Free Republic

WASHINGTON: The United States and India face tactics bordering on blackmail from a militarized Pakistan - where civilian control is still very dodgy - as they coordinate efforts to eliminate terrorism in the region, according to analysts and officials on both sides. In what is turning out to be an elaborate chess game in the region, Islamabad on Saturday made its "Afghan move" to counter the US-India pincer, telling Washington that it will have to withdraw some 100,000 Pakistani troops posted on its western borders to fight the al-Qaida-Taliban and move them east to the Indian front if New Delhi...

Flider favors recall vote, not impeachmentBy RON INGRAM & MIKE FRAZIER - H&R StaffWriters Monday, June 16, 2008 7:57 AM CDT State Rep. Bob Flider, D-Mount Zion, has voiced frustrations and disagreements with Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but he thinks talk of impeaching the governor is "premature." During a meeting with Herald & Review editors last week, Flider reacted to news reports that House Speaker Michael Madigan had circulated a memo to legislative candidates spelling out how to call for impeachment hearings. The memo provided talking points that compared corruption under Blagojevich's administration with a tumor that must be removed. A...