“We are not saying that it is sponsored by the Pakistan government,” India’s Deputy Home Minister Shakeel Ahmad told the BBC, adding that Pakistani soil was nevertheless being used for “anti-India” activities.

“The terrorists who have been killed in these encounters in Mumbai in the last few days were of Pakistani origin,” Ahmad said, as well as the lone gunman arrested after the stunning coordinated attacks in India’s financial capital.

It’s clear that Pakistan has a problem and by extension we do. The attacks in Mumbai are focusing world attention on Pakistan’s role in global jihad. Certainly no reasoned voices accuse the upper echelons of the Pakistani government of aiding or abetting the Mumbai terror attack, but Pakistan seems unable to control the forces of an evermore violent and extreme global Islamic Jihadi movement that is based on its soil. It is as if Pakistan is but a madrassa for global jihad.

It’s time to confront the bitter reality that Pakistan is a failed state and one with nuclear weapons and 168 million people. Its raison d’etre from the start was born from the whim and determination of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of the state, as a state for Muslims carved out of British India. Problem is that Jinnah failed to provide a compass for the nascent state. Jinnah was no Nehru. The country has drifted aimlessly suffering one brutal dictatorship after another. The brief democratic interludes weren’t any better as one corrupt clique or another ruled with the aim of self-richment. The people of Pakistan deserve better. And the world can no longer tolerate the noxious violence that poverty and ignorance is breeding in the villages of forgotten Pakistan.

“The grim truth is that Pakistan is becoming something alarmingly close to a failed state. And that could have disastrous consequences for the United States, NATO and Afghanistan’’s struggle to hold back its own Taliban insurgency.” — Sumit Ganguly, Director of Research at the Center on American and Global Security at Indiana University on October 10, 2008

Here are a few articles on Pakistan’s role in global jihad and the failure of the Pakistani state to seriously address the problem over the past decade or more as well as the perspective of a Pakistani.

India Is Pointing In the Right Direction
By Claus Christian Malzahn in Der Spiegel.

Is Pakistan a Failed State?

The Pakistani government has long ago given up control of this region. The army and the ISI, which takes a lion’s share of the national budget, lead their own independent existence. Their links to the Taliban and to Islamic groups in Kashmir and India have grown.

Even if the government in Islamabad showed a will to crack down on these tribal areas, it’s doubtful the army and the ISI would follow orders. Even Pakistan’s former President Pervez Musharraf was unable to keep a lid on terrorism, and unlike his successor he had not just political but military power.

All in all, medium-term prospects for the subcontinent are rather gloomy. Pakistan recently had to be taken under the wing of the IMF. The state is as good as bankrupt. Its political leadership is either corrupt or — when it comes to the military-intelligence service complex — almost without influence.

And somewhere in Pakistan, nuclear weapons are stored. The Americans have always vouched that the weapons of mass destruction in the bunkers between Karachi and Lahore were secure — but that was before American helicopters were fired at in Pakastani airspace by, ostensibly, their closest allies in the War on Terror.

From a political point of view Pakistan is nearly a failed state. But no Western statesman will say that out loud, because openly admitting it will not make things any easier.

The next American president seems to understand the reality of power relations in Pakistan. During the campaign, Barack Obama’s rhetoric in this regard set him apart with surprising clarity from his opponent John McCain. Whereas the Republican put diplomatic negotiations with the regime in Islamabad up front and centre, Obama was open about bringing military intervention in the tribal areas into the discussion. Strengthening the US presence there seems, in any case, a firm part of Obama’s agenda. The planned American withdrawal from Iraq could — in a worst-case scenario — be followed by an invasion of Pakistan. This must not be something he wants, at least not in the fullest sense. Even Vietnam was never imagined as a long war.

Naturally Obama will talk with the government in Islamabad. But the fact that he has emphasized military strength shows that he is soberly, if pessimistically, assessing the political power relations between the army and the Pakastani government.

The coming weeks should demonstrate what the Pakastanis are in a position to undertake in the battle against terror. If they want to prevent the Americans from raising the stakes, they must act now. Of course the chances of purging the jihad zone with one, two, or three military actions — whether from Americans, Pakastanis, or some combination — are very slim. If a serious battle there is now envisaged, it will be very protracted.

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The “they” being well people like me, gay and lesbian. The town in this case is Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a tourist resort in the Ozarks. From the Arkansas Times:

They still haven’t worked out all their differences in Eureka Springs. The colorful little Ozarks town is known for, among other things, the frequency and intensity of public disagreements among its residents. Now it’s the subject of a new DVD purporting to show “how a small group of homosexual activists took over the city council in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and began imposing their homosexual agenda on that community.”

Conceivably, the video — produced by the conservative American Family Association — could have a deleterious effect on tourism, Eureka’s lifeblood, but it’s too early to say. City officials seem to be mostly ignoring the DVD, Mayor Dani Joy to the extent that she wouldn’t return telephone calls from the Arkansas Times. The mayor is fairly prominent in the video, shown presiding at city council meetings, and is apparently considered part of the problem by the AFA. (In the video, she’s identified as “Mayor Dani Wilson.” She’s remarried since.)

Titled “They’re Coming to Your Town,” the DVD was produced by the AFA, a conservative group based in Tupelo, Miss., and headed by Donald E. Wildmon, who is a large figure on the Religious Right. The DVD was released in December, but wasn’t heavily promoted until January, according to AFA spokesman Cindy Roberts. “We’ve had a lot of requests” for the DVD, Roberts said, but she didn’t know exactly how many.

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Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi reports on the growing chorus of Obama skeptics who worry that Obama might be just the latest rendition of a new face on the same old corporate monster. Geez, where were these people during the primaries?

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Tomorrow President-elect Obama is expected to name the headliners on his foreign policy team. Obama’s choice for National Security Adviser appears to be General James L. Jones. During his military career service, General Jones served as NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Europe and Commander of the U.S. European Command from January 2003 to February 2007. Previously, General Jones served as the 32nd Commandant of the United States Marine Corps from July 1999 to January 2003. All this is well known. Less widely known is that since March 2007, General Jones has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for 21st Century Energy, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. General Jones selection as the NSA thus bridges two key components of US national security must include going forward military and energy. As the Institute’s website notes:

Energy underpins America’s economic prosperity, national security, and global competitiveness. Yet our nation lacks a comprehensive energy strategy. Policies are often based on short-sighted objectives, complacency, or contradictory rules and objectives. The Institute is committed to putting the best ideas forward for an all-encompassing, long-term plan that can put the United States on a path to a secure, prosperous, diverse, and clean energy future.

The Institute has just unveiled its Transition Plan for Securing America’s Energy Future, an energy policy roadmap with 88 concrete recommendations and detailed timelines for President-elect Barack Obama and the 111th Congress. From the preamble Solutions for Securing America’s Energy Future:

Global demand (for energy) will increase by more than 50% between now and 2030 – and perhaps by as much as 30% here in the United States. We must develop new, affordable, diverse, and clean sources of energy that will underpin our nation’s economy and keep us strong both at home and abroad. Our energy future must address growing shortfalls in infrastructure capacity and emerging environmental issues. And looking ahead, even the most optimistic among us must conclude that we are not well positioned to anticipate nor prepared to meet tomorrow’s energy needs.

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On its way out the door, the attacks on American workers and on safety standards in the work place by the Bush Administration continue unabated. The US Department of Labor is working feverishly to “complete a new rule, strenuously opposed by President-elect Barack Obama, that would make it much harder for the government to regulate toxic substances and hazardous chemicals to which workers are exposed on the job.” Unlike executive orders, new regulations are no so easily reversed.

A new president can unilaterally reverse executive orders issued by his predecessors, as Mr. Bush and President Bill Clinton did in selected cases. But it is much more difficult for a new president to revoke or alter final regulations put in place by a predecessor. A new administration must solicit public comment and supply “a reasoned analysis” for such changes, as if it were issuing a new rule, the Supreme Court has said.

The proposed rule says that in assessing the risk from any particular substance, Federal agencies would have to gather and analyze “industry-by-industry evidence” of employees’ exposure to that substance during their working lives. The proposal would thus add an additional step to the already lengthy process of developing standards to protect workers’ health. The gambit is a play for time and reflects a callousness over the value of employees’ health and well-being. Support for the rule is coming from the chemical and energy industry in particular. This is little more than a disguised class warfare. The Republican era cannot end soon enough.

The full story in the New York Times.

