Threads of Chaos
Let's review the various threads of global instability which have emerged recently:1) Mumbai - multiple bombings left approximately 200 dead and hundreds more wounded; likely culprit was a jihadist group operating out of Pakistan, with help from Dawood Ibrahim (India's version of Osama bin Laden and Al Capone merged as one)
2) Per wretchard at The Belmont Club and Michael Yon (The Belmont Club: The Curse of Freedom), Afghanistan is swiftly becoming a corrupt narco-state that is on its way down (as opposed to Iraq, which Michael Yon says is on its way up). See Yon's post here - it's a must-read.
3) Israel launched retaliatory invasions of Gaza and Lebanon due to the abduction of several of its soldiers; culprits are Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon
4) Islamists took over Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, and are imposing Taliban-style rule; the fear is that Somalia could become the next pre-9/11 Afghanistan
5) The U.S. Supreme Court ratified a treaty with Al Qaeda (the Hamdan case)
6) North Korea launched seven missiles into the Sea of Japan; Japan is reportedly reviewing its Constitution to see whether pre-emptive strikes on North Korea would be legal
Items 1 - 5 share a common thread - militant Islam. Of particular interest is the fact that items 1 and 2 can be directly blamed on Pakistan. The Waziristan region of Pakistan is among the most lawless in the world, and Al Qaeda and the Taliban operate openly there. If you read about any major international terror plot, either successful or disrupted, a Pakistani connection is virtually guaranteed. Either phone calls are traced to Pakistan, or the terrorists trained there recently, or the terrorists were about to go there when we caught them, etc... The bottom line is that those who believe that militant Islam is a myth or that it can be easily ignored need to wake up.
Item 6 can most likely be traced to the Proliferation Security Initiative launched by the Bush Administration, which has significantly turned up the heat on North Korea by attacking the money laundering, drug smuggling, and counterfeiting operations which keep the regime in power. Eyeing Iran wishfully, where American and European negotiatiors are poised to yield to nuclear blackmail, North Korea decided to do a little saber-rattling of its own. After all, it needs concessions from the west as well.
Not a good time for global peace and stability right now. Enjoy the links - esp. Michael Yon's.
posted by JM @ 6:03 AM
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