Being scared about the situation in Iraq is so 2007. With violence down, Al-Qaeda in Iraq frightened with getting schwacked by Sunni tribal members, and even Muqtada al-Sadr working on a deal to release the journalists that got kidnapped in Basra, the country has gotten better, despite still having a lot of problems. But nothing is quite as scary as Pakistan, which is replete with nukes, an unstable government, and a breeding ground for Jihadis up in the tribal region known as the "Northwestern Frontier".
So it was with a little bit of dismay that I saw news about 2 nuclear scientists being kidnapped (thanks Hot Air):
"We are trying to collect information.... We cannot disclose our strategy but we are hopeful we will find out where he has been kept and who is involved."
Then, I check over at Long War Journal and see that Pakistan's ambasador to Afghanistan has been kidnapped on the same damn day:
On the same day Pakistani security forces captured the former Taliban commander of southern Afghanistan, the Taliban retaliated by kidnapping Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan. The Taliban have offered to release Ambassador Tariq Azizuddin in exchange for Mansoor Dadullah.
These events have made me question whether I have been spending too much time focusing on events in Iraq. Maybe I should be more concerned about other regions...
"We are trying to collect information.... We cannot disclose our strategy but we are hopeful we will find out where he has been kept and who is involved."
Then, I check over at Long War Journal and see that Pakistan's ambasador to Afghanistan has been kidnapped on the same damn day:
On the same day Pakistani security forces captured the former Taliban commander of southern Afghanistan, the Taliban retaliated by kidnapping Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan. The Taliban have offered to release Ambassador Tariq Azizuddin in exchange for Mansoor Dadullah.
These events have made me question whether I have been spending too much time focusing on events in Iraq. Maybe I should be more concerned about other regions...
The Good News Just Keeps Coming in from this place
See what the others have said:
2 comments:
I am still very concerned about Iraq. We cannot draw down yet, as you know. The difficulty, of course, is that we are hard pressed to continue the force presence, and especially the Army cannot continue 1.5 year deployments.
I have long advocated the draw down of forces in Germany and S.K., and re-deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. The silly "sunshine diplomacy" in S.K. will disappear when faced with the prospect of defending themselves.
No, I agree, Pakistan is a problem. But so is Afghanistan. And so is Iraq. We are where we need to be regarding these three places. Germany and S.K. needs to be dropped.
Keep up the good work.
Best, HPS
Mr. Smith,
Likewise, I too am concerned about Iraq. I've just realized that I haven't been paying very good attention to transpirings in Pakistan, and I probably should! I've become very one-tracked in my thinking. I'm just trying to branch out a little. I do think that Pakistan is of utmost importance. And this Nuclear Scientist getting kidnapped isn't helping matters... Thanks for maintaing a top-notch blog that keeps track of all the important stuff, I always peruse yours for insight. Thx!
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