Posted on 03/22/2002 9:54:14 AM PST by codebreaker
Just announced all U.S. non-emergency personnel to evacuate.
No official government statement yet.
Didn't Musharraf take power through a coup?
He was never elected and elections are no guarantee for power.
Secretary of State Colin Powell informed President Pervez Musharraf of the decision to scale down the staff by telephone from Monterrey, Mexico, where Powell was accompanying President Bush on a visit.
Isn't there a united nation's seminar going on that Bush is attending? Something about GLOBAL TAXES! Look Over There! Pay no attention to what we are doing here!
Could very well be, DG. Or, perhaps they just uncovered a very high ranking target, we can't pass on going after.
With or without Pak permission.
Whatever is behind it, it should be interesting.
It reminds me of the movie "Broken Arrow"
WASHINGTON (AP) - The State Department on Friday ordered dependents and non-essential workers at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad and the U.S. consulate in Lahore to leave the country.
Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) informed President Pervez Musharraf of the decision to scale down the staff by telephone from Monterrey, Mexico, where Powell was accompanying President Bush (news - web sites) on a visit.
Pakistani security agencies have been exploring possible al-Qaida links to a wave of terrorist strikes, including a grenade attack on a church that killed two Americans and three other people, the government said Wednesday.
No specific reason was given by State Department spokesman Philip Reeker for the ordered departure. He said the embassy and consulate would be able to function and to service Americans in the South Asian country.
Reeker said the department was satisfied with Musharraf's security measures, but still thought it prudent to order the dependents and non-essential workers to leave. He said he did not know how many Americans were involved.
Security officials in Pakistan have said they plan a crackdown on religious extremists.
The attacks could possibly be a reaction to Pakistan's decision to join the international coalition against terrorism, Information Minister Nisar Memon said Wednesday.
At the same time, Reeker announced the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo, Bosnia, would be closed at least until Monday for a review of its security arrangements.
We would never unilaterally use troops in Pakistan unless we felt Musharraf had turned against us, and he hasn't. But, there's little doubt that trouble could be expected in Pakistan if we did do that even with Musharraf's explicit permission. This is going to be very interesting to watch.
Sorry. You got to be kidding. Our global presence has made us hated throughout the world except those on our dole of aid or troops.
We all calling our citizens home, we have established a Home Defense entity, we have a budget to fight one war, we have exported essential factories, we would have to import steel for arnaments from China or Korea, we are fearful of countries without planes that use our own planes to knock down our buildings or nuke us.
Our 'global presence' is a total f-up. George Washington was right (and Pat Buchanan) - end foreign entanglements or we will go the way of the British Empire (where the sun never sets, right!)
I watched him address the conference this AM, and you could cut the tension with a knife; he said we are engaged in a war of "titanic" proportions -- let's hope we're not the Titanic. By the way, we cut the legs out the "global tax" proposal, and Bush's speech was in essence: "If poor countries want our assistance, their government will have to show us progress (in accountability and easing of oppression) to get it." I know it's been said before, but under today's circumstances, it seemed almost like a battle cry.
Or an escalation with India.
That would mean bombing Pakistani territory....bombing pashtun pakistani territory. Bombers,apache gunships etc etc.
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