the solution to the age old problem of politicians and corruption, they will most certainly be awarded the Nobel Prize for political economics.

Pakistan was a failed state before the USA invested in fundamentalists..........so the fundamental problems of Pakistan goes beyond the problem of the Pakistani backed fundamentalists groups operating in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. The fundamental structural problems of Pakistan will not go away with the Taliban's disappearance, but their mere presence highlights the clear weaknesses and failures of the state as a failed state number 9.

The racism of American and British officials and how they relate to the country plays a significant part, but ultimately it is the Pakistanis who must see the problems of their country, and confront it together arm in arm.


Here is a unique change of policy that fights terror more effectively in Pakistan. We know clearly the link between the Pakistan military ISI and the Taliban, so why give the Pakistan military more military aid......................so that they can further pretend to be fighting the Taliban.........."We have killed 40 extremists today in X, Y, Z part of the North West Frontier, blah, blah, blah"...........can the Pakistan military be believed, after the Swat surrender? Why not divert that security aid to the Pakistani police? Lets bolster their wages.....from $150 a month to $300 a month, through American security assistance. Better training, better wages, better equipment to fight terror inside Pakistan if Pakistan is indeed the most dangerous country in the world. Absolutely no sense in giving this security aid to the Pakistan military who will of course use it against India, as before under Bush's military aid to Pakistan.

In fact lets take this a little further. Instead of giving the assistance to the central government of Pakistan, the $7.6 billion IMF loan; the $7.5 billion USA ; the $3 billion military assistance and finally the $5.28 billion very recently....why not make these $ aid really count and give the money to the state governments in Pakistan who will use the money more effectively, in fighting terror and expenditure on social welfare programs. The huge amounts of money given to Zardari will be wasted, and his central government will not utilize it properly either because they are incompetent or because of corruption, or both.

As to the USA role in Pakistan that has clearly been negative.........


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USA also responsible for current situation in Pak: Hillary.

By Times of India



Even as she came out strongly against the Pakistani establishment for lagging willingness to take head on the terrorists, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday said that the US was also partly responsible for the present mess as it virtually abandoned Pakistan after the Soviets left Afghanistan.

"There is a very strong argument, which is: It wasn't a bad investment to end the Soviet Union, but let's be careful what we sow, because we will harvest. So we then left Pakistan. We said, okay, fine, you deal with the Stingers that we've left all over your country. You deal with the mines that are along the border. And by the way, we don't want to have anything to do with you," Clinton said testifying before a Congressional committee.

After the downfall of the Soviet Union, Clinton said the US stopped dealing with the Pakistani military and with the ISI.
"We can point fingers at the Pakistanis, which is -- you know, I did some yesterday, frankly. And it's merited, because we're wondering why they don't just get out there and deal with these people. But the problems we face now, to some extent, we have to take responsibility for having contributed to," she said.

Clinton said the US has a history of moving in and out of Pakistan. "I mean, let's remember here, the people we are fighting today we funded 20 years ago. We did it because we were locked in this struggle with the Soviet Union. They invaded Afghanistan, and we did not want to see them control Central Asia, and we went to work," she said. "It was President (Ronald) Reagan, in partnership with the Congress, led by Democrats, who said, you know what? Sounds like a pretty good idea. Let's deal with the ISI and the Pakistani military, and let's go recruit these mujahidin. And great, let's get some to come from Saudi Arabia and other places, importing their Wahhabi brand of Islam, so that we can go beat the Soviet Union. And guess what? They retreated. They lost billions of dollars, and it led to the collapse of the Soviet Union," Clinton said. And what is happening in Pakistan today is a result of that policy, she acknowledged, so the US should also take a part of the responsibility.

Apr 23, 2009

A lashkar for Sharif in Punjab.

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The Pashtun's have their Taliban backed by the Pak military and ISI, the Baluchis have their Jundullah backed by the Pak military and ISI, Sindhis have their own armed group as do the MQM for the Mohajirs.

In an era where the constitution is being wholly ignored in many significant parts of Pakistan, and might seems to be right these days, then perhaps the PML-N should SERIOUSLY think about setting up its own private militia, of about 300,000 filled and organized by the party with retired military officers within its ranks, who are clearly vetted.

Who can blame the PML-N for doing such a thing, if the army and police can't protect the nation from the rampant Taliban coming out of Swat and threatening key Punjabi cities like Wah, Rawalpindi and Islamabad. In light of the real situation in Pakistan, this might not be a bad idea in the circumstances. If the PML-N does not understand this fundamental current reality, but instead rely on mere peoples power and the Lawyers movement...............the PML-N will surely be the loser in the coming months and years. Unfortunately this is the present nature of Pakistani politics, and it is for the PML-N who must be totally realistic and face this fact about current Pakistani politics.


We should remember that the Bolsheviks in Imperial Russia in 1918 were not widely popular, and most Russians opposed them, since the majority of Russians were conservative and believed in 1. GOD 2. Mother Russia (strong nationalism) and 3. the Czar at the top of all that, unifying the whole nation. Atheist Jewish Communism, with its internationalist overtones was irrelevant to ordinary Russians naturally, after all why should ordinary Russians care about the welfare of workers around the world.

BUT through their strong party organization the Bolsheviks fanned out from their small traditional strong holds in the big cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow to slowly defeat their enemies, over a period of 3 years by 1921, through ruthless armed struggle mixed with simple populism with the manipulation of the abject poor.............promising and giving them land and property (this is what is happening with the Swat Taliban......but under obscurantist fundamentalist Islam...whilst the Pakistan military looks on).



This is also what happened in Iran in 1978-1982, where a coalition of different political groups from constitutional democrats, to left wing parties and of course Islamic parties overthrew the Shah with covert Western backing. The Iranian military though used initially against the protesters later became hapless bystanders as the Islamic revolution progressed; they were ordered by the Shah, and American officials not to intervene in the evolving revolution. Eventually what happened was that a lot of the key senior officers were subsequently executed, or exiled, with the mullahs creating the Revolutionary Guard and Basij to check the power of the conventional Iranian military. Then a few years later one by one with Western guidance the mullahs eliminated the non-Islamic groups in the coalition, so that they could run the country by themselves.


He is happy in the USA after he helped them establish the Islamic Revolution.

Logically speaking, the Taliban should not win in controlling most of Pakistan as most Pakistanis expressed in free and fair elections their desire against Islamic parties in the February 2008 elections.........this is fact. But we see from history how through clever manipulation small extremist minorities can sometimes usurp power over the majority, and it is from this threat that the PML-N in the absence of any strong guarantees by the traditional custodians and guardians of the state, who must prepare themselves for the coming struggle with the Taliban.

The Taliban offer nothing but utter abject misery and loss for the majority of the Pakistani people, as they propagate an ideology which is wholly unsuitable in relation to the serious challenges Pakistan as a nation state of 180 million now faces and will face in the coming years and decades.


In undertaking such a serious course the PML-N should formulate a MOU with the PML-Q, ANP, MQM and PPP, beyond Zardari. The Taliban poses a threat to all these parties, as they are religious purists who don't believe in sharing power, just like the Iranian mullahs and the Jewish Bolsheviks in Russia.

Does the Supreme Court have their eye on the ball?

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Does the Pakistan Supreme Court have their eye on the ball? Are they really doing their job? A major plank of their work, as is the case with most Supreme Courts around the world is to act as the Guardians and Custodians of the Pakistani constitution.



The Swat Taliban deal with the Pakistani central government is unconstitutional:

  • Under the 1973 Constitution, Fundamental Rights include security of person, safeguards as to arrest and detention, prohibition of slavery and forced labour, freedom of movement, freedom of association, freedom of speech, freedom to profess religion and safeguards to religious institutions, non-discrimination in respect of access to public places and in service, preservation of languages, script and culture.

  • The judiciary enjoys full supermacy over the other organs of the state.

  • Preamble: "Therein shall be guaranteed fundamental rights, including equality of status, of opportunity and before law, social, economic and political justice, and freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship and association, subject to law and public morality".

  • Wherein the integrity of the territories of the Federation, its independence and all its rights, including its sovereign rights on land, sea and air, shall be safeguarded;So that the people of Pakistan may prosper and attain their rightful and honoured place amongst the nations of the World and make their full contribution towards international peace and progress and happiness of humanity.

  • Dedicated to the preservation of democracy achieved by the unremitting struggle of the people against oppression and tyranny;

  • Inspired by the resolve to protect our national and political unity and solidarity by creating an egalitarian society through a new order;

  • Do hereby, through our representatives in the National Assembly, adopt, enact and give to ourselves, this Constitution."

  • The Nizam-i-Adle agreement surely goes against the fundamental concepts of the Pakistani constitution.......or do I not know what I am talking about constitutionally, legally or morally.

The situation around the deal, after the deal is agreed is rapidly becoming unconstitutional:


  • The armed invasion of neighboring areas, is unconstitutional.

  • The expulsion of other political groups from their area of control is unconstitutional.

  • The confiscation of private property from lawful owners, and its redistribution without following proper sale of property procedures, is unconstitutional.

  • The mobilisation of additional private militia fighters of all backgrounds without the approval of the state security apparatus, is unconstitutional.

  • The imposition of a specific type of religious ideology, to the detriment of other sects of the Muslim faith, is unconstitutional........and even against the basic tenets of the Koran.

  • The open arms offered to OBL, and Mullah Omer with their armed cohorts to come into the area of Swat Taliban control is unconstitutional.

  • The complete obstruction and standing of the existing security forces, and especially the local Police, is unconstitutional.

  • The vandalism and destruction of private property without offering any type of compensation, is unconstitutional.

  • Creating fear and anarchy so that large number of people flee from the area under their control, is unconstitutional.

  • Exhorting others in the rest of Pakistan to follow their example, through an unlicensed medium, is unconstitutional.

  • Making the Pakistani military seem totally irrelevant and impotent.

  • Denying women and girls their full rights, as guaranteed under the 1973 constitution.

  • Protection of minorities, both religious and sectarian.



What does the Supreme Court have to say about this whole unconstitutional mess? Will they wait until the Taliban arrive at the gates of the Supreme Court and kick them out of their irrelevant positions? Will they release more fundie hardliners in time for the Taliban's coronation in Islamabad?

But surely the Pakistan parliament, the noble representatives of the people voted unanimously in favor of the deal, so how can the Supreme Court go against such a decision? Well Parliaments in the majority have been known to make mistakes, for example the House of Senate and representatives in the USA, and their support for Bush II and the wholly illegal Iraq war and ditto Westminster with Blair.

In such serious situations whether through the application of its writ and law, or through the formulation of opinion it is the duty of the Pakistani Supreme Court to point out the obvious unconstitutional implications of the recent Swat deal, and the even more obvious unconstitutional implications of what is unfolding in and around Swat. If they are not sure, they could hire first year law students from Peshawar University to guide them.


Apr 22, 2009

Fiddling whilst Pakistan burns

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I suppose this could apply to Zardari, fiddling the state accounts, whilst Pakistan collapses around him..................the man is a lost cause beyond redemption...........the sheer audacity and lack of propriety of a representative of a once proud nation going begging for $100 billion to "save" Pakistan from itself, and the sheer stupidity of him in thinking that the world community would give that kind of money to his corrupt regime to save Pakistan.


No, lets instead focus on Sharif. In one sense after recovering ALL his recent losses he is resting on his laurels, perhaps confident that in the 2013 elections he is certain to win. Four years is a long way off in Pakistani politics.......especially NOW with all the things happening.

I can confidently say with what is happening with the covert Army backed Swat Taliban, there will be no democratic elections in 2013.

I can further confidently say that Zardari won't finish his full term in office into 2013, hence his frantic last ditch efforts to scrounge and beg as much money from whoever and where ever.

I can confidently say that the Pakistani military might take power well before 2013, to "save" Pakistan from the Taliban.

If this is the case, what should Nawaz Sharif do to avoid the repetition of military rule, or a Taliban takeover of Pakistan. The Taliban aren't the sort who share power, they are purists who do not believe in elections, democracy, secular law, modernization and progressive secular education.

Peoples power, civil society and the Lawyers Movement won't save Pakistan from the Pakistan army backed Swat Taliban, or so it seems.........................if elements of the military through the ISI are backing them. Nawaz Sharif will have to find a more aggressive, different mode of fighting them than the tools he successfully used against the Zardari government.

So what will his new strategy be?

Does Sharif have serving military and ex-military around him who are linked to his party, and don't support a Taliban takeover of Pakistan. People who don't want to end up as refugees in India, or live in exile in the UAE, London or Washington?

Now is the time to seriously network with the silent majority, since for sure civil society of any type won't work against the Swat TALIBAN.


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Nawaz raises alarm over Taliban march




By Masood Haider of Dawn Newspaper.


Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed concern about a controversial peace deal Zardari government signed with militants and decried they (militants) are trying to export their particularly harsh version of sharia.

In an interview published in USA today Sharif asked rhetorically ‘how do we deal with the situation in Swat?’ Sharif observed ‘they are now threatening to get out of Swat and take other areas into their custody. So we've got to avoid that situation.’

Nawaz Sharif asserted ‘any deal with militants should include commitments that ‘democracy will not be allowed to deteriorate and the writ of the government will be honored,’ adding that women's schools and universities must be allowed to stay open.

The newspaper said Sharif who had called for a ‘revolution’ to topple the government backed off from criticising Zardari saying he wants to work with ruling coalition.

In the interview conducted in Lahore, Sharif downplayed fears that the nuclear-armed country could be taken over by Taliban militants, who are gaining strength both in Pakistan and in neighboring Afghanistan, where they are battling US and Nato troops.

Sharif stressed the insurgency in Swat and border areas could be defused in just two years if sufficient economic development took place.

USA today said Sharif, who served two terms as prime minister in the 1990s before he was ousted in a military coup, is in a strong political position once again after staring down his rival, President Asif Ali Zardari, last month in a confrontation over the independence of Pakistan's courts.

After talking of a ‘prelude to revolution,’ Sharif escaped house arrest to lead thousands of protesters on a march toward the capital of Islamabad. The public pressure forced Zardari on March 15 to back down and reinstate judges purged by the previous, military regime.

The newspaper said that Sharif sounded triumphant. ‘My eyes still can't believe what they saw on the 15th of March,’ he said.

‘For the first time in the 60-year history of this country, a day had arrived when the people actually demonstrated their strength, their power. This nation stood up for its rights — and succeeded.’

Sharif avoided criticising Zardari directly during the interview and insisted that he wants to work with the ruling coalition, led by the president's Pakistan Peoples Party.

Sharif still wants Zardari to give up some of his presidential powers but says the dispute should be resolved in parliament, not on the streets.

‘This country cannot afford any confrontation,’ Sharif said. ‘We're not going to put our country in jeopardy (because of desire for) power. Grabbing power at any cost is not our motto.

‘Our motto is to get the country back on the rails of democracy, strengthen institutions like the judiciary and media and take necessary steps to prevent anybody from abrogating or suspending the constitution.’

Sharif has never been a Washington favorite. In the 1990s, his government tested a nuclear bomb, earning economic sanctions from the Clinton administration.

Sharif said he had a good relationship with President Clinton — and is a fan of President Obama. ‘I have never met Obama, but I have a good impression about him,’ he said.

‘I think he's a good guy.’ Since Obama took office, he said, US diplomats have been reaching out to him and to other political leaders.

Democratic politicians returned to power in parliamentary elections last year, and President Pervez Musharraf resigned.

Now, Sharif said, politicians must set aside their quarrels and work together to find solutions to the Taliban insurgency and Pakistan's other pressing needs.

‘This country is facing huge, huge problems — internal, external,’ he said. ‘It's very important that democracy deliver.’

The newspaper pointed out Sharif, head of the conservative Pakistan Muslim League, said that he opposes attacks by airborne US drones on militant hide-outs as ‘counterproductive’ and wants to see dialogue with more moderate Islamist groups.

The Politics of utter failure.

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Contradictions point towards a crunch



By Mahir Ali





LAST week began with President Asif Zardari signing a bill that effectively legalises the hand-over of a portion of Pakistan to a branch of the Taliban.


It drew to a close with a bunch of countries pledging, at a meeting in Tokyo, to donate $5bn to the country. The president promised to devote the extra resources to combating the tremendous challenge’ posed by Islamist extremism, and warned the nation’s benefactors: If we lose, you lose, the world loses.’

The very same day, Maulana Abdul Aziz returned in triumph to his favourite haunt, Islamabad’s Lal Masjid, where he appeared to claim at least some of the credit for the outcome in Swat and promised that a similar fate lay in store for the country as a whole and for the rest of the world.

