HOW COME THIS HAD BEEN WRITTEN 2006-2007
I BELIEVE
THE STORY I DON’T HEAR*
March 2007
Right after the election in October
2006 I wrote in this very space**“Pakistan
is restive; Pakistan has
given sanctuary to the Taliban; President Musharraf, tenuously holding power by
his finger-tips, barely escaped two assassination attempts, and Pakistan
possesses a nuclear arsenal. Looking ahead we must have armed forces
sufficient to maintain Afghanistan, sustain Pakistan, fight in several
countries, perhaps on several continents, and, if the unthinkable becomes
reality, to maintain order at home. Thus we will need a draft, increased taxes,
war bonds as well as other unpopular
items that will challenge the patriotism of the newly elected. Will the new
team be gutsy and forthright enough to take this program to their constituents,
or will they simply ride out the present situation, hoping to get reelected in
2008 and thereafter?
Nothing has changed. It’s all still
true. This was underscored by Vice President Cheney’s recent visits to
According to media reports Al Qaeda camps are
revived in order to train jihadists to infiltrate London. Does that sound
reasonable? Would Osama Bin Laden and
Ayman Al Zawahiri be satisfied with dynamite in London or even
New York if instead they could gain control or controlling influence in
Pakistan with its legal world accepted atomic arsenal replete with missiles? Why should Al Qaeda involve itself with
petty stuff like Iraq when with a little patience it can have the whole
enchilada? After all, 12 years passed
between the first and last attack on the World Trade Center. They have time.
Is our Navy in the Persian Gulf in
order to attack Iran? Probably not. More
likely our Navy is in the Persian Gulf ready to go to the adjacent Gulf of Oman
to get access to the southern underbelly of Pakistan—just in case.
Why worry about Iran, at least several years
away from even one nuclear device when Al Qaeda overnight might acquire the
arsenal ready made and legal?
if Musharraf gets into trouble the
If Al Qaeda makes a move in Pakistan
Iran would be a very helpful ally. We might have to eat crow and, as we did
with North Korea remove Iran from the Axis of Evil. So why not make nice to
Iran? How come Al Qaeda and the Taliban were not included in the “Axis of
Evil”?
Ooops,
suddenly we are making nice to Iran. What’s going on?
*In
1944 a physics professor lectured that a
cube of sugar held enough energy to float an ocean liner to Europe “but that
energy will never be released in our lifetime”. About the same time very smart
college classmate told me that the United States was making an Atom Bomb. I
asked how he knew that. Because, he
said, all references to atomic energy have dropped out of the scientific
literature.
Currently no one is talking
about Pakistan’s atomic arsenal. Silence
may be golden because it is revealing. I incline to believe the silent story,
the story that is not being told.
**Return to first paragraph.
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