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2008 will mark yet another year of religious fervor running amok. Here are some of the lowlights of murderous rampages in the name of God, Jevohah, Rama and Allah and the year isn’t even over yet. Nor is this list complete. In India alone, there were outbreaks of religious violence in Kashmir, Karnataka, Jaipur, Hyderbad, Orissa, Assam, Bangalore and New Delhi.

Mumbai
That Pakistan is but one large madrassa of jihadism is now clearly evident in the wake of the attacks by elements tied to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Kashmiri Islamic militant group. The death toll as of today stands at 195.

Orissa
Communal violence erupted in Kandhamal in the Indian state of Orissa after Swami Laxmananda Saraswati, a central advisory committee member of the Vishwa Hindu Parisad (VHP), and four others were shot dead by unidentified gunmen at his Jalespata Ashram on August 23, 2008. Initially, Indian authorities suspect a Maoist rebel group killed the Swami and his entourage. In fact, Indian Maoists later claimed responsibility for killing Swami Laxmananda Saraswati, saying he was forcing tribal people to convert to Hinduism. However, Hindu groups blamed Christians for the murder and went on a murderous rampage. In the month that followed, over a score were killed with 241 villages burnt to ground and thousands left homeless, all in the name of Rama.

Assam, India
In India’s northeastern Assam state, 50 people were killed in clashes between Muslim migrants and tribal groups in October of this year. As communal tension between Bengali Muslims and non-Muslims spread across villages of Assam’s Darrang and Udalguri districts, the Indian government’s effort was grossly inadequate. The Bodo villagers — armed with bows and arrows — were left without any protection.

“They came in lakhs and attacked. No one helped us. The Congress government wants this vote bank, they think without Muslims they will not win. So they are helping them,” one of the villagers said.

It’s the first day of Durga Puja but a Puja Pandal has been turned into a relief camp due to violence. There’s very little relief and people are traumatised.

“We, the indigenous people, are being victimised by others but the district administration is helping them. They invade us and attack us,” said Pradip Malakar, a teacher.

Mindanao, The Philippines
In the southern Philippines, fighting between religious militias has left at least 100 dead in August and September. An attempt by the government to ease tensions by allowing the dominant Muslims to enforce Sharia law has only resulted in more violence. It’s likely not well known among Americans but the US now has several hundred troops in the region as part of the global war on terror.

Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria
Religious riots are now consuming northern Nigeria with Churches and Mosques being burnt to the ground. Were the damage limited to infrastructure that would be one thing but it’s not. Over 300 have died over the past two days in the worst outbreak of religious violence in Nigeria in four years. From the New York Times:

Mobs burned homes, churches and mosques Saturday in a second day of riots, as the death toll rose to more than 300 in the worst sectarian violence in Africa’s most populous nation in years.

Sheikh Khalid Abubakar, the imam at the city’s main mosque, said more than 300 dead bodies were brought there on Saturday alone and 183 could be seen laying near the building waiting to be interred.

Those killed in the Christian community would not likely be taken to the city mosque, raising the possibility that the total death toll could be much higher. The city morgue wasn’t immediately accessible Saturday.

Police spokesman Bala Kassim said there were ”many dead,” but couldn’t cite a firm number.

The hostilities mark the worst clashes in the restive West African nation since 2004, when as many as 700 people died in Plateau State during Christian-Muslim clashes.

Jos, the capital of Plateau State, has a long history of community violence that has made it difficult to organize voting. Rioting in September 2001 killed more than 1,000 people.

The city is situated in Nigeria’s ”middle belt,” where members of hundreds of ethnic groups commingle in a band of fertile and hotly contested land separating the Muslim north from the predominantly Christian south.

Authorities imposed an around-the-clock curfew in the hardest-hit areas of the central Nigerian city, where traditionally pastoralist Hausa Muslims live in tense, close quarters with Christians from other ethnic groups.

The fighting began as clashes between supporters of the region’s two main political parties following the first local election in the town of Jos in more than a decade. But the violence expanded along ethnic and religious fault lines, with Hausas and members of Christian ethnic groups doing battle.

Angry mobs gathered Thursday in Jos after electoral workers failed to publicly post results in ballot collation centers, prompting many onlookers to assume the vote was the latest in a long line of fraudulent Nigerian elections.