The instrument of surrender in Swat was more or less unanimously endorsed following a perfunctory parliamentary debate — and even that gesture appeared to spook the Awami National Party and its leader, Asfandyar Wali Khan, who threatened to pull the ANP out of its alliance with Zardari’s PPP in the event of the bill being presented for discussion to the National Assembly.

There appears to be a relatively simple explanation for the ANP’s nervousness: it is very, very scared of the Taliban and their allies. Which says a lot about the state of affairs in the NWFP. If the once progressive party’s leading role in negotiating a highly reactionary deal in Swat is based on the assumption that a concession in Swat will allow the provincial government more breathing space elsewhere, then it clearly does not understand the Islamist mentality.

The vast majority of MNAs who spoke on the bill defended it on the basis that similar laws had been enacted in 1994 and 1999, although former information minister Sherry Rehman pointed out that in those times the elected representative of the province had executive control over the area. There was no danger of people being subjected to privatised justice, to Taliban vigilantism and public brutality’.

The only party that refused to acquiesce in endorsing the bill was the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, whose parliamentary leader Farooq Sattar challenged the idea of allowing an armed ultra-radical group to establish its writ by force, and was subsequently quoted as saying that the move will have far-reaching consequences for the idea of a moderate and liberal Pakistan’. I don’t often find myself in agreement with the MQM, particularly in the context of its stranglehold over Karachi, but in this case its stance seems unexceptionable.

One possible factor behind the refusal of other parties to acknowledge that the Swat deal sets an ominous precedent was elucidated by an intriguing analysis by Jane Perlez and Pir Zubair Shah, published last week in The New York Times, according to which the Taliban have advanced their cause by taking the side of landless peasants against landlords — sometimes by intimidating the latter into running away from their estates, and then sharing the spoils with the peasants, who in return are willing to serve as the shock troops of the extremists.

There are unlikely to be many countries in the world where feudalism is as deeply ingrained as in Pakistan, and landed interests dominate most of the larger parties (the MQM, for what it’s worth, is an exception). They are obviously keen to restrict the Swat phenomenon — described by an unnamed senior Pakistani official as a bloody revolution that could sweep away the established order — to that region, so that their own latifundia are not similarly threatened. This, again, is a vain hope: there’s a considerably better chance that the Taliban will only be emboldened by their success in the Malakand area.

Although most of the peasants may not realise it, this is essentially a case of one form of exploitation being superseded by another variant that is equally toxic, albeit in a different way. Regardless of the circumstances, the discomfiture of the feudal elements does not render them any worthier of sympathy. The pity is that it was left to the Taliban to capitalise on the natural resentment of the rural proletariat: the political parties that could have done so chose instead to align themselves with, and to accommodate, the propertied opportunists.

In a recent interview with The Independent, Zardari suggested that he understood the nexus between poverty and militancy, saying: We will never really succeed in containing and destroying the militants and fanatics if we do not address the social needs of our people.’ That is perfectly true — although it ought to be pointed out that unacceptable levels of poverty were taken for granted for decades before fundamentalism became a deadly force. What’s more, addressing the social needs of our people has never been a priority for any Pakistani government, and it does not follow from the presidential acknowledgment of this problem that the present administration will behave any differently.

Arguably, the best possible use for the bulk of the forthcoming $5bn would be to spend it on education, whose inadequacy is in all probability the largest single reason why the sowers of ignorance find such fertile soil — and the dominant feudal mentality again helps to explain why the idea of enlightening the masses has never quite caught on. Chances are the money will be put to more mundane uses, such as upgrading weaponry or servicing the international debt. A certain proportion may also end up in someone or the other’s pocket (20%---Zardari). Richard Holbrooke says the handout should have been multiplied by 10; Zardari, who at one point was keen on soliciting $100bn, would wholeheartedly agree.

Meanwhile, the inadequately explained bail for Maulana Abdul Aziz and his return to the scene of the crime, so to speak, is more or less guaranteed to enhance the sense of beleaguerment that has become second nature to the majority of Islamabad’s residents, accustomed as they are to sporadic blasts and massive security barriers.



The government, according to a report in The Guardian at the weekend, is urging foreign embassies to move into a diplomatic enclave that may soon resemble Baghdad’s green zone. Almost everyone acknowledges, however, that adequate precautions against suicide bombers are hardly feasible. The vulnerabilities of Lahore and Karachi — to say nothing of Quetta and Peshawar — have already been demonstrated, while the likes of Baitullah Mehsud are free to hold press conferences, evidently with little fear of interception.

If the centre cannot hold, things will inevitably fall apart. Every now and then the odd flicker of hope can be glimpsed, but chances of redemption are fading fast. Once India concludes its drawn-out electoral process, it might be well-advised to make contingency arrangements for a wave of refugees driven by Islamist anarchy.




















Of course Busharaf the Deobandi Mohajir from India won't be going to India as a refugee again, but will most probably settle in the USA, like many Iraqi generals who took the $ in 2003.









The Pakistan army backed Swat Taliban take over more areas.

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So much for the "Peace deal" between the Swat Taliban and the Islamabad government. If this is peace, what good is it to the central government and the people of Pakistan?

All Islamic fundamentalist states have been attacked viciously and consequently invaded.........by the USA and UK.......Taliban Afghanistan 2001, after being blamed for 9/11, and Somalia 2006......by neighbor Ethiopia with USA assistance. Iran is being threatened with attack and invasion 2003----2009, CONSTANTLY. Hamas controlled Gaza has been savagely attacked by Israel just a few months ago IN 2009. Hezbollah run Lebanon got the same treatment in 2006.

These are the hard facts that, and unless ordinary Pakistanis, and their pitiful "political leaders" and "military officers" have a serious craving and need to be attacked by the like of the USA, UK and Israel, with carpet bombing, drone attacks, cluster bombs, phosphorous bombs, daisy cutters, they had better organize themselves quickly to prevent the Taliban taking control of more Pakistan territory................................deal with the military leaders who are aiding the Swat Taliban.

