[nicfit]

this world is a mess.

[floatingslowly]

they sure know how to treat their women over there.

[Lamont Cranston]

Three cheers for the successive regimes of dictators the USA has supported in Pakistan for decades, three cheers for the Madrasahs the ISI founded for the Americans in the 1980s to provide a ready pool of fanatics.

[floatingslowly]

for those that need a recap, here's how this thread goes:

1. new, interesting, somewhat shocking!
2. pure genius.
3. same old shit.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by nicfit

this world is a mess.

dont forget to report the turkish attacks on iraqi kurds.

o yea.

merry fuckin ex-mas.

[Lamont Cranston]

I'd have thought the same old misogyny joke told for the millionth time would classify as the 'same old shit'.

[floatingslowly]

who's fucking joking?

Bhutto was an outspoken woman with power. that doesn't go over very well with a large percentage of the Pakistani population.

however, please continue blaming the U.S. for every woe perpetrated upon the planet. it makes my penis throb.

[LifeDistortion]

Yeah, this really fucking sucks. Reading the article from AOL News there is one qoute from Nawaz Sharif says, "I will take the revenge of her death to the rulers." The circle of violence in Pakastain just never fucking ends. Its just some fucking sad state of affairs.

[Lamont Cranston]

Well who else puts those dictators into power in Pakistan; sells them advanced military equipment; protects the A.Q. Khan network?

[floatingslowly]

oh yeah, tell me I've been bad again.

really really bad.

yeaaah.... don't. stop.

[Savage Clone]

I find it much easier to blame religion.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

there's a bomb going off in Belfast, there's a war in Vietnam, there's a TV documentary, to help you understand, but the other channel is better, because it doesn't tax your man, relax in the ignorance of yr mind as man destroyes mankind...

And the rest of the world has gone to sleep Because they couldn't care less
The world is going, so am I It's such a bloody mess


There's an arms race in America The race that no one wins
If somebody pushed the button The accidental sin
Meanwhile baby wonders "What's a nuclear war?"
And mummy says to tell the truth, I'm really not quite sure


And the rest of the world was ignorant Because they weren't told more
The pamphlet said 'Just stay at home, avoid the threat of war


The computer pressed the button
The rain was full of lead
And more bombs dropped on Belfast
And Vietnam went dead
The T.V. Documentary
Outlined the possible cause
It was just a human error
Because man invented war

[Tokolosh]

Not good. Civil war could be well on it's way.

[SpectralJulianIsNotDead]

Originally Posted by Savage Clone

I find it much easier to blame religion.

I blame it on human nature.

[!@#$%!]

al-qaeda + taliban + nukes = no good

[Florya]

As far as I'm aware, so far al Qaida haven't claimed responsibility yet.
Even if they were responsible, it seems highly improbable that this attack could have been carried out without at least some collusion on the part of the Pakistani security forces.
Al Qaida is not the only organisation that would stand to gain from Benazir Bhutto's death.
Musharraf has ajready put the troops on red alert and there is talk that that January's elections will be postponed, if not cancelled - Exactly what Musharraf was aiming for when he declared a state of emergency a month or so back.

[!@#$%!]

yeah musharraf *might* benefit some or might not, but bhutto was a secularist & pro democracy-- the fundamentalists have the most to gain from her death.

bhutto actually offered musharraf a chance to go after the extremists by forming an alliance in the power sharing government. now that avenue is more of a narrow alley.

remember that pakistan is the world headquarters of the taliban & al-qaeda, they've tried to suicide-bomb musharraf too.

in fact, musharraf doesn't have full control of the pakistani security forces, as they are heavily infiltrated with sympathizers of the religious fascists.

[Lamont Cranston]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!
al-qaeda + taliban + nukes = no good

Well you could say the same about Pakistan itself, or the USA for that matter.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by Lamont Cranston

Well you could say the same about Pakistan itself, or the USA for that matter.

i could, but i don't-- beyond the obvious fact that nuke are bad, the threat of retaliation is a deterrent for most conventional states. pakistan and india can growl all they want at each other, but if they go nuclear they both lose.

in the hands of stateless terrorist organizations however, nukes become an asymmetrical threat-- deterrence (mutually assured destruction) no longer applies and all bets are off.

[Lamont Cranston]

That argument sounds nice until you consider the potential for accidents in the automated systems that run it all, the potential for human error in already tense situations, and consider the destabilising knock-on effect they have in a region. Although maybe you think these are good things or at least will make some blasé smartarse dismisal of them all.
The MAD argument also fails when you consider that the Americans are quite adamant that they would use their stockpile in either a large scale First Strike or tactical devices in a minor confrontation (there is also the trivial matter of who exactly would be threatening the USA). Again, plenty of opportunity for arsehole-ishness here.

Just my $0.02, but I think if terrorists ever get their hands on a nuclear device it'd probably be something like what David Hahn built in his mums backyard in the 1990s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn