02-10-2003 03:32									#31
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As long as there is an India the politicos in Pakistan will focus their concern on their neighbor to their east, so Israel and the West have nothing to fear. If Pakistan gave a nuke to terrorists then they would have to worry about having one less weapon aimed at India. As far as we know India has many more weapons than Pakistan so the Pakistanis can't really afford to spare one.

	02-10-2003 03:50									#32
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Atheist dictatorships with nukes: Former USSR, China. Even under the crazy chairman Mao, nothing happened.

	02-10-2003 03:55									#33
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quote: Pacifism is like "I can't believe its not butter".

Except the fact that it looks different, and tastes different.

	02-10-2003 05:09									#34
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The longer Musharraf holds onto power, the more likely Islamists will succeed him. So he's not only Pakistani peasants' and workers' problem, but yours as well. While the military and the state's paramilitary cronies continue to force farmers into feudal leases, while the gov't continues to persecute farmer unions, while the gov't continues to tolerate what essentially amounts to holding workers in slavery (the right to quit is often not recognized, particularly after the coup), while the gov't continues to help the US maintain the rule of often Islamist, semi-feudal warlords in Afghanistan, while the gov't continues to persecute the secular parties (which are also corrupt, but not anywhere as bad as Musharraf), Islamism can only gain power in the country. Right now their rule is limited to the sparsely populated NWFP, but who's to say what the situation'll be like in several years. I don't see Musharraf going the way of the Shah all that unlikely.

	02-10-2003 05:18									#35
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quote: Musharraf may not be loved by some of the fundy's, but he doesn't have his black clad secret police pulling mullahs and dissidents out of their houses and having them shot.

The military and the fundies used to have an arrangement during the height of the Cold War and during the Soviet-Afghan war - you don't mess with our economic policies, and we won't mess with your social policies. There were no contradictions. But now with the US' offense against Islamist terrorism, cracks are starting to show. If the US makes Musharraf choose, I don't think he'll side with the Islamists. And he'll probably deal with clerical dissidents the same way he deals with labor dissidents.

	02-10-2003 05:21									#36
	Re: A dictator of a Muslim country with WOMDs... Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

quote: Originally posted by el freako Would this combination worry anyone? A dictator of a country with a lot of fundamentalist islamic activity, who overthrew a democratically elected government and who has access to nuclear weapons. So, are the americans happy with their Pakistani 'ally' Mussaraf? Indeed are they as pleased with him as the CIA was with Bin Laden in Afghanistan in the 1980's ? If he plays to domestic opinon then the US (and India, and the wider world) has a problem - if he cracks down hard on islamists in his own country then it's possible he could go the way of the Shah in 1979.

Musharraf's our boy. The problem is that herd of tigers he's riding on while juggling.

Given that Pakistan would have nukes anyway, since India has nukes, who would you prefer in charge of the place?

	02-10-2003 05:28									#37
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The people.

	02-10-2003 06:19									#38
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quote: Originally posted by Ramo The people.

Like the ones that kidnapped and disassembled Danny Perl?

	02-10-2003 07:03									#39
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Yes, and only those people.

	02-10-2003 07:17									#40
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quote: Originally posted by Ramo The people.

"The people" are a bunch of sheep either bleating away oblivious or waiting to be led by someone. Doesn't matter what country, or what era. Do you think "the people" have ever, or will ever, really be in charge of anything?

	02-10-2003 07:33									#41
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The people had a pretty good run in Southern and Eastern Spain '36-'37.