Busharaf, Kiyani, Suja Pasha, Hamid Gul ALL after all have secured second homes provided secretly in London and Washington, but the rest of Pakistan's 180 million population must face this threat from the Taliban, and there after behind them, the "Liberation" forces of the USA and UK, waiting in Afghanistan. 100,000 Occupation Forces this year in Afghanistan, and the Afghan security forces will be boosted to 400,000 in the near future, and additional USA trainers are being sent for this task.

10-20 million Pakistani refugees in India, and many millions killed in a vicious civil war inside Pakistan, under foreign occupation.


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Buner falls into the hands of Swat Taliban



By Dawn Newspaper.


BUNER: Taliban militants from Swat took control of Buner on Tuesday and started patrolling bazaars, villages and towns in the district. The militants, who had sneaked into Gokand valley of Buner on April 4, were reported to have been on a looting spree for the past five days.


They have robbed government and NGO offices of vehicles, computers, printers, generators, edible oil containers, and food and nutrition packets.Sources said that leading political figures, businessmen, NGO officials and Khawaneen, who had played a role in setting up a Lashkar to stop the Taliban from entering Buner, had been forced to move to other areas.


The Taliban have extended their control to almost all tehsils of the district and law-enforcement personnel remained confined to police stations and camps.

The Taliban, equipped with advanced weapons, were reported to be advancing towards border areas of Swabi,Malakand and Mardan, the hometown of NWFP Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti.


According to reports reaching here, the militants have set up checkposts and camp bases in Kangar Gali village, along the Malakand border; Naway Dhand village, along the Mardan border; and Tootalai village, along the Swabi border.

The sources said officials of the FC camp in Jorh had asked people to vacate their homes in view of threats of an attack.


The militants have started digging trenches and setting up bunkers on heights in strategic towns of Gadezi, Salarzai, Osherai and other tehsils.After occupying the Buner district and setting up their headquarters in the bungalow of businessman Syed Ahmed Khan (alias Fateh Khan) in Sultanwas, the militants started patrolling the streets and roads with no signs of law-enforcement personnel.

Led by Fateh Mohammad, the militants were asking local people, particularly youngsters, to join them in their campaign to enforce Sharia.


They have established checkposts on roads and are searching all passing vehicles. They have virtually established their writ in Buner region, once a stronghold of the Awami National Party.

A Taliban commander said they would set up strict Islamic sharia courts in Buner as they have already done in Swat, but would not interfere with police work.

‘The Taliban who have arrived from Swat have increased patrolling, banned music in public transport and rampaged (through the) offices of NGOs and taken their vehicles,’ local government official Rashid Khan said.


‘Taliban militants armed with rocket launchers were manning the checkpoints and operating from local mosques,’ he said, adding that a report had been filed at the local police station against ‘unknown militants.’

‘We will soon establish our radio station. Our Qazis (Islamic judges) will also start holding courts in Buner soon,’ Taliban commander Mohammad Khalil told AFP.


‘We will not interfere in the police work, they can continue their job,’ he said, adding their purpose was to end a ‘sense of deprivation’ and to provide speedy justice.


‘People in their dozens have come to invite us’ to extend sharia.


Muslim Khan, a Taliban spokesman, told AFP from Swat that ‘the government writ is not being challenged in Buner and Taliban are not creating any hurdle in the administration's work.’


‘The Taliban will leave Buner after enforcement of Islamic justice system,’ he said.


However, several residents said they felt ‘scared’ and planned to leave the Buner area, fearing similar violence to that in Swat.On Tuesday, armed groups entered the Rural Health Centre at Jure in Salarzai area and took away a Land-Cruiser being used by the Expanded Programme of Immunisation (EPI), Buner.

On April 17, they raided a basic health unit in tehsil Chamla and looted 480 cans of edible oil. They took away from the house of a lady health visitor a large number of food and nutrition packets supplied by USAID and sewing machines from an Action Aid-sponsored vocational centre in the Korea village of tehsil Chamla.


On April 18, they looted a huge quantity of medicine from a health facility at the Afghan refugee camp in Koga in the same tehsil and 640 cans of edible oil from a godown of the World Food Programme in Nawagai.On April 19, armed men took away a Suzuki Potohar Jeep from a rural health centre in Nagrai. A group of 20 militants took away a Suzuki Ravi car and 400 cans of edible oil from a basic health unit in Garga.


Another armed group snatched an ambulance, a pick-up provided by Gavi for EPI cell, a Suzuki Ravi from a health centre in Swari.They also broke into the offices of Paiman (Save the Children) EPI, Jica offices and took away several computers, printers, two generators, fax machines, UPS and other appliances.The armed men stopped near Ambela a double-cabin vehicle of Paiman going to Buner from Peshawar and took it along with the driver to a nearby camp. Later, they released the driver and escaped with the vehicle.


They have also occupied the main office of Rahbar in Swari.

Apr 20, 2009

A dangerous traitorous game by the Pakistan military for their Western Masters.

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Could Pakistan be taken over by hardline Islamic fundamentalists (Deobandi), and then get control of Pakistan's nuclear bomb's there after? Whilst the current Pakistan civilian/military authorities understand to a certain extent the norms of international law, the hardline Islamic fundamentalists are not constrained by such niceties.

This is the basic narrative of certain sections of the American security community; Certain sections of Israeli security community, and some Pakistani commentators............Finally some Indian commentators have also joined in line with this argument. They ALL have different reasons for arriving at this conclusion:

(i) The American security commentators usually anonymously sourced through the New York Times and Washington Post, state such things because they want to expand the stale static war on terror into a new arena, because if the American military are bogged down in Iraq, and Afghanistan their original narrative formulated in the PNAC 2000 loses momentum. By attacking Pakistan, and later invading the country that fake narrative is deemed to be "energized".....a perception is created that "progress" is being made, and the military are being put to good use. For their Israeli masters the Americans can then also secure the Pakistani nukes, and bring under control yet another Muslim country, and "liberate it".



(ii) For the Pakistanis there are multiple confusing contradictory reasons for pushing the Islamic fundamentalist agenda in Pakistan. For one major group of the all powerful military currently in power (Kiyani, Suja Pasha), by giving space to Islamic fundamentalists (800,000 Pakistan military backed by 300,000 paramilitary surrendering to 3,000 lightly armed Taliban in Swat, on all the Taliban terms and some more....), this is an avenue through which the Pakistan military can destabilize the civilian government and for them a ticket back into power.




For a smaller group of the Pakistani military centered around Busharaf and Hamid Gul, the Islamic fundamentalists ascendancy is a natural ideological development of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan inherited from Zia ul Haq, where Sharia law is enforced in the entire country, and irregular Jihad is waged mainly against India (apparently both these ultra hardball Deobandi Islamic nationalist generals have absolutely no problems with America/Israel ............if you can source all the photo ops of them saluting the two countries, hugging, shaking hands, kissing and saluting of course.....into 2009).


The final group in Pakistan which is propagating the Islamic ascendancy myth is the present Pakistani government under Zardari. It is probable that Zardari in power for only a few months so far has little or no say over security matters in Pakistan and therefore his main focus would be to make as much money as he could whilst the going was good (HE OFFERS ABSOLUTELY NO POLITICAL AGENDAS FOR RUNNING PAKISTAN......NO programs, nothing, no real governance). His primary motivation is himself and to make serious money and then put it in foreign tax haven accounts, the standard practice of much of South Asia's corrupt elite so lets not be too harsh on the man. In order to get more cash inflows he is milking the threat of Islamic ascendancy in Pakistan to gain more aid money.
“Help us to help yourselves”. He did suggest an American financed Marshal plan for saving Pakistan amounting to $30 billion but probably the Americans understand precisely what type of SAVINGS Zardari was talking about, as they do with the $7.6 billion American economic aid and the $5.28 billion international pledge. Lets see if Zardari has progressed to Mr. 20%, he has already made $2.5 billion from the above aid pledges.....

(iii) The Indian's want to propagate the Islamic ascendancy in Pakistan because for some of them it is chance to get closer to America............."I like you, you like me, we friends yaar"; to be clearly accepted as the regional power in South Asia by America, and by a few possibly to get even with Pakistan through joint ops against Pakistan.

The Pakistan military are thus playing a dangerous brinkmanship game, creating such negative narratives against Pakistan whilst fully cooperating with the USA's covert agenda's which in the long run harm Pakistan clearly. It is Pakistan which can lose a lot in such a scenario eventually. As a neighbor India can also lose.

The imperialist tool and pattern.

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Those who are sufficiently informed about South Asian history should know that it is the British who created the Muslim League in 1905, using their favored puppets in the Bengal Muslim aristocracy, to challenge the Congress Party in India (The same reason why Pakistan was created as a state by the British....using their agent Jinnah). Also one should know that the British backed the Wahabi House of Saud into power, against the interests of the much more moderate Hashemites. If we keep these two clear facts in mind, then we should have no problems in understanding why the British created the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt in the early part of the last century, the grand daddy of al-Qaeda, and of many other real and imaginary Islamic movements in the Greater Middle East and the world.



With Islamic fundamentalists Western powers with imperialist pretensions, like the UK can use them to:

1) Destabilize Muslim countries.
2) Have simple minded uneducated idiots running a country, and therefore more easily manipulated, and thus destroy any development and modernization programs within that country.
3) Provide the rational for attacking a Muslim country (ALL MUSLIM COUNTRIES UNDER FUNDAMENTALIST RULE HAVE EITHER BEEN INVADED {Somalia, Afghanistan}, OR ARE BEING THREATENED WITH INVASION{Iran, Hamas Gaza, and to a lessor extent Hezbollah Lebanon}.....................so a simple lesson to learn for all Muslim countries which wish to avoid Western neo-colonial intervention, then must fight the Islamic fundamentalism within your country if they want to avoid Western neo-colonial "liberation" by the likes of the USA, and UK.



Iraq is after all run by Islamic parties under American "liberation". Before the invasion it was run by secular Socialists. So we know what type of governments they prefer, under occupation.

What other uses do Islamic fundamentalists have besides their colorful appearance and rhetoric for the Western neo-colonialists? In the case of Egypt, and the Islamic Brotherhood as in the case with India and the British creation of the Muslim League, the British used the Islamic Brotherhood to challenge the secular modernist NATIONALIST movement in Egypt which wanted complete independence from Britain and its domination of the country. So the British very generously funded the building of the first Mosque to be run by the Islamic Brotherhood.....and they went into their religious rants, attracting mainly poor misguided young men.........and you shout Sharia law, and sharia law and sharia law...with Islamic Kalifaat, Kalifaat and Kalifaat..........but this is all illusionary nonsense, to divert from the real task of nation building under a nationalist modernist secular banner. There is no such thing as modern progressive Islamic republic, the two are contradiction in terms. The Kalifaat dream is illusionary, since it can never be achieved in the real world. Pragmatically the best policy to really improve your country is nationalism under a modernist banner.


And so we have in Swat a puppet of Western Intelligence coming out with the usual nonsense of Sharia law for the whole of Pakistan.........and a call for Qalifaat( Taliban want Sharia in all Pakistan)..........written by Western intelligence, and guided by their Pakistani military minders.



