Denigration of Women and Girls

There was a very interesting session, as usual, on Fareed Zakaria's GPS today on Afghanistan and Pakistan with Richard Holbrook and Ahmed Rashid, Pakistani journalist and author.

Mr Holbrook would like to believe that Pakistan's very powerful military realizes that their real enemy is the Al Qaeda/Taliban faction in northern Pakistan, and not India.

Mr Rashid, whom I don't think is as well known to some, believes that Pakistan is not on the verge of complete disintegration yet and that the population is waking up to the danger of the Taliban/Al Qaeda after Zardari gave them the Swat Valley.

He also believes that the US needs to use the carrot and stick approach to shake Pakistan's government and military out of their inertia and force them to act against the very real threat in their country. I liked Rashid's frank manner. He also stated that the head of Pakistan's army is the real power in the country.
I do not believe the US needs to have any boots on the ground in Pakistan. But you know, I was stunned when I heard that it's more than nine billion dollars Bush gave to his puppet Musharraf - nine billion dollars - and one knows where the money's gone!

Normally, I do not condone violence of any sort because I grew up in an abusive household. However, I do believe in standing up for what is right and in the case of those criminals in Northern Pakistan and in Afghanistan, they and their collaborators must be put in the ground; no questions asked.

Women and girls are their primary target as well as anyone who supports or tries to protect them. It is time to put a stop to their denigration and degradation. They are the future of both countries.



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