Posted on 06/19/2002 3:31:51 PM PDT by knighthawk
A YOUNG US woman has gone missing in the Pakistani city of Karachi, the scene of a string of recent attacks targeting US citizens and interests.
"A US citizen was reported missing in Karachi," said State Department deputy spokesman Philip Reeker today. "Our consulate in Karachi is working with local authorities on that matter to see if we can find out any more facts."
The woman, who cannot be named due to US Privacy Act restrictions, went to the city alone on June 13 to visit someone, a US official said later on condition of anonymity.
The official said it did not appear that the woman's case was similar to that of US journalist Daniel Pearl, who was abducted in January and subsequently murdered, and it was not clear if foul play was suspected in her case.
It is also not known exactly when she disappeared.
US citizens have been advised by the State Department to avoid travelling to Pakistan, as it appears they have become targets for radical groups opposed to or targeted by the US-lead campaign against terrorism.
On Friday, a car bomb exploded outside the US consulate in Karachi killing 12 people.
Last month, a car-bomb attack targeted the Sheraton hotel, killing 14 people, including 11 French nationals.
Sure thing. Anybody else find this statement a tad bit disingenuous?
There's probably more to this story, but it could be what I call the "tailgating factor" - young american women right on your rear bumper because they're exempt from all laws - of physics, nations, commonsense or otherwise.
If you're referring to a recent State Department advisory, it was more like "we strongly suggest leaving India and Pakistan" than "get out."
My eyes glaze over.
Or worse, she doesn't have a Muslim name but has a Muslim boyfriend. One she knows wouldn't betray her.
However my question is whay was she doing in Pakistan when it is probably the most dangerous place for an American to be at present (unless you are living in the heavily protected 'expatriate' zones). Pakistan is rife with extremist Islamic zealots out to prove a point, and has also become an adhoc incubator for Islamic Jehadi groups trying to hide from the West, or being spawned in the various locales and madrasas...at times even bankrolled and trained by the Pakistani ISI intelligence service. And unlike Afghanistan under the Taliban the jehadis in Pakistan are not mere goatherds moonlighting as terrorists, but are instead intelligent people brainwashed into being automatons under the control of some religious demagogue! This makes them more deadly and more focussed.
And thus it is in my opinion that in Bush's list of the 'Axis of Evil' Pakistan should have been one of only two countries present (the other being Saudi Arabia) since they both bode more peril in the near future than places like North Korea and Iran! And just because Pakistan and Saudi Arabia claim to be our 'allies' does not mean they are!
I just hope she is alright.
Fred Thompson, "The Hunt for Red October"
And I truly believe this unless we start acting.
It is possible that she is a naturalized American of Pakistani descent who thought she would be safe.
Or it could be some absolute nitwit of a 'peace activist'.
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