[FONT="]PART XXX:[/FONT][FONT="] May 2004 – November 2004[/FONT]
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[FONT="]“[/FONT]The blade itself incites to violence.”
-[FONT="] [/FONT]Homer’s Iliad[FONT="][/FONT]
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[FONT="]“For all our criticism of the Pakistani Taliban and al Qaeda, they have correctly identified this: Pakistan is no longer a sovereign state. The Pakistani government no longer exercises control over vast stretches of the country. Our presence in the FATA and NWFP has encouraged popular resentment against our government and Kayani, who has almost entirely lost credibility with Musharraf’s nationalist PML-Q, Sharif’s conservative PML-N, and anyone to the political “right” of them. The Pakistani middle class abhors our presence for polarizing the political environment between western control and sharia. The military has lost credibility in most parts of the country. The PPP and Kayani’s strong relationship has grown more strained, too. The failure of Kayani and the military to fulfill their promises is a dire threat to NATO goals in the War on Terror.”[/FONT]
-[FONT="] [/FONT][FONT="]Foreign Policy[/FONT][FONT="], July 2004[/FONT]
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[FONT="]American forces launched major offensives in the FATA and NWFP throughout the summer. By then, the plan of co-opting tribal forces had seriously backfired, with the ISI refusing to cease support for lashkars operating in Afghanistan and the US losing its grip on anti-Taliban lashkars in Pakistan. More and more Pakistanis, from whatever province, saw the US occupiers as far worse than the Taliban. Military discipline broke down across the Afghan border. Pakistani troops simply could not be mustered to fight in counterinsurgencies against their own population. The overland supply route via Peshawar failed and increasing numbers of Pakistani arms fell into the hands of the Taliban and various other insurgent groups. Public defections by officers and government-sponsored lashkars lead to the termination of NATO-tribal cooperation in Pakistan.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]The PPP, in concert with the opposition PML-N, lead parliament to demand the withdrawal of foreign forces from Pakistan. They cited Kayani’s decision to de facto cede control of the NWFP, FATA, and now parts of Baluchistan near Quetta to American troops. Drone strikes, growing more and more popular, now ranged across Pakistan, only some of them coordinated with Islamabad. Despite bloody fighting across Pakistan’s hinterlands, “Punjabi Taliban” – unaffiliated with tribal groups and operating out of the heartland of modern Pakistan – launched major attacks, involving car-bombings and assaults on the military and police. Highway traffic through Pakistan became a dangerous enterprise, while major cities across the country suffered terrorist violence. Pakistan was in crisis, but the parliament was nearly as anti-American as it was anti-Taliban. Another coup seemed to be in the works, and westerners feared that if Islamists rose up, the already unreliable military and state would simply stand aside. Seymour Hersh reported that McCain and Blair had plans to install Benazir Bhutto as Pakistani President on the force of arms, should a hostile government emerge.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]“Insurgents in Pakistan cut off the M-1 highway to the capital, inciting fears that the capital Islamabad is the Taliban’s next target. While Pakistani troops have been summoned to defend the capital, the government is in high-level negotiations to bargain for Pakistan’s survival. In the mean-time, a cease-fire between Pakistani troops and the Taliban is in effect, and Kayani has requested that the US reduce its own combat operations, especially drone strikes that now occur routinely in the country’s heartland…”[/FONT]
-[FONT="] [/FONT][FONT="]The New York Times, September 1st, 2004[/FONT]
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[FONT="]“Approval ratings for McCain have only risen since the primaries ended and the debates started. Despite Kerry’s criticism of McCain’s war management in Afghanistan and Pakistan, he hasn’t offered a plan with more credibility to the voters…”[/FONT]
-[FONT="] [/FONT][FONT="]CNN, September 8th, 2004[/FONT]
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[FONT="]“The first device was a modified 25 kiloton warhead, originally a simple gravity bomb designed for a Pakistani fighter aircraft. Between those detonated and those recovered, al Qaeda and related forces stole five nuclear warheads of this type… The largest theft, however, was a nuclear warhead originally destined for the Shaheen-II MRBM. The Shaheen-II never reached operability, as US airstrikes had completely destroyed its production facilities. The 500 kiloton warheads, however, were “unaccounted” for but operable. One of these was seized…”[/FONT]
-[FONT="] [/FONT][FONT="]Stephen Brewer, The Age of Madness[/FONT]
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[FONT="]Late September: there are major Taliban offensives across the south, from Baluchistan, while the east remains in bloody stagnation. American troops continue to operate on both sides of the border there, their battles on the Pakistani side far more intense than those in Afghanistan. Pashtuns were suspicious and resentful of the Americans on both sides of the border, and American successes in Afghanistan were to some extent bought at the price of blood in Pakistan. In October, the war seemed to stabilize in Afghanistan, and elections were held as scheduled. Outside of Pashtunistan, the country stood behind Massoud, while within those regions a variety of challengers split the vote and in many Taliban areas, few voted at all. Disparities in turnout were a major problem. McCain spun the election as a win, however, and the US plunged head on into the Presidential elections of 2004.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]The final outcome was 317-221. The country was still firmly behind their war President, despite worries about the war’s conduct and potential longevity. November 2 passed without incident, despite heightened security and fears of a terrorist attack.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]November 3rd saw a mushroom cloud rising over Boston.[/FONT]
