Why the American War on Terror is Failing Miserably

hamidm mian#: ".... you never cease to amaze me!.."

....if i had a dollar for everytime one of my girlfriends said this to me, i could afford my own sprinkler guy.......

...i had said, on this site, about 15 months ago, when i first returned from pakistan, that pakistan had had it.....i didn't realize my prediction would come true so quickly.......

.....my second prediction was and still is that smart money is on urstruly.....egypt isn't the only country that is going to have a mullah resurgence......pakistan is going to have it if the liberal secular class, represented by musharraf, mqm and bb doesn't stop running the country into the ground.....and doesn't stop supporting the bombing of their own territories.....

majumdar #: "f it has not happened in Egypt, any particular reason why should it happen in Pakistan?"

it has never happened in the pakistan army either......obviously martial law is good for the military, and for people who have friends in the military.....i am counting the days till one of my academy room-mates become generals and declare martial law......keep the initial "nh" in mind......if we meet after about 15 years, these may ring a bell.......

.....however, there is one difference this time.....the military is being asked to bomb its own citizens......and that too, at the instructions of the usa......this has created huge dislike of musharraf in the military, itself....i have heard captains and lieutenants badmounthing him....pilots who have refused to fly missions, have been jailed.....and soldiers have surrendered.....i have heard that one guy did not attend the funeral of his own son who died fighting in the tribal areas......

....i don't think musharraf can, indefinitely, keep pushing the military to fight in these areas.........however, he has to continue, if he wants us support......otherwise as a dictator he is a liability to the us policy......

"I don’t know what sort of emergency Egypt has, but I think their media is quite free recently..."

egypt is the ultimate emergency state.........and the ultiamte dictatorship.....it has been under emergency, since 1981, when hosni took over....and he has won landslide elections for 26 years........he is 79 yrs old, so he may not break ramesses II 66 year record.....but he could break mohammad ali's 43 yr record and move into second place....

as for media, it is always free to make movies about various topics......dictators need this to give a soft image......just like they need women wearing sleeveless shirts and modeling.......however, what happens when the media goes after the dictator......

.......all the big islamic movements and terrorist movements are based out of saudi arabia and egypt......obl is a saudi and dr. zawahiri is an egyptian.......if today elections were held in egypt and saudi arabia, religious forces would win big........

pakistan has not reahed that stage yet, because pakistan has never seen that kind of repression and becuase religious forces have had open chances to campaign......

.....however, the whole liberal set of forces is now running pakistan.......with ppp being the wild card......if ppp also joins in, then musharraf, mqm and ppp will misrule together........after that, even i may even vote for urstruly.....

Taboo-smashing film breaks Egypt records
The film's themes include poverty, sexual violence and terrorism
An Egyptian film which graphically tackles subjects such as homosexuality, abuse and terrorism in the Arab world has broken box office records after release in its country of origin. The Yacoubian Building, based on the book by Ala Aswani, has topped the Egyptian box office since the day it opened two weeks ago, and made more than one million dollars a day in the country. In a country where films are often heavily censored, the film includes frank portrayals of homosexuality, police torture, and government corruption in telling the story of a group of tenants in a decaying Cairo residency. The film's director, Marwan Hamed, told BBC World Service's On Screen programme that he thought the numbers seeing the film was "very positive" for the country, and said that at many of the screenings he has seen, audiences have been talking, reacting and even applauding all through it. "The idea of film-making is to make a film that makes people think - so the film is doing its purpose, and I'm very happy about that," he said. "It was a thin line between trying to be daring and pushing away the audience. "We need to talk about the taboos, and we need to cancel the word 'taboos' from our lives - we need to talk about everything to become better. If we don't, if we hide everything in denial, how are we going to become better?" Honest characters The Yacoubian Building depicts four distinct but interlinked stories, centring on the residents of the central Cairo apartment. The characters include an ageing womaniser, a gay man, and the son of the building's doorman, who joins a group of Muslim extremists after his application for the police force is turned down.
He ends up in prison, where he is subjected to sexual abuse and torture. It is the most expensive film ever made in Egypt, and many critics in the country have praised its portrayal of life in contemporary Cairo. Director Hamed - who directed from a screenplay adapted by his father Wahid, one of the country's most celebrated screenwriters - said that he had been inspired by the "humanity" of the characters when reading Aswani's original novel, despite their controversial actions. "Ala Aswani was very honest with his characters - he was not judgmental at all," he said. "The novel is very much open-minded, and this is what I really liked. I was reading a lot about human beings. They have their errors and faults, but at the end of the day they are humans, and good drama is about good human elements." Hamed added that the novel and film say a lot about what people in the Arab world "do not dare to say". "In our countries... we need to talk more, to express ourselves, to have discussions in a civilised way - to make this country better," he said. 'I had to close my eyes' The Yacoubian Building has received hugely varied reactions from critics and the public. Hamed said that most important critics had written "very good things" about the film, but added that he has seen huge debates amongst audiences at various screenings.
He stressed that his main concern while making the film was the audience, and how to tackle taboos and yet keep the audience from walking out. "Some people love it, some think it's too long, some think it's fast, some think it's too much, some think we need it," he said. "I like that debate very much. I think it is one of the film's successes." Certainly, outside one cinema in Cairo - where viewers gave their opinion of The Yacoubian Building to On Screen - opinions differed hugely. One said that they had seen many people walking out when seeing the scenes of homosexuality, especially the women in the audience. "It's very strange to deal with such subjects in Egypt, and so openly," said another. "It's a very good way of handling many subjects, and dealing with different situations that we find in society. This has not been tackled before by Egyptian films." Another disagreed strongly, attacking in particular the sexual content of the film. "I had to close my eyes every time," she said. "I don't like that everyone is always talking about the sex."

Re: # 129
I don’t know what sort of emergency Egypt has, but I think their media is quite free recently I watched an Egyptian film “the yacoubian building” it dealt with the contemporary issues facing Egypt, homosexuality, political corruption, Islamic fundamentalism, poverty etc. a really thought provoking film, far better than those coming from bollywood or lollywood.

Re: # 134

zeemax,

....... i am hoping that nawaz sharif has the gonads to hold out .... if he does, he can probably make a come back when this whole thing falls apart and general kiani holds another election two years down the road ........

Re: # 133

zeemax,

...... and i am amazed at your sadagi - martial law WILL be lifted before the elections and everyone will declare victory and take part in the elections ........ the only party that might hold out is pml-n if nawaz sharif and that too is very very unlikely ......

........ nobody wants to be left out of the bandar baant that will take place after the elections ......... heck, even i am angling for the presidentship of non-resident pakistani kabbadi association ........

sheikh rashid zindabad !

#127 Posted by hamidm2,

Bholey mian, I'm amazed at your 'saadgi'. Bha ji, this editorial is the epitome of kanjarpana. What it is really saying (in the guise of criticizing musharraf and pushing the bogeyman of disintegration) is that all political parties should participate in elections held UNDER MARTIAL-LAW so that these alongwith musharraf are legitimized; while all non-kanjars are demanding lifting of Martial-Law before elections. A legitimate demand.

Obviously, elections (a constitutional process) can't be held without the constitution in place, now can it?

These people actually want people to accept musharraf's PCO in place of the Constitution. I hope you get it now.

Salman Taseer as well as all his yellow media rags i.e. Daily Times, Friday Times and Business Plus Channel are all kanjars of 9.5 scale and fully committed to promoting kanjarpana.

Re: # 128 Posted by hamidm2 on November 21, 2007 5:37:32 am

[sada musharraff, avay i avay ! ] mullah pavay shore muchavey

what happened to your shaikh rashid zindabad slogan?

Romair sahib,

(and like hosni, musharraf also has never won a war in which he commanded the forces.....)

Mush did win the War in Okara.

(the army itself could turn against him........a problem, perhapsh, hosni did not have to face....... )

If it has not happened in Egypt, any particular reason why should it happen in Pakistan?

Regards

Re: # 129

romair mian,

......... thank you for answering my question and demonstrating your mastery of yet another area - egyptian politics .... you never cease to amaze me!

.... anyway, the problem with the egyptian model is that hosni has completely destroyed all secular opposition and has created a pressure cooker in the mosques ........ one of these days it will blow and who knows what will happen then .......

... for now, egypt is doing fine as long as they can stop their government mullahs from issuing silly fatwas that force muslim women to breast feed their co-workers in order to keep their jobs .........

....egypt is a country that has been under emergency rule for 25 years.......its ruler is hosni mubarak, whose previous job was chief of air staff of the egyptian air force......the egyptian air force has the unique distinction of being totally destroyed by israeal, within six days, without even a single plane taking off........

hosni mubarak has many achievements to his name........he became the president of egypt in 1981.....hence, going on to year no. 26, he is the longest serving president in the world.........he is also the third longest serving head of egypt in the 7000 year history....ramesses II holds the record at 66 years.......

.....i have always felt egypt is the one muslim country which pakistan resembles the most......hence it is appropriate that pakistan should also have its own hosni mubarak.......

....musharraf has many things in common with hosni....like hosni, musharraf also headed a military arm.....and like hosni, musharraf also has never won a war in which he commanded the forces.....like hosni, he has kept pakistan under some sort of an emergency for 8 years......and like hosni, he has the utmost respect and support of the usa.......and like hosni, he is seen as the one person the west can rely on to take on the extremists......

.......hosni mubarak is the head of his own political party, which wins every election by a landslide.......and continues to appoint him president.....musharraf may do the same, shortly........

it will be interesting to see how musharraf will control things as a civilian president......it would not have been too difficult had the waziristan and swat situation not popped up......however, the only reason the americans are supporting him is because he is the only pakistani (other than hamidm mian) who will allow them total logistic access as well as is willing to bomb pakistani territory on their behalf........

.........this, of course, has its reprucussions.....the army itself could turn against him........a problem, perhapsh, hosni did not have to face.......

tahmed,

.......... i would advise you to give up your 'struggle' against musharraf before you break a nail or, god forbid, develop carpel tunnel syndrome ........

........ just accept the fact that he is going to be the president for the next five years and everyone, including bb and ns, will fall in line .......

.... personally, i am going to throw my weight behind musharraf so that i can get appointed as president of the kabbadi association or something .........


sada musharraff, avay i avay !

zeemax,

salman taseer is also an old ppp guy and some say he was added to the cabinet to throw a bone to bb ....... here is what his paper, daily times, said in its editorial today:

Second Editorial: An election boycott’s sinister consequences

The opposition is being pushed by General Musharraf into a decision to boycott the January 2008 elections. But if the Musharraf establishment thinks it can ride out the storm simply by encouraging the rifts in the opposition alliances, it is a hazardous strategy fraught with dangerous consequences for Pakistan. If the boycott materialises in the coming days, General Musharraf’s plan will be left high and dry and he will be shorn of any tricks in its bag to save the country from being engulfed in disorder. People are already talking of civil war and the country disintegrating on Musharraf’s watch. Under the circumstances, the state can be saved only through the democratic solvent of a general election validated by all the political parties. As events unfold, the PPP may be thinking about a boycott and the JUIF may be determined not to boycott the polls, but as we step into the run-up days, fear of isolation may push those sitting on the fence to join the fray.

As it is, the administrative glue is barely holding the state together. Important organs of civil society are alienated from the state whereas they should be coming together behind the state to face the challenge of Al Qaeda. Private sector institutions that normally hold the state to accountability are on the warpath. The political parties are important “mediators” of civil society and the state. If they reject the safety valve of a general election, there will be no option left but recourse to violence. Unfortunately, this violence will be in parallel to the violence of Talibanisation, ensuring that the state becomes unviable. *

#125 Posted by hamidm2,

president for life ....... only till the fat lady sings ...

Re: # 124

uh? ....the question was, 'are you pissed because you never get invited to his parties even though you have a burgundy slk?"

....... my point about egypt was that nobody knows or cares about the egyptian coas but everyone knows hosni mubarak ........ and next week, musharraf will become our hosni mubarak and president for life .......

that's why i say :

president musharraf zindabad !

#123 Posted by hamidm2,

Yaar I know him well enough. I despise him because he pointedly hired sharp tongued and big swinging boobed anchors (in dupatta-less uniforms of-course) like Jasmeen Manzoor and Juggan Kazim to promote his master's moderate enlightenment on his Business Plus Channel.

Re the Egypt COAS, I don't have a clue and couldn't care less! Whoever he is will have the same fate as musharraf.

Re: # 122

zeemax,

...... are you pissed because you have never been invited to one of his parties? ... tch!tch! ... get over it

........ in any case, the more important question was, "do you know the name of the egyptian army chief of staff?"