Busharaf the Deobandi is off to Saudi, and then London to thank them. And the rest of Pakistan which in free fair elections in 2008 voted for non-Fundamentalist parties overwhelmingly MUST get ready for invasion and occupation by the British and USA "Liberation forces". The Pakistan military have sold the nation out again in the process of flying the Pakistani flag and portraying themselves as solid nationalists.
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The Fall of the Shah

Londonistan

The ISI

The fifth column of Islamic fundamentalism

Hamas Son of Israel

al-Qaeda, the global Renamo

Fake al-Qaeda

GWOT over 100 years

al-Qaeda tool of the West

Bernard Lewis and Samuel Huntington

The Great Game

Bernard Lewis

Apr 14, 2009

Creating a separate identity for the PML-N.

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This is the correct decision for the PML-N, after all why be tainted with the failure of a fast sinking ship?

What the PML-N has to do now is create a Grand Canyon identity for itself which is clearly identifiable from the governing party, policy wise. In addition cooperation is all very well in opposition and sounds very gentlemanly and noble, but one of the main purposes of an opposition is to vehemently attack failed policies of presiding governments.........with a government like Zardari's there should be no shortage of work for the PML-N in this arena. Clearly show to the Pakistani public why the current government's policies are failing, and what the PML-N would do in their place as an alternative when in government. As long as Zardari is at the helm of government with frictions between the PM and President, there is ample failures to pick over.

The PML-N has recouped its losses, and perhaps might want to rest on its laurels for a while and savor the recent gains. This would be foolish. I can't see Zardari finishing his remaining four years in power, and so we must think what alternatives can be established that ensures civilian political rule in Pakistan, and therefore prevents the military from reinstating themselves as the "national saviours" yet again.

Perhaps a vote of no confidence organized in the long hot summer, when things will have worsened in the country economically and socially. Investigations into Zardari's
OBVIOUS gross corruption and the disqualification of his presidential position, there after would be even better.

The beauty of the latter suggestion is that it reaffirms the supremacy of the highest court of law; its independence................and it warns future potential Zardari wannabee's that in Pakistani life and especially political life high crime involving billions of $ of public money does not and will not hence forth pay.

In the process of thinking along this line the PML-N needs to create an effective shadow government in waiting drawn from the best in Punjab, NWFP, Sindh/Karachi and of course Baluchistan.... a national PML-N government that represents all, and not just a narrow section of Sharif cronies...........and when the PML-N eventually come to power their game must be several levels better than Zardaris.



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PML-N spurns Gilani offer to rejoin the Pak coalition.
By the Times of India.


ISLAMABAD: Nawaz Sharif's PML-N on Monday spurned Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's invitation to rejoin the PPP led Pakistan coalition government, saying "it is in the interest of democracy that we sit in opposition".


"It is in the interest of democracy and the two-party system that we sit on the opposition benches at the centre, PML-N spokesman Siddiqul Farooq said, adding "however, the final decision on this will be taken by Nawaz Sharif."

The Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) will not work to destabilize the federal government and will act as constructive opposition, Farooq said.

"We will cooperate with the government on all important issues but we do not want to join the government," he added.

Earlier, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had formally invited the PML-N to rejoin the government as well as the federal cabinet, saying that the deposed judges had been reinstated as the PML-N desired.

However, PML-N's top bosses are under pressure from the party who are asking its leadership to play the role of the opposition in the centre rather than joining the federal cabinet.

Talking to DawnNews, Special Advisor to Punjab chief Minister, Raja Ashfaq Sarwar, confirmed party bosses were under pressure from the workers not to join the PPP government in the centre.

Objectively speaking Sonia Gandhi is correct.

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Well this is politics as they say.

Statistically speaking maybe 50,000--80,000 people have died in the Kashmir conflict in Indian Kashmir alone, which is primarily fueled by Pakistan backing insurgent groups both within Indian held Kashmir and by Pakistan based jehadi groups like the LeT, and JeM........and the sum total of losses from Naxal activity from the late sixties, North East insurgents and Hindu extremists activity in various parts of India don't come any where near the losses sustained, and the cost of maintaining security in Kashmir....................statistically and financial burden wise, she is in this specific case wrong.

However national security threats can be defined in many different forms. The BJP is a colorful party that appeared from nowhere in the 1990's and is close to Israel and far right NRI groups, with religious fundamentalist communalism and national chauvinism as its two main ideological planks. Naturally such party agendas have the potential to create severe political problems both within and without, around India if the party manifesto is translated literally.

Many would argue that the BJP agendas tend to be watered down once they actually form governments and rule the country. But the big question is if a party's main focus is on the communal ticket, and national chauvinism.............is it not fair to state that indeed the BJP can constitute a bigger threat to the cohesion of the nation?

The BJP talks about attacking Pakistan and teaching them a lesson for supporting Kashmiri insurgency is one example which could be a potential threat to India's stability........a long war with Pakistan will harm India as much as it does Pakistan......India beyond two weeks has never fought long ALL OUT wars. India as a society still has a long way to go before the country is solidified and developed. The BJP through its wild rhetoric should not up the ante in this sensitive arena for Israel or anybody else......where wild rabble rousing rhetoric necessitates back up action for the sake of the prestaige of the party.

India is not Stalin's Russia, where in 1928 he implemented his own personal program, after consolidating control over the country as absolute rulers over 10 years............If the BJP forces its narrow agenda's onto the rest of India it can create general instability; India is not yet a fully cohesive governance wise.

Its is in this broad objective sense with the very real potential, that Sonia Gandhi is correct.

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Enemy within: BJP wants Sonia apology.

