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Pakistani leaders 'should have been at bombed hotel'(narrowly missed the leadership decapitation)
Times of London ^
| 09/22/08
| Philippe Naughton, and Zahid Hussain
Posted on 09/22/2008 6:08:04 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
September 22, 2008
Pakistani leaders 'should have been at bombed hotel'
Philippe Naughton, and Zahid Hussain, Islamabad
Pakistan's top leaders were to have attended a state dinner at the luxury Islamabad hotel devastated in a suicide bomb attack on Saturday but changed venue at the last minute, it emerged today.
Rehman Malik, who heads the Interior Ministry, said that both President Zardari and Yousuf Raza Gilani, the Prime Minister, were expected at the Marriott hotel to mark Mr Zardari's inaugural presidential address to Parliament.
“The National Assembly speaker had arranged a dinner for the entire leadership, for the President, Prime Minister and armed services chiefs at the Marriott that day,” Mr Malik told reporters.
“The President and the Prime Minister changed the venue to the Prime Minister’s house. The function was not held at the Marriott, thus the whole leadership was saved."
At least 60 people are thought to have been killed when a suicide bomber rammed a truck packed with over half a tonne of explosives into the outer security gates of the hotel, tearing a massive crater into the ground in front of the building. Some 270 were injured.
Suspicion has fallen on al-Qaeda or the Pakistani Taliban for the blast. But Amir Mohammad, an aide to Pakistani militant leader Baitullah Mehsud, said today that he was not involved and shared the nation’s grief.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: decapitation; geopolitics; globaljihad; islam; marriot; mohammedanism; pakistan; terrorism; truckbombing
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To: TigerLikesRooster
The National Assembly speaker had arranged a dinner for the entire leadership Methinks he might be experiencing serious interrogation techniques about now.
2
posted on
09/22/2008 6:16:17 AM PDT
by
ASA Vet
To: TigerLikesRooster
Wow! Maybe the new leadership will now go after these scum with a vengence and let us help.
To: TigerLikesRooster
re: but changed venue at the last minute
Wonder how much of coincidence this really is? Sounds a bit too serendipitous for my liking!
To: TigerLikesRooster
Time for Pokeeston to stop plalying footsie with the talibon, yes?
5
posted on
09/22/2008 6:18:41 AM PDT
by
Carley
(she's all out of caribou.............)
To: ASA Vet
Yes, that could be the start of long payback. I hear Zardari learned not to forget.
6
posted on
09/22/2008 6:20:10 AM PDT
by
TigerLikesRooster
(kim jong-il, chia head, ppogri, In Grim Reaper we trust)
To: TigerLikesRooster
“The National Assembly speaker had arranged a dinner for the entire leadership, for the President, Prime Minister and armed services chiefs at the Marriott that day,” Mr Malik told reporters. Haven't these people ever heard of secured, remote conferences, thereby allowing the attendees to be in different places at once?
7
posted on
09/22/2008 6:21:08 AM PDT
by
CatOwner
To: CatOwner
Pakistan is a traditional society. A real meeting probably means that everybody should be in one room, unless they are spooks.
8
posted on
09/22/2008 6:26:07 AM PDT
by
TigerLikesRooster
(kim jong-il, chia head, ppogri, In Grim Reaper we trust)
To: TigerLikesRooster
And they’re shooting at us? I think they need to re-aim.
To: black_diamond
I think Pakistan has many factions, some friendly to U.S., some hostile, others purely opportunistic.
Besides, the shooting incident could be just a stunt.
10
posted on
09/22/2008 6:38:42 AM PDT
by
TigerLikesRooster
(kim jong-il, chia head, ppogri, In Grim Reaper we trust)
To: TigerLikesRooster
Turn India loose and we invade from the North and we meet in the middle... burn everything and salt the Earth.
LLS
11
posted on
09/22/2008 6:41:05 AM PDT
by
LibLieSlayer
(GOD, Country, Family... except when it comes to dims!)
To: jwparkerjr
Wonder how much of coincidence this really is? Sounds a bit too serendipitous for my liking! I wish we had intelligence like that. Instead we got the CIA.
12
posted on
09/22/2008 7:24:10 AM PDT
by
sportutegrl
(0bi has been looking a little wan.)
To: TigerLikesRooster
Looks like there was a leak followed by a counter-leak.
13
posted on
09/22/2008 7:35:00 AM PDT
by
Mad_Tom_Rackham
("The land of the Free...Because of the Brave")
To: TheBlueMax; WLR; iThinkBig; Molly K.; bayouranger; beebuster2000; maine-iac7; lancer; voletti; ...
Pakistan ۋﮧ۱م
FReepmail if you want on or off
14
posted on
09/22/2008 7:57:29 AM PDT
by
G8 Diplomat
("The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense" --Tom Clancy)
To: jwparkerjr
That was my first thought as well. It’s all going downhill pretty fast now...
15
posted on
09/22/2008 9:53:14 AM PDT
by
kozanne
To: jwparkerjr
I was thinking that too. Wonder if they knew it was coming and let it happen....
16
posted on
09/22/2008 10:23:57 AM PDT
by
G8 Diplomat
("The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense" --Tom Clancy)
To: sportutegrl
The CIA: an insult to intelligence
17
posted on
09/22/2008 10:25:45 AM PDT
by
G8 Diplomat
("The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense" --Tom Clancy)
To: TigerLikesRooster
This is Pakistan, folks...
Was it LUCK that made them change the venue?
Or, KNOWLEDGE of the plan made them change the venue?
Yes, I’m a cynic...
I’ve known people like this, and refused to trust them.
I survived.
18
posted on
09/22/2008 11:05:42 AM PDT
by
river rat
(Semper Fi - You may turn the other cheek, but I prefer to look into my enemy's vacant dead eyes.)
To: Carley
Don’t look for a “normal” response from Pakistan..
Pakistan IS the Taliban....
Pakistan is 95% Muslim, while being 75% Sunni Muslim and allied with and adores al-Qaeda.
19
posted on
09/22/2008 11:13:50 AM PDT
by
river rat
(Semper Fi - You may turn the other cheek, but I prefer to look into my enemy's vacant dead eyes.)
To: LibLieSlayer
India offered, America turned her down.
That was India’s offer after 911 - 400K troops, 20 Divisions and US help with anything else.
Bush turned it down.
20
posted on
09/22/2008 11:32:34 AM PDT
by
swarthyguy
( I assume that she wants to be treated the same way that guys want -Obama.)
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