Red Mosque I.

This is coolbert:

Has everyone been following the confrontation taking place right now at the Red Mosque, Islamabad, Pakistan?

This has great potential to blow up into a catastrophe.

Madrassa educated Taliban-type students have occupied the mosque and are currently besieged by Pakistani security forces.

As usual, with these situations, the authorities have to walk around as if they were stepping on eggshells and hoping not to break any of them. Defuse the situation, maintain law and order without causing “incidents” that will further exacerbate existing tensions. NOT to arouse an emotional response that might snowball out of control.

"Islamabad will become like Baghdad if the government commits aggression against the Red Mosque and kills me" [says a leading cleric inside the mosque!]

As I have said repeatedly, the Islamic societies have a BAD tendency to work themselves into a frenzy over matters which to the rest of the world seem to appear as trivialities. Rumors are enough to cause a mob to become enraged beyond control. Even a rumor of a rumor is enough to get the juices flowing in some instances.

"Emotion clouds reason" - - Michael Corleone.

And, another assassination attempt was made on Musharraf the other day. Tried to shoot down his plane as it was taking off, nearly succeeding in doing so.

[there have been now REPEATED assassination attempts on Musharraf!!]

I have often thought that since 9/11, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have to be the two places on the earth that U.S. planners are most worried about. If either one of those two nations go under from a combination of anarchy and internal insurrection, the ENTIRE WORLD COULD FIND ITSELF IN THE PROVERBIAL DEEP DOO-DOO!!

[for those foreign readers, DOO-DOO is a colloquial American expression meaning shit, scat, stront, scheisse, merde, skit, go’wno. ]

If Saudi Arabia disintegrates into anarchy or total internal insurrection the oil supply of the ENTIRE WORLD will strained beyond belief. Chaos will ensue on a scale the likes of which has NEVER been seen!

Pakistan of course has an arsenal of forty to fifty atomic bombs. With production facilities to make more [is in the process of continuing production??]. If Musharraf goes - - through whatever means - - coup’, assassination, rebellion, etc., what then!!?? Atomic weapons and the means of production may fall into the hands of madrassa educated students of the Taliban persuasion??!!

[even if the situation at the Red Mosque does not worsen and the siege ends peacefully, it is indicative of a large degree of instability present in Pakistan.]

The potential consequences are “too awful to contemplate”!!?? But must be contemplated! The governments of the United States [world power] and India [regional power] HAVE TO BE watching the events of the Red Mosque closely. One wrong move and the world may be changed in a way that EVERYONE will deeply regret!!

coolbert.