Post-Schna-ulations

Kettle, Pot...Pot, Kettle

Pakistan Vows to Stop Taliban; Westerners Scoff
I don't know where to begin. The title alone provokes many comments.

"They are training, financing and organizing these operations on Pakistani soil," said a Western diplomat in Kabul, the Afghan capital. "There is evidence from people who have been picked up in Afghanistan that they are receiving training in Pakistan."

Haven't Taliban members been trained, financed, and organized on U.S. soil too? Did the U.S. intentionally harbor these people? Who knows, but let's assume the best and say no. Is it turning a blind eye if you don't even know they're there?
Overall, the thing about this article that bothered me most was the "westerners scoff" part. What position is the U.S. or any other "westerner" in to scoff? To be concerned, sure, I can live with that, but to condemn, to turn a nose up, to imply that they aren't doing all the "westerners" are doing is hypocritical, narcissistic, and just plain irritating.

"They acknowledge that low-level members of the Taliban may be present in Pakistan but say the large number of Afghan refugees still in Pakistan makes it impossible to identify and arrest all Taliban fighters who cross the border.
'Who is a Taliban?" General Sultan asked in the interview. "We also have 1.5 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan.'"

Well, why not just follow the example of the west and bomb the shit out of everybody? What are the lives of 1.5 million refugees if we can take out 50 Taliban members?
Again, just to clarify, I am not saying that there is nothing going on with the situation in Pakistan. I'm not saying that there is. Quite frankly, I don't know what to think when it comes to trusting world leaders. I certainly don't trust ours. The issue I'm taking with this article has nothing to do with whether or not anything is going on. It's all about the scoffing.

posted by Schna @ 9:32 AM