PAKISTAN UPDATE….Just in case the imminent collapse of the American financial system doesn’t have you quite worried enough, here’s a report from the LA Times about the imminent collapse of Pakistan:
More than any other terrorist attack in this volatile country, the devastating truck bombing of the Marriott Hotel over the weekend has presented government and military leaders here with a stark choice: Go all out against extremists or risk the nation’s collapse into chaos.
That is the growing consensus among many Pakistani analysts and commentators, who fear that without rapid, determined and ironfisted action by officials and security forces, this nuclear-armed land is in danger of becoming a failed state, with Islamic radicals in control.
….The descent into violence and fear here has been sharp.
In a country where suicide bombings were relatively rare five years ago, more than 300 people have been killed in such attacks this year. What seemed at first to be a threat confined to the nation’s fringes, in the rugged and uncontrollable border and tribal areas, has now penetrated urban centers, including the very heart of this leafy, broad-avenued capital.
As usual, the real state of play is pretty murky. But murky in a bad way, not a good one.
In the meantime, it appears that the Pakistani military didn’t open fire on a U.S. helicopter that didn’t fly into Pakistani airspace. That’s the story, anyway.
