Posted by
ApolloSpeaks on Monday, November 28, 2011 12:02:53 PM
Anti-US/NATO protesters are fired with rage over the killing of 24 Pakistan soldiers by NATO-on the anniversary of the Mumbai bombings. Hindus would call it Karma: retributive justice.
On Saturday November 26th two deadly events occurred in the strife torn Middle East which were thousands of miles apart and unconnected, but perhaps meaningfully related in an oracular way giving us a sign about Pakistan's complicity with our murderous jihadist foes.
The first event was in Pakistan where, according to Pakistani authorities, NATO helicopters and fighter jets carried out an "unprovoked" attack on two military border posts in the Mohmand tribal area (a haven for Al Qaida and Taliban jihadists), killing 24 soldiers and wounding 13.
The second deadly event happened in the western outskirts of Baghdad where a string of four Al Qaida style terrorist bombings killed 15 people and wounded 30 (see)*.
*There was a fifth suicide bombing today killing 19 at an Iraqi prision just north of Baghdad.
What I find significant is that both events coincided with the third anniversary of the mass casualty terror attacks that struck Mumbai in 2008 (called India's 9/11 or 26/11) killing 154 innocent people and wounding over 300 (see).
This coincidence I believe is significant in that the terrorist group that carried out the Mumbai attack, Lashkar-e-Taiba (dedicated to liberating Kashmir from Indian rule), is based in Pakistan and is believed to, and likely does, have close ties to the Pakistani military and intelligence services (see).
Indeed, Saturday's Bagdhad killings reminds us of the Pakistan backed Mumbai attacks in that it was a string of coordinated bombings; and the coincidence of the NATO air strike on the Pakistani bases with the Baghdad bombings on the anniversary of Mumbai gives credence to the US/Afghan view that Saturday's lethal attack on the Paki troops was defensive in nature; that NATO and Afghan forces came under, and were responding to, gunfire originating from the bases; and that the shooters may have been Al Qaida/Taliban terrorists shelterd by the Pakistanis and located inside or nearby the bases. If the shooters were jihadists firing from the bases they probably believed that they could do so with impunity, and that NATO wouldn't retaliate to avoid the political fallout from accidently killing Paki troops. Boy were they mistaken. On the other hand, the Paki soldiers could have fired on the NATO choppers for violating Pakistan airspace. This has happened before (
see).
Nevertheless, they must be celebrating in Mumbai thinking that the killing of the Paki soldiers was Karma: retributive justice for the horrific attack on their city three years ago.
RICHARD HOLBROOKE'S DEATH
Be that as it may, US/NATO-Pakistan alliance is being shattered and collapsing into diplomatic hell-a situation foreshadowed by many signs the most ominous of which was last year's death of Richard Holbrooke. On December 10th Holbrooke (Obama's irreplacable special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan*) fell ill during a meeting with Hillary Clinton and was rushed to George Washington University Hospital. He died three days later from a torn aorta his PAKISTANI born surgeon, Dr. Farzad Najam, unable to save him. It would seem that nothing now can save our relationship with Pakistan (
see).
*Holbrooke's replacement Marc Grossman has not been able to fill his shoes.
Postscript: Vietnam Redux?
Taliban and Al Qaida supremacists are praising Allah for this NATO attack and declaring victory. It seems that everything is falling into place for them as a US defeat and the re-Talibanization of Afghanistan are coming closer to reality. Read this article and shudder: