So do the Pakistani military take their talking points from the Western left, or do the Western take theirs from the Pakistani military? And isn't the "We have our religious fanatics too" getting a little old?
You mean he hasn't already started the process?
Wow, I never realized Armageddon would be a multi-staged process. Now, let's see, 2,585 days down and only about 330 to go. As crazy, fundamentalist American presidents determined to fight Gog vs Magog go, he's a bit of a piker, no? What's he been doing with his time, playing video games?
Colonel Zhalot is quite right in his statement. We have had a idiot in the white house for 8 years and there is a chance we will have another one who is a batshit crazy war mongering old man who would not hesitate to push the button if he could. I don't really know if the democrats are much better. I am a american who has lived in Europe for the past 9 years, sanity seems to be much more prevelent here than in the states
What a wonderfully intelligent and at the same time hilarious post.
The worry in Pakistan is not the fine officers who are presently manning the post; rather it is the whackjob Islamofascist loonies who might relieve them.
I salute the brave and honourable men holding the keys to Dr. Khan's arsenal; the question is how long they can hold out in the event of an Iran like "popular" Islamic revolution.
But, hey, by all means dis the US and, while you are at it the Russians, for lapses in nuclear security because, God knows, I really, really want all those weapons as secure as they possibly can be.
To be fair to the Pakistani Islamic extremists, I don't believe there is a Muslim equivalent of the US-Christian "End Times/Left Behind" mythology. To the best of my knowledge, there aren't any, certainly not any significant, Islamic groups--no matter how extreme--who believe and even hope that the end of the world is about to arrive. That's strictly a Christianofascist meme.
So even if Islamic extremists took over Pakistan (less likely than a lot of people seem to suppose), they wouldn't actually want to die en masse. Note that the ones in Iran are apparently not actively working on nuclear weapons even though frankly they have *lots* of reasons to want one.
"I don't believe there is a Muslim equivalent of the US-Christian "End Times/Left Behind" mythology."
You're unacquainted with Twelver Shi'ism then?
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/SHIA/HIDDEN.HTM
And yet you write with the confidence of someone who knows what they're talking about.
Purple Library Guy: You may not believe it but others do - namely the whack job President Ahmadinejad of Iran. In case you haven't heard, he's the guy trying to build the bomb.
"The most remarkable aspect of Mr Ahmadinejad's piety is his devotion to the Hidden Imam, the Messiah-like figure of Shia Islam, and the president's belief that his government must prepare the country for his return."
All streams of Islam believe in a divine saviour, known as the Mahdi, who will appear at the End of Days. A common rumour - denied by the government but widely believed - is that Mr Ahmadinejad and his cabinet have signed a "contract" pledging themselves to work for the return of the Mahdi and sent it to Jamkaran."
He is said to have gone into "occlusion" in the ninth century, at the age of five. His return will be preceded by cosmic chaos, war and bloodshed. After a cataclysmic confrontation with evil and darkness, the Mahdi will lead the world to an era of universal peace."
"This is similar to the Christian vision of the Apocalypse. Indeed, the Hidden Imam is expected to return in the company of Jesus."
"The prospect of such a man obtaining nuclear weapons is worrying. The unspoken question is this: is Mr Ahmadinejad now tempting a clash with the West because he feels safe in the belief of the imminent return of the Hidden Imam? Worse, might he be trying to provoke chaos in the hope of hastening his reappearance?"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/.../14/
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