Pakistan and India escalation

About two hours ago posts to twitter announced to the world that Pakistan had cancelled military leaves and was beginning to move troops away from the Afghan border and toward the Indian border.

Obviously this is a continuation of the story which began over Thanksgiving when terrorists attacked Mumbai and killed and blew up many before being killed by Indian authorities. In the ensuing weeks it was released by India that the terrorists had direct connections to terror groups which are based and train in Pakistan.

My thoughts - first, Pakistan is playing a bit of a game with the world. They say they are fighting terrorism in the mountains next to Afghanistan but the truth is they don't want to break up the tribal regions for fear of a civil war. They say they aren't funding terror operations to attack India, but similar to the Afghan terror world prior to 9-11 they are allowing it to continue.

For the first time in years the nation of Pakistan has a democratically elected President, our chosen one during the initial thrust of War on Terror, was not elected. How therefore do we balance our desire to support freedom and democracy, with our desire to destroy Terror and those who support it?

Pakistan - President resigns amidst democracy

"ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Nuclear-armed Pakistan's beleaguered President Pervez Musharraf announced his resignation on Monday in the face of an impending impeachment motion by the ruling coalition government ..."

I know that security and nuclear officials are worried about these events this morning, but frankly this is a functioning democracy taking back over from a dictatorship in the form of military junta. We should support this democracy just as firmly as Georgia or Kosovo.

Pakistan's Musharraf resigns

India worries about renewed tensions with Musharraf gone

Pakistani President addressed his nation on TV

STATEMENT BY JOHN MCCAIN ON THE RESIGNATION OF PAKISTANI PRESIDENT MUSHARRAF

For Immediate Release	Contact: Press Office
Monday, August 18, 2008	703-650-5550

ARLINGTON, VA – Today, U.S. Senator John McCain issued the following statement on the resignation of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf:

“The resignation of President Pervez Musharraf is a step toward moving Pakistan onto a more stable political footing. Pakistan is a critical theater in countering the threat of al Qaeda and violent Islamic extremism, and I look forward to the government increasing its future cooperation.

“There are serious problems that must be addressed. The situation in Pakistan’s frontier regions requires immediate and continued attention, and I hope that the elections for President Musharraf’s successor will serve to reconcile the Pakistani people behind a leader who can solidify their government internally. It is critical that the United States continue to work in partnership with the Pakistani people and their democratically elected government to tackle the many challenges we both face

Sheridan Folger

Another confirmed terror leader dead

But I'm sure that Obama, Pelosi, and Evan Bayh will say "it's only luck" or something like that.

Sorry folks but we're winning this battle in the larger War on Terror. I just copied from Mahalo, too swamped to write a nice post this afternoon.

August 12, 2008: Pakistani officials confirmed that Abu Saeed al-Masri, a top-level Al Qaeda commander, had been killed in Pakistan's tribal area of Bajuar. The death of al-Masri is the second confirmed death of a high-ranking Al Qaeda commander in less than a month. On August 3, Pakistan confirmed that biological weapons expert Abu Khabab Al-Masri was killed in an airstrike carried out by the CIA.

Bhutto Assasinated

In a blow to peace in Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto was assasinated Thursday by a suicide bomber.

Suicide Attack on Rally May Have Killed BhuttoNew York Times - 25 minutes agoBy SALMAN MASOOD and GRAHAM BOWLEY RAWALPINDI, Islamabad - A bomb blast devastated a political rally being held by the Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto near the capital, Islamabad, Thursday, killing several people and seriously injuring Ms.Report: Bhutto killed in attack CNNExplosion heard at Bhutto rally CNN InternationalBloomberg - Reuters - Guardian Unlimited - FOX Newsall 285 news articles »

Christopher Hedges in Northwest Indiana