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Echoes Overheard in A "Fortress Of Islam."Reader comment on item: Musharraf's Historic Speech Submitted by orange yonason (United States), Sep 21, 2005 at 16:29 BS"D...where vultures of a feather carry on together. "Pakistan is considered a fortress of Islam [the significance of which is...?]. God forbid, if this fortress is harmed in any way it would cause damage to the cause of Islam [and what "cause of Islam" is he referring to here?]. My dear countrymen, Have trust in me the way you reposed trust in me before going to Agra." (Musharraf, 19 September 2001) http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/pakistanpresident.htm Reading the entire piece carefully, it is difficult to come away without being suspicious of his motives. The way he reassures his constituency that the methods he's using are similar to how Islam historically deals deviously with enemies by using a pretence of friendship is very troubling In fact, his words were disturbing enough to motivate me to look a bit deeper, and here's some of what I have found. "Pamela Constable of the 'Washington Post', who was one of the foreign correspondents briefed by Musharraf last week on the forthcoming summit, has reported as follows: "Musharraf brushed aside questions about whether he would rein in armed Islamic groups that support fighters in Kashmir, insisting that the Kashmiri INSURGENCY is 'INDIGENOUS'." (my emphasis here, and below) http://www.saag.org/papers3/paper266.html [ASIDE: If the violence is perpetrated by an "indigenous" "Insurgency," as Musharraf alleges (in order to disavow any authority over them?), how does India think he will be willing to enforce any agreement they make with him involving concessions to them? (yet another red-flag)] Wait; and don't some of those terms he uses sound faintly familiar? Where have I heard them before? Taking a closer look at Musharraf, in his own words, as here: From: "Address by H.E. General Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan At The International Conference on "Fighting Terrorism For Humanity" [oh, how misleadingly reassuring that sounds] Organized by Norway and the International Peace Academy, New York, September 22, 2003" "Militancy in Palestine grew and Kashmir saw the rise of an ARMED INDIGENOUS RESISTANCE in response to INDIAN REPRESSION." http://www.un.int/pakistan/58ga0601 And here, where he further supports and justifies the violence that any real ally would oppose: "In his address (on January 12, 2002), Musharraf affirmed the LEGITIMACY of the struggle for 'SELF DETERMINATION' in Kashmir and of Pakistan's 'political, diplomatic and moral' support to that struggle." http://www.fathom.com/course/10701013/session5.html Noting how he equated Kashmir with "Palestine," (2nd above), perhaps we too should see what they have in common. "Abu Mazen explained that 'Hamas is on its way to becoming a significant political force in the PA,' adding that 'efforts to disarm the organization would not serve any purpose and might lead to a civil war.' " http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=89755 Suggestive, and similar to Musharraf's embrace of Kashmiri terrorists, but not quite what I'm looking for. "In the current interview in 'Al-Sharq al-Awsat as in earlier interviews Abu-Mazen has been very consistent on several points. (1) The 'Intifada' is a LEGITIMATE form of 'RESISTANCE TO OCCUPATION,' and it should continue, but without bombs and bullets; (2) Abu Mazen supports attacking soldiers and settlers everywhere; (3) Dr. Abbas opposes for the time being attacks on Israeli civilians inside Israel because it such attacks are 'counterproductive to Palestinian interests.' " http://israelbehindthenews.com/Archives/Dec-17-04.htm Say, isn't that also one of the accusations the Arab terrorists toss at the USA, calling us "...the evil occupier, opposing the LEGITIMATE wishes of an INDIGENOUS 'RESISTANCE.'" (12/01/2004 Steven Vincent)? http://www.defenddemocracy.org/archive/archive_newsletter.htm?issue_id=1943 ...in spite of the fact that the "indigenous" alleged Iraqi "insurgency" reported by the MSM is comprised mainly of foreign fighters. This implies that Musharraf shares the global ideology and doublespeak of all terrorists, and their "legitimate" goal of "resistance" against the local "oppressors" who engage in the "evil" of self-defense. And it consistent with what is known of Musharraf's past history of terror connections: "General Musharraf has been an inseparable part of the `Jihad Machine', which has dominated the Pakistani Military for the past 20 years. He has helped build the Harkat-ul-Mujaheddin, which according to some analysts comprises the sinews of Osama Bin Laden's international Islamic Jihad organization. A lot of the people in the dock for helping Al-Qaeeda operate in Pakistan and Afghanistan are associates and colleagues of General Musharraf." http://www.pakistan-facts.com/staticpages/index.php?page=20021121102530158 http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE4-6/arya.html (original article) ...which makes Musharraf an integral facilitator of, if not actual participant in, global terrorism, despite his assertions to the contrary. Caroline Glick reports (2005-09-05) : "In the midst of the hullabaloo about the first public meeting between Israeli and Pakistani officials, it was hard to remember that Pakistan is the operational epicenter of the global jihad and a major proliferator of nuclear weapons technology and know-how to Iran. Only recently, CIA director Porter Goss effectively said that US intelligence is certain that Osama bin Laden is in Pakistan. Goss explained that the US is unable to apprehend the arch-terrorist due to "sovereignty issues," - that is, Pakistan isn't cooperating. It is unclear how Pakistan is "promoting peace and moderation" when terror training camps are operating openly in several provinces of the country." http://www.kokhavivpublications.com/editions/israel/2005/09/caroline-glick-our-pakistani-pals.php http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1125886818733 All the terrorist apologists try to disguise the danger they pose by legitimizing it, or by getting you to believe it's not so bad, or that only they know how to deal with it. And so when, like them, Musharraf and his soul-mate Abbas (Abu Mazen) say they oppose terror but try to influence you to surrender to the false belief that: "I repeat, there is no military solution to our conflict." (Inaugural speech of Abu Mazen) http://www.mideastweb.org/abumazen.htm "Musharraf said there 'can be no military solution' to the Kashmir dispute.." http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/spedition/pak-india/pre14-07-2001update.htm ...it is hard to imagine anyone being fooled by them. Still, hard as it may be to believe, they have misled many away from the only solution, which is the utter destruction of the ideologues of hate, or at least their hope of success, as opposed to compromising with them out of misplaced good-will. [ASIDE: And speaking again of Kashmir, here's an interesting historically-contextual view held by some regarding the "Agra" Vajpayee-Musharraf summit http://newsonterror.com/agrasummit.html ] In conclusion: In his piece, "Pakistan's actions will speak louder than words (Jan 16,02) ," Sudha Ramachandran writes: "BANGALORE - To destroy the serpent of terrorism, it is essential to strike at its head. However, President General Pervez Musharraf's strategy to rid Pakistan of terrorism, sectarian extremism and the "Kalashnikov culture" is striking only at the tail." http://atimes.com/ind-pak/DA16Df02.html Sorry, but Musharraf's "friendship" is all too reminiscent of that extended by another character whose advise we also could have done without: "The serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which Hashem Elokim made;..." (Gen:3,1) Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments". << Previous Comment Next Comment >> Reader comments (261) on this item
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