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Suicide bomber kills 24 Pakistani soldiers

DENIS D. GRAY

Associated Press

Latest comment posted at 10:00 AM EDT 14/07/07

Attack prompts fears of holy war, follows government crackdown on Islamabad's Red Mosque ...Read the full article

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  1. John Stanton from Canada writes: holy war....how fitting...isnt religion just grand
  2. Adolf Oliver Bush from British Indian Ocean Ter. writes:

    This is just what god wanted. Everybody smiting each other. God loves it when we smite each other. I heard he is a big fan of Ultimate Fighting, but he thinks they should allow death blows.

    .
  3. Michel Frechette from Kapuskasing, writes: Let the crusades being.
  4. Irene Cornwell from Morinville, Canada writes: We are forever bing told the leader of Pakistan is too 'military'. Perhaps, we should accept that some of these nations, including Iraq, at this point in their history seem to need a vary strong and armed leadership. Our trying to impose our 'Western democracy before its time' seems to be endangering everyone in the region. Basic law and order and economic stability seem to be more complicated and elusive than we thought. Perhaps the 'busybody' isn't always helpful.
  5. Will ll from Maritimes, Canada writes: Another Bush supporter in the process of being kicked from office. This case is cause for grave concern unlike the rest though. Hopefully it is a real sign that Pakistan will no longer tolerate radical militants if they can hold onto power.
  6. Barry Turner from Ottawa, Canada writes: Looks like its time for a jihad against extremist islamic militants who are making war against Allah.
  7. Satori Zen from Warriors' Land, Canada writes: How much longer before that excursion in Afgnahistanwe is regionalized? With no diplomatic efforts in sight, all the elements are there for permanent conflict and perpetual war. Exciting, is it not? More particularly for all those of us who are ageing terribly fast? The blood gets warmer, one more time, before...
  8. M Phillips from Canada writes: Time to wipe the mothers out.
  9. Dan Shortt from Toronto, Canada writes: The Red Mosque militants rejected a negotiated end to the siege, and refused to moderate their position. They brought death down upon themselves. Now the radicals are rampaging against the Pakistan Gov't. What for ... to get revenge for their own stupidity?

    This is pay-back to Musharaff for allowing Radical Islam to proliferate along the northern border with Afghanistan. But he isn't anywhere near being put out of office. The radicals are in for a fight if they want to tangle with the Pakistan Army.
  10. R. M. from Regina, Canada writes: I we have even more holy wars going on God is not going to have any time to deal with global warming!
  11. Paul Sweeney from Grey County, Canada writes: As Hobbes said: 'the nature of war consists not in actual fighting, but in the known disposition thereto...'

    Humans have never known pure peace - even during the times there has been no actual fighting - for there are always at least one person or group disposed to or willing to fight...perpetual war is the norm.

    The goal of a pure peace is an erroneous illusion of the unschooled and naive.

    We must ensure, therefore, that those with the disposition to fight - such as the religious wackos in Pakistan - do not win in Pakistan for this country has nukes...

    Things will get a lot worse if countries like Canada or the US allow the Muslim extremists to gain control in Pakistan given that we know what they are disposed to.

    So if we are faced with the choice between (1) allowing the extremists to get control or (2) support Musharaff's military and political control (even if its undemocratic) then we better 'walk with the devil to the nearest bridge' and take (2) in spite of any commitments we have to democracy or human rights and so on.


  12. Udom Thongpai from Victoria, Canada writes: The attack on the Red Mosque served multiple goals. Musharraf was in pretty serious domestic political trouble that is now overshadowed, and he will now have legitimate cause to suspend the next election if need be. There are rewards to be had from the US as well. Last Tuesday saw the delivery of two of the first of 28 top of the line F-16s to Pakistan. The first F-16 was flown in by the commander of Central Air Command of the US Air Force. They are said to have been sold for a very low price... For a couple of weeks there have been reports that the US and Pakistan have made a deal to allow US bombing inside Pakistan, and it seems likely that we'll see this soon. The americans get to broaden the war, which should help stop the slide in Bush's popularity for a while. This is particularly necessary now with the just released report stating that Al Qaeda is doing well in Pakistan, and it will make it harder for Bush's opponents, both domestic and foreign, to argue for a pullback. The deal with Musharraf is also intended to undercut real progress being made by the SCO (Shanghai Cooperative Organization) in strengthening their influence in the region, (which gives China power there). Musharraf had been flirting with the SCO, likely to sweeten the price he could extract from the US. A good look at all this can be found at:

    http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IG13Df01.html

    In the meantime, Al Qaeda gets what it wants in broadening the conflict. They need to be seen as being at the head of the parade, and the parade just got bigger. Also, their major goal in the area is the creation of a new Taliban style state made from Afghanistan together with parts of Pakistan, Tajikistan and Iran. They can't do this without a wider war.

    Right now, the winners in this are Pakistan, the US and Al Qaeda. The losers are the political opponents of Musharraf, the SCO and the civilians of the region.
  13. Randy McClure from Canada writes: Dan Shortt from Toronto, Canada writes: The radicals are in for a fight if they want to tangle with the Pakistan Army ... At least until certain army units switch allegiance to the fundamentalists. Don't underestimate how unpopular Musharaff is -- or his cronies. Remember, Pakistan is not a democracy. The government kills people it doesn't like and people kill back. That is what's happening there ... that's what's happening in Afghanistan ... and Iraq ... etc. The fundamentalists' position is impossible to challenge unless you wipe out every last one. In thier view, the win if they die martyrs. Dying is a good thing in their view uner the right circumstances. If the West wants to minimize the trouble it shoud get the hell out of the middle east and central Asia. All of this trouble stems back to British and French imperial rule and then USA, post WWII. And it all ties back to our unstainable appetite for petroleum and pipeline routes. Before that it was spices and cotton. If we stuck to our own turf, there would be a lot less trouble. Problem is our elites seem to think the world belongs to them. All this can only end badly. Now Russia has suspended an arms control treaty, China is arming furiously, the United States economy is on eggshells and it's military is overextended while it grows ever more dependent on oil imports (currently 75% of consumption). It's time to buy a crossbow, a couple of tons of Lipton Cup-a-soup, head for the bush and wait for the nukes to start flying.
  14. cyril rufus from toronto, Canada writes: It is well to rememer amidst the flow of western commentary that accompanies these comments that Pakistan was founded on the idea that Muslims cannot live with those of other regions.
  15. Random Human from Toronto, Canada writes: It is about time the Pakistani government took some sort of action like this.
  16. Udom Thongpai from Victoria, Canada writes: Randy McClure, I agree. I would just add that it's probably impossible for the US to extricate itself. There are obvious reasons for this involving oil and the need for strategic dominance. But the US has an enormous exploitable weakness. That is that Al Qaeda could counter any pullback easily simply by mounting an attack within the US, causing an immediate renewal of war fever. It's a card Al Qaeda can play anytime they please.
  17. Rain SCM from Vancouver, Canada writes: Looks like the Taliban using Pakistan as a base just backfired for the current government. Maybe this is what was needed to convince Pervez Musharraf to make Pakistan 'inhospitable' to Al-Quaeda and the Taliban. It is a shame that innocents had to die.
  18. Eastern Rebellion from Orillia, Canada writes: We can always have peace, we just have to determine what the price is. The west will have to defend its values or be willing to accept dominance from the Islamic fundamentalists. Just like the rise of fascism and communism in the 30's, we now have militant Islam attempting to force their values and rules on others and subjugate them. The people of the west had better realize there is no peaceful co-existence option here.
  19. Jack Evitts from Canada writes: Before they can go to western democracy, they need a powerful leadership like communist Mao in China first to destroy all the extremests through some kind of culture revolution.
  20. Jennifer Rollison from Canada writes: Jack, in China the religion wasn't the politics. In Muslim countries the religion IS the politics. There will never be a solution to this mess because the two cannot be separated.
  21. Nite Owl from Calgary, Canada writes: The terrorists seem to value the tactics of the suicide bomber. Maybe they're right. Start bombing the mosques calling for jihad. Maybe those are the tactics that will make them listen and learn. They must think the tactics are valid and honourable according to Allah otherwise they wouldn't use them
  22. Satori Zen from Warriors' Land, Canada writes: Eastern Rebellion from Orillia, Canada writes: The people of the west had better realize there is no peaceful co-existence option here. -- We've already heard that one in the case of Russia, China, Vietnam, Northern Ireland, South Africa.., and the list goes on... and on.... So we're not impressed by that 'non-argument' statement.

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