One Car Bomb Away

Joel Rosenberg's Weblog ^ | 8/18/08 | Joel Rosenberg

[cowdog77]

"....Pakistan now enters a dangerous moment of instability. It is not yet clear who will replace Musharraf, and as I’ve written before, Pakistan has long been one car bomb away from a bin Laden-ally seizing power. Should an al Qaeda-type Radical gain control of the country and its nuclear weapons, we could be facing an apocalyptic moment....."

For all his many flaws, Musharraf was steadily becoming a Reformer. After 9/11, he became a key ally of the U.S., helping us in our war against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan rather than interferring. He and his security forces worked closely with us to capture numerous top jihadists, including Khalled Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11.

He was also supportive of protecting Pakistan’s rapidly growing Christian minority, which has been very important because Muslims are turning to Christ there in record numbers (I just met with a top Pakistani Christian leader for lunch last week and learned that there are now more than 2.5 million MBBS or Muslim Background Believers there.) Musharraf, to his great credit, also dramatically reached out to Israel, in defiance of the jihadists in his country. He once shook hands with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, something the Saudis won’t even do, and gave a remarkable speech to the American Jewish Congress in New York City in 2005.

[cowdog77]

Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

[Pantera]

sounds like we may be getting closer to 1 car bomb away from ww3.

this is not a prediction, just an observation that things are pretty dangerous right now and seem to be getting more and more so.

[kc8ukw]

If there ever was a case for missile defense...

[JimSEA]

Musharraf kept an uneasy internal peace with the ISI. The future is up to the Army leadership and their ability to deal with ISI, the urban Islamists and the tribal areas. It is hard to see a very bright future. The “one more car bomb” is inevitable.

[FredZarguna]

Are we just one car bomb away from apocalypse, or is India just one car bomb away from a preemptive nuclear strike on Pakistan? The author seems not to be aware that India has suffered from Islamist violence directed from Pakistan at least as much as the US has. Furthermore, if the fateful car bomb does ever detonate, sending a bin Laden ally to the top of the government, you can bet Indian intelligence will know about it hours or even days before the CIA has any clue about what's going on.

[cowdog77]

True, but not very reassuring.

[FredZarguna]

The only assurance in war comes from doing what is necessary. Grant is remembered as "cold-blooded" for this reason, but unlike his predecessors, he was willing to do what was necessary, because to do otherwise against a determined enemy -- even one strategically weaker -- is to die the death of a thousand cuts.

The best way to avoid a war is to be ready for one. The best way to end it once it begins is to actually fight it. If you want to be reassured, keep in mind that Pervez Musharraf is not the problem. The end of his rule does not change the situation on the ground very drastically. Even when he was running things, we were only "one car bomb away." When we have the will to solve the problem, we can stop being anxious, until then, the hand-wringing will continue.

Faster, please.