Black Tuesday: The View From Islamabad Gen. Hamid Gul has probably the best strategic vision on Afghanistan`s current situation. He is the voice of reason in an ill defined highly confusing situation; and is able to see through the fog.

Northern Allaince, even with US Air Support cannot get much mileage. With Commander Masood gone; it is a ragtag group of at least 5 divergent interest groups - 2 openly hostile to the US planned end game.

Eventually the US will have to opt for a full scale invasion and full fledged involvement. It is doubtful if Pakistan`s infrastructure can physically support the logistics requisites of such an operation; assuming Gen Musharraf`s government proves capable of facing the political backlash.

Bahr-e-Zulmaat I am very impressed with the thought process of our dear friend Reehan.

Pakistanis living in the US and other western countries are facing the backlash from a hysterical population. Muslims are associated with the carnage at WTC through inference mechanism of Mob psychology. The US government has demosntrated a sincere resolve to check the rising hate crime, but dont bet your farm; it would not make much of a difference. Life has permanently changed after Sep 11.

The US took part in two world wars. In WW II the total casualties sustained on continental US (CONUS) were 5 only (Hawaii / Pearl Harbor was a distant story). WW II ended with Nuclear attacks on Japan, more than 300,000 casulaties - nobody in the US thought it was excessive. US casued an estimated 4.3 Million deaths in Korea, Vietnam, Middle East, Latin America - without suffering a single casualty on the CONUS.

Geographical isolation had bred a flawed mind set, that they dont belong to this world - that they can liberally dispense death and destruction all over the world with impunity. The little danger posed by ``rouge states`` can be checked thru deploying ``Star Wars systems``.

How to even / or better the score of carnage. Dont buy the rhetoric of ``International / Global War on Terorrism`` - it remains essentially an American problem.

Pakistan is the most stupid amongst the ``global partners`` to have ACTUALLY conceded to serve as a front line state. No sane person buys this crap ``This side / or that side - choose your sides``.

Nobody buys the ``Joint Indo-Israeli attack on Kahuta story`` either. If our Strategic Assets are so fragile, so poorly dispersed, and have such a poor deterrant value; what are they good for ?

Pakistan has been under sanctions since 1992; even though we were part of the Gulf War coalition. We have suffered all the indignity of being a ``Terrorist State`` - without having been formally declared. Economically we been bogged upto our axles in mud.

In the end - we will end up eating the 100 onions and get the 100 lashes too - simply because we are STUPID.

Explaining it to an American Friend Dear Patrick Masih

I wish Gen. Musharraf and our leaders had as good analytical skills as you have.

Your friend Tom is high fidelity representation of American mind set today - hysteric, confused and ready to lurch at anything. Simplistic solution - bomb them out - presto.

Regardless of his faith every human condemns the diabolical carnage at WTC - and firmly believes that all responsible for such a crime be brought to justice. However, the way FBI and Security Agencies have linked the crime to Ben laden or Taleban has raised some serious doubts:

a) The ``Arabic Flight Manuals`` story.

b) 7 out of 16 Saudi ``hijackers`` found alive.

c) Dale Moore ELINT intercept ``target is hit`` - a piece of fiction authored by a retard.

On one hand, the world`s best security network could not get a hint on a plan that must have been preparation for months or years - and on other hand they ``crack`` it within 11 hours! thats balooney.

In cases where the roots cannot be traced, the first suspicion falls on benefactors - in this case ISRAEL. However, Bush administration has already declared a War on Taleban and Afghanistan.

Pakistan has agreed to serve as a PIMP; for little or no commission; in line with our past glorious traditions.

Bombing Afghanistan - let US try it to its hearts content. The Russians tried it for 9 long years.

In fact most Afghans would love to see a full scale US involvement, a la Vietnam; Dick Cheney`s words are a music to their ears. They think its good for the economy. They dont care for OBL or Taleban. They all complain that the last time around, those darn Russians were too poor !

AND - dont forget that a section of Pakistan`s population (3-5-10% whatever) is as ``rabid`` in their feelings as Taleban.

Probably you and I come form the ``yuppies calss`` - we have little if any at stake in Pakistan anyways. Yet it hurts to see our homeland turning into South Vietnam (model 2001), Islamabad as Tan Son Nhut, Pakistan Army as ARVN and Gen. Musharraf as Air Vice Marshall Cao Ky.

War, What is it Good For? Read Usman Farman`s deeply moving article. He had the first hand experience of the WTC trauma that galvanised the bonds of humanity between different creeds, races and religions. The jewish gentleman who pulled him away from the path of the wall of death was a great person, a very very tall figure.

Baghdad has suffered successive urban disasters of a much greater magnitude for the past 12 years, as a result of US bombing. Grozny was virtually flattened, with an estimated 130,000 urban deaths. Whole neighborhoods in Palestine / Lebanon have evaporated in a similar fashion. The Indian Army in Kashmir destroys villages and communities in much the same manner on a routine basis.

Very soon, you shall see a repeat performance on a much more horrific scale in Afghanistan - this time, we Pakistanis will be a party to it.

NYC WTC carnage is a crime against humanity. So are others ... . Right now Presidnet Bush is being urged to show leadership; i.e. shed more blood of innocents in a far off corner of the world - to even or better the ``baseball score``

We Pakistanis are ... ``Begani Shaadi Mein Abdulla Divana``. We wanna serve as hired guns for a petty salary - or perhaps no salary.

Where is our conscience ?????

War, What is it Good For? Read Usman Farman`s deeply moving article. He had the first hand experience of the WTC trauma that galvanised the bonds of humanity between different creeds, races and religions. The jewish gentleman who pulled him away from the path of the wall of death was a great person, a very very tall figure.

Baghdad has suffered successive urban disasters of a much greater magnitude for the past 12 years, as a result of US bombing. Grozny was virtually flattened, with an estimated 130,000 urban deaths. Whole neighborhoods in Palestine / Lebanon have evaporated in a similar fashion. The Indian Army in Kashmir destroys villages and communities in much the same manner on a routine basis.

Very soon, you shall see a repeat performance on a much more horrific scale in Afghanistan - this time, we Pakistanis will be a party to it.

NYC WTC carnage is a crime against humanity. So are others ... . Right now Presidnet Bush is being urged to show leadership; i.e. shed more blood of innocents in a far off corner of the world - to even or better the ``baseball score``

We Pakistanis are ... ``Begani Shaadi Mein Abdulla Divana``. We wanna serve as hired guns for a petty salary - or perhaps no salary.

Where is our conscience ?????

War, What is it Good For? Ms. Kaneez

This may be beyond your level of intellect - but please red the follwoing extract from ``SAIGON - THE LAST 10 DAYS`` by George H. Church:

“For the next week, long lines of Vietnamese, and some Americans, snaked through a former gym at Tan Son Nhut, waiting to be cleared to board the American C-130s and C-141s that were leaving constantly during daylight hours. Stamping of their papers continued all night. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, under pressure from the State Department, had agreed to let the Vietnamese enter -- mostly through Guam and the Philippines -- if they could find an American to vouch for them. To help Vietnamese women get out, Smith adds, ``we just married them right in the lines, sometimes,`` to American men. Says Smith: ``It was a quick thing: `Do you? I do.``` Then out. This system had its inequities. Bar girls, waiters and others who could easily find American sponsors in Saigon got out, while villagers who had risked their lives to supply vital intelligence to the Americans were sometimes left behind”

better make your choice now

Just the End of the Beginning Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf has decided to follow the footsteps of Air Vice Marshall Cao Ky and transformed the Pakistani Armed forces to ARVN circa 1975 almost overnight.

Mr. Sahukat Aziz will be the Pakistan`s modern day Mr. Theiu.

The end is a no brainer.