Riots flared Friday morning and at least 15 people were killed. Local ethnic and religious leaders made radio appeals for calm on Saturday, and streets were mostly empty by early afternoon. Troops were given orders to shoot rioters on sight.

The violence is the worst since the May 2007 inauguration of President Umaru Yar’Adua, who came to power in a vote that international observers dismissed as not credible.

Few Nigerian elections have been deemed free and fair since independence from Britain in 1960, and military takeovers have periodically interrupted civilian rule.

More than 10,000 Nigerians have died in sectarian violence since civilian leaders took over from a former military junta in 1999. Political strife over local issues is common in Nigeria, where government offices control massive budgets stemming from the country’s oil industry.

Beyond these there were outbreaks of religious intolerance in Somalia, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, the Sudan, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iraq, Burma, Iran, China, Thailand, France, Germany, Italy, and Austria. There were high profile honor killings in Hamburg and Atlanta not to mention an estimated 5,000 honor killings in Pakistan alone. The insanity will doubtlessly continue unabated in 2009. How do I get off this planet of the delusional and the mad on behalf of a God that does not exist?

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A gunman walks at the Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminal railway station in Mumbai

They were 10 gunmen, well-trained and armed with assault rifles and grenades, officials say. They had scouted their targets ahead of time. The knew the hallways and the basements. They even carried bags of almonds for energy. Police say they were Muslim extremists from Pakistan, and may be tied to India’s long-running insurgency in the disputed, largely Muslim, Himalayan region of Kashmir.

They landed in an inflatable rubber boat not long after nightfall on a Mumbai beach, a semi-isolated stretch of sand and stone where fisherman bring in their boats during the daytime. From there, it was less than a 15-minutes walk to their major targets. The group fanned out across the city, hitting 10 spots in two hours. They chose some of the best-known landmarks, many popular with foreigners and the city’s elite. Many of the attacks ended in minutes. But at two luxury hotels and a Jewish center they dug in, fending off hundreds of commandos for days.

India will doubtlessly cast blame towards Islamabad as it should for Pakistan is but one large madrassa of jihadism but the fact remains that the Indian intelligence community and security forces are guilty of serious lapses and incompetence. How did ten twenty-somethings manage to hold off the Indian army for 72 hours?

As an investigation moved forward, there were questions about whether Indian authorities could have anticipated the attack and had better security in place, especially after a 2007 report to Parliament that the country’s shores were inadequately protected from infiltration by sea — which is how the attackers sneaked into Mumbai.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil, responsible for public safety and internal security as one of the most senior members of the government, resigned on Sunday to take responsibility for the failure of the country’s intelligence services and military to prevent the attacks in Mumbai.

Mr. Patil’s resignation is the clearest sign yet that the current government is feeling pressure from the general public in India to make amends.

All the while, tensions are swelling with Pakistan, where officials promised that they would act swiftly if any connection to Pakistani-based militants were found, but also warned that troops could be moved to the border quickly if relations with India worsened.

It was still unclear whether the attackers had collaborators already in the city, or whether others in their group had escaped. And perhaps the most troubling question to emerge for the Indian authorities was how, if official estimates are accurate, just 10 gunmen could have caused so much carnage and repelled Indian security forces for more than three days in three different buildings.

Part of the answer may lie in continuing signs that despite the country’s long vulnerability to terrorist attacks, Indian law enforcement remains ill-prepared. The siege exposed problems caused by inexperienced security forces and inadequate equipment, including a lack of high-power rifle scopes and other optics to help discriminate between the attackers and civilians.

If I were an Indian citizen, I’d be mad as hell. As it is, I am rather steamed and frustrated with a Pakistan incapable of controlling its own destiny and incapable of providing an alternative route of development for its citizens. Pakistan has become a state without frontiers whose primary export is now terror and terrorists. If Pakistan can’t control its own territory then it risks intervention. Already, US forces are encroaching into Pakistan’s Northwest Tribal Areas because Pakistan has failed to stem the violence seeping out of those areas. Now, India gazes across its own border and sees dozens of training camps and hundreds of fighters being trained to wreck havoc and destruction. It’s hard to ask India to show restraint but that is what we must do. Otherwise, we risk a wider war which is precisely what these fundamentalists want. But we also owe India every instrument at our disposal in demonstrating our resolve to Pakistani authorities to act now and act decisively before the entire world comes bearing down on the Punjab and the Sind.

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