By Ananthakrishnan G of the Times of India.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a sharp attack on Congress president Sonia Gandhi, NDA's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani on Monday termed as "dangerous, irresponsible and highly objectionable" the former's comment at a rally that "India was in greater danger from people within than from foreign terrorists."

"I am aghast by the Congress president's thought that we are in greater danger from people of our country than from foreign terrorists. How could she say this?" Advani said referring to media reports of Sonia's speech at a rally in Jharkhand. Sonia's statement "substantially accuses BJP of being more dangerous than the terrorists," he told reporters.

"My party may not have been named, but the sum and substance is clear," he pointed out and slammed the Congress president saying "perhaps she is ignorant even of the traditions of her own party". He demanded an apology from Sonia.

Apr 12, 2009

The Jewish war against us all..

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Why should we question 9/11 and the American government narrative about 9/11? Because we are anti-American? Because we just can't stand George Bush and HIS wars? Because we are left wing liberal? Because we are anti-Western? Because we are anti-Semitic? Because we are pacifists? Because we support the number 5 and 3?

Hopefully they are not the main motivation for questioning 9/11.

We question 9/11 not to seek some elusive aesthetic "truth" merely for its own sake, but that there are deep underlying basic human needs as to why we must question and destroy the official government narrative of 9/11...............to use the language of the scare mongers the whole essence of truth around 9/11 is about our ultimate survival as the "Human race" and how we define society in this millennium, and exactly whom we allow to dictate this century for us.

The Soviet Union found out 1991, as did Nazi Germany 1945, and North Korea now that you can build bigger lies over your last big lie....and so on and so on until your whole society is completely subverted.

9/11 is a BIG LIE, covered and propagated by big liars who have all the appearance of honesty and sincerity of James Stewart, and the piety of the Pope.............but for all the showmanship it s a BIG LIE, by professional lairs.........who have invaded Iraq, Afghanistan and threaten other countries with the same. Millions have died, and millions are suffering............innocent good people from around the world.

America is a police state, as is the UK...........as is many other countries because of this big lie.


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Dutch TV show exonerates Osama bin Laden

By Scott Roxborough
Published in Atheo's blog.


A Dutch TV jury has found Osama bin Laden not guilty of the Sept. 11 attacks.

In the conclusion Wednesday night to the show "Devil's Advocate" on Dutch public broadcaster Nederland 2, the jury of two men and three women, along with the studio audience, ruled there was no proof bin Laden was the mastermind behind the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001.

The Netherlands, home to "Big Brother" creator Endemol, is known for being on the cutting edge of format-based television. But even for Dutch standards, "Devil's Advocate," from Amsterdam production house AVRO, pushes the envelope.

The show features star defense attorney Gerard Spong standing up for some of the world's worst criminals.

In the latest show, Spong was able to convince the jury that bin Laden's connection to Sept. 11 was a product of "Western propaganda." The jury also ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove bin Laden was the real head of terrorist network al-Qaida. However, the jury did rule that bin Laden is a "terrorist who has misused Islam."

The show is certain to provide further ammunition in the already heated Dutch debate over immigration and the country's large Muslim minority. The Netherlands saw a sharp rise in anti-immigration and anti-Islamic sentiment after the 2004 murder of Dutch director Theo Van Gogh by a Muslim extremist.

Spong has been at the center of the debate, supporting legal action against anti-immigrant politician Geert Wilders.

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I posted this earlier last year and I am posting it again as it is relevant.....If you really want to know who is behind 9/11.

"Fitna--------racial provocation, Jewish style."

The strategy is transparent, from outer space.

Get your dogs in Europe and else where to bait Muslims, and when the Muslims do react inevitably, especially the illiterate ones or their funded agent provocateurs then shout as loudly as possible through your media, 'The Muslim hordes are at the gates'. Demonize the Muslims, as reckless savages who go into rage for inexplicable reasons-----and don't do any background checks or research about the substantive issues why people behave this way, just transmit the images, and some banal side comments as news. Then drive the hell out of the Palestinians, and justify your action against them because these are after all savages, right?

Hence we have had this promotion of Islamic fundamentalism by sections of the West, and Israel. The secular Muslims have to fight back against both, as both are the enemies.

Western backed Islamic fundamentalism to fight local nationalism..100 years back

How the Shah of Iran was toppled and Mullahs installed in his place

Who started the Arc of Crisis policy from the 1970's

Bernard Lewis

In relation to the article/blog in point and the wider issue of Fitna and Van Wilder.

Obviously Jews are doing a propaganda drive, with the help of elements of the Far Right in Europe (which I always thought was manipulated by the Jews themselves traditionally to scare and keep in line the Jew masses) The Mohammad cartoon episode was initiated by a Mossad agent by the name of Fleming Rose, working for the Danish newspaper which supported the far right, and accepted as OK from the right wing government of Denmark----Fleming Rose is not his real name ------actually an Ukrainian Jew:

The James Petras and Robin Eastman-Abaya article

The Mohammed cartoons baiting game


The French Arab riots on the surface looks like crazy Arabs going on the rampage, but a closer investigation looks like the right wing French MOSSAD agent, Nicholas SARKOZY as interior minister staged highly provocative action calculated to incite Arabs. Look it up people...............

www.wakeupfromyourslumber.com/node/4280....if problems then type in Nicolas Sarkozy and sanyim, and Le Figaro.

The Dutch saga looks like more MOSSAD activity to give Muslims a bad name to justify Israeli inhuman activity against the Palestinians, in collusion with Right Wing elements in Europe:


The Van Gogh Murders

It is quite simple people. The strategy is simple, using shaven headed, working class yobs, with low education/IQ to garner support for Israel and its genocidal actions in the Middle East. The question is how much is the general media going to accept this as fact.