<HTML>According to an interview I watched last night on Rivera live, the supposed sympathies of the Pakistani people for the Taliban have been greatly exagerated. This interview was with an individual who was living in Pakistan. I do not recall his specific credentials.
I found him credible.
He says that the pro-Taliban demonstrations in Pakistan have been very small, and that the vast majority of Pakistanies would support a passive stance toward US action.
Moreover, the decision by the Pakistani government to support the US position was apparently unanimous. Of course, it is a dictatorship so we can't rely upon such a "vote" as a true guage of government or public feeling.
Ultimately however, despite the fact that the US has made it clear that it is in Pakistan's interests to support the US., the events of last week have made it absolutely imperitive that the US do whatever is required to exact punishment upon all those who share in the responsibility. To fail in this, is to invite perpetual attacks of this kind - each one progressively worse than the last. The potential of the enemy to retaliate must be eliminated.
This means that, should the Pakistanies have chosen to stand against us, they too would make of themsevles enemies of the United States of America. Would this mean a direct military confrontation with Pakistan?That option would certainly be there - but probably a last resort (given Pakistan's limited nuclear capability).
Who can guess what veiled threats were made implicit to the Pakistanies by the US state department when their assistance was requested? Should Pakistan have resisted *militarily* US aims in the region, their forces could be nuetralized by America in a matter of minutes. Certainly the Pakistanies realize this - and Americans have *never* rattled the sabres louder than they are today.
The seriousness of the threat against the United States and the entire free world can hardly be exagerated. There is no response that would be unjustified in pursuit of our future security.
ISHMAEL</HTML>
