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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Monday, September 22, 2008

Pakistan's growing problems

(AP, BBC) Probably the most significant Pakistan news is that Pakistan's top leaders were scheduled for a meeting in the Islamabad Marriott right as the bomb went off. That would indicate both a serious security leak and the fact that the bombers weren't just targeting a foreign symbol in the attack, but the Pakistani leadership itself. (Did the Pakistani government know an attack was coming and do nothing?)

(Reuters) There's another (as yet unconfirmed) report that Pakistani troops fired on and turned back US helicopters along the Pakistani border. Drone flights, however, do seem to be continuing.

(NYTimes) The first Pakistani response to the bombing is to pledge more military efforts in the tribal areas, but there seems to be alot of skepticism that the Pakistani government will pull that off because of the popular mood.

(WaPo) PM Zardari is headed to the UN meeting where he will also meet with Bush.

(And, I think you have to include this NYTimes piece on India's growing regional military presence fueled largely by US supplied weapons, ships, and aircraft.)