The Political Conundrum!

A crash early this year of an AV-8B Harrier in eastern North Carolina during a training flight was the result of pilot error, Marine investigators have determined.

This short analysis from the invaluable Middle East Media Research Institute is well worth a read. It discusses the controversy Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader, Asif Zardari set off when, while delivering the keynote address at the 23rd Internationalist Socialist Congress, he described madrassas as propagating Islamist extremism.

Unsurprisingly, Pakistan’s religious leaders condemned him. But reading the report, and these notes from MEMRI’s Urdu-Pashto Blog also indicates that the madrassas have spread from the Northwest Frontier Province into the rest of the country - including the Punjabi heartland. Although Islam is central to Pakistan’s national identity, the traditional practice of Islam was relatively moderate. In fact there have been skirmishes between different factions within the Sunni community (not to mention the bloody Shia-Sunni violence within Pakistan) - particularly in Karachi.

Considering the endemic corruption and misrule in Pakistan, it is surprising that radicalism has not made inroads faster. Consistently, the Islamist parties do not do terribly well in Pakistani elections (when they proved no better then their secular counterparts, the lost power in NWFP.) But as their influence expands they can, not only expand their parties, they can also re-shape the positions of the major parties, the Pakistan People’s Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML). Although the PPP is generally perceived as secular and the PML is seen as closer to the Islamists - both turn to Islam when it is convenient.

Zardari is a problematic figure (although, despite reports he is not mentally ill). He often seems to say the right thing, calling for a more moderate approach to India, and criticizing madrassas. He may actually believe these things. It is also possible that, because he cannot match Nawaz Sharif’s popularity on the ground - his wife the late Benazir Bhutto could - that he is appealing the West and particularly the U.S. as a balance. A real Pakistan policy needs to look beyond any given leader and build a deeper relationship.

Read the full post.

The U.S. Department of Defense says the United States plans to cease operations at 15 minor Army facilities in Germany amid a wider effort to realign the military's overseas structure.

The NEFA Foundation has obtained two exclusive interviews with Maulvi Omar, the main spokesman for and a Shura Council member of the Pakistani Taliban movement, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). During the first interview, recorded in May 2008, Maulvi Omar emphasized the connection between both the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban movements and Al-Qaida, saying there is no difference between them, and that they are merely different words for the same ideology, working towards precisely the same goals. Similarly, he accuses former Pakistani President General Pervaiz Musharraf together with the U.S. and its international allies of having "crusader" and "infidel" designs against the entire Muslim world and, as such, are to be considered irreconcilable enemies of Islam.

During the second interview, obtained by NEFA in August 2008, Maulvi Omar declared the TTP to be in total control of Pakistan's tribal areas. Maulvi Omar further claimed that all other local mujahideen militias--including foreign Uzbek militants and tribal fighters—have all been either incorporated into the TTP, or expelled from the tribal areas. He denies reports that al-Zawahiri was wounded, or even ever at the location, of the recent U.S. airstrikes in Damadola. Omar even suggests a link between the TTP and several terrorist attacks in Western countries—including the July 7, 2005 suicide bombings in London, which he claimed were planned from Bajaur.

Both interviews are available on the NEFA Foundation website.

John McCain picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a conservative who shares his maverick streak, as his vice presidential running mate on Friday in a startling selection on the eve of the Republican National Convention.

Wheelchairs parked and crutches tossed aside, dozens of soldiers wounded in war hit the lake at a theme park in what's believed to be the nation's largest water-skiing clinic for people with physical disabilities.

Global Hawk, an unmanned aerial vehicle with surveillance and communication capabilities that make it invaluable to ground troops during a war, might get a hurricane test run If Gustav becomes enough of a threat.

Phillip Smyth is the the CT Blog's Assistant Newslinks Editor and a contributor to the Aramaic Democratic Organization. He has visited Lebanon, interviewied anti-Hezbollah NGOs and Hezbollah supporters, and maintains regular contact with sources there. He wrote the following about the downing on Thursday of a Lebanese Army helicopter by Hizballah forces.

The hills of Iqlim al-Tuffah are known for their apple orchards, in addition to being an off-limits Hizballah base. The area had been targeted by the Israelis for surgical and reprisal attacks against Hizballah since Israel and the SLA patrolled the Security Zone. The peaceful noon time on Thursday was interrupted by anti-aircraft fire. A helicopter was forced to land in the village of Sojod. Only, this time, the helicopter was not Israeli, nor did it belong to the UNIFIL forces based in southern Lebanon, this was a Lebanese army UH-1 Iroquois (commonly known as the Huey). The helicopter attack also killed one, First Lieutenant Samer Hanna, in addition to other casualties. Nevertheless, the full story of this incident is marred with speculation, rumors and many unnerving facts.

Many in the media insinuated that the attack may have something to do with “Sunni Islamist militants from the north [read: Tripoli]”. The New York Times stated, “The Lebanese Army has come under attack several times this summer, including in a bombing this month that left nine soldiers and several civilians dead.” As with the NYT, the AFP, made sure the Sunni Islamists would be placed at the end of the article stating, "Nine Lebanese soldiers and five civilians were killed in a bombing at a bus stop in the northern port city of Tripoli earlier this month in an attack thought to have targeted the army. The army has also suffered other attacks since it fought a 15-week battle with militants of the Al-Qaeda inspired Fatah al-Islam in the Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon. In December the head of the army's military operations, General Francois el-Hajj, was killed in a massive bomb attack and just over a month later Major Wissam Eid, a top intelligence officer, was killed in similar circumstances.”

In fact, the last attack in the south by suspected Sunni Islamists was in June, 2007, killing 6 Spanish peacekeepers in a UNIFIL convoy. While Hizballah was the obvious cause of the latest attack, and even Hizballah militiamen said that they, “thought that there was an Israeli landing attempt (under way) and opened fire in the direction of the helicopter, hitting it.” The major press still insinuated that a group like Fatah al Islam could be behind the attack. When the attack was first reported, Hizballah initially denied it had anything to do with the attack, but this would later be disproved.

Australia's military is making plans to examine the suspected remains of a World War II airman found dangling from trees in a dense Papua New Guinea jungle, a spokesman told AFP.

Jurors wept and embraced former Marine Jose Luis Nazario Jr. after acquitting him of voluntary manslaughter in the killings of unarmed Iraqi detainees during a fierce 2004 battle.