Comments on: The ISI Always Rings Twice http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2006/12/27/the_isi_always/ All that flavorful brownness in one savory packet Sat, 30 Nov 2013 11:11:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Salil Maniktahla http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2006/12/27/the_isi_always/comment-page-1/#comment-109024 Salil Maniktahla Wed, 27 Dec 2006 23:18:14 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=4048#comment-109024 <p>Looks like we have some leakage from the ABC blog...</p> <blockquote>Does it really f***ing matter how much support those Taliban SOBs get from the ISI? What matters is the fact that they are getting support, however f***ing miniscule, from the ISI. This reporter should realize that and so should the US government. India is a better ally in the War on Terror than Pakistan.</blockquote> <p>That last statement is so petulant it makes me laugh, and totally destroys any point you were trying to make. Since when is this a competition between India and Pakistan about who gets to play in the big fun War on Terror?</p> <p>I can't believe there's actual discussion about whether there's value in reporting on al Quaeda, the Taliban, and related stories in Pakistan. Yes, these reporters risk life and limb, but they should be <b>commended </b>for it, not castigated. And if they're killed while reporting these stories, it's not their fault, any more than a firefighter who was killed running into the WTC in an attempt to save others would be "at fault." They do their duty, and their duty puts them in danger. Yes, the danger is to some degree foreseeable, but that hardly makes their duty irrelevant or useless. Quite the opposite, I think.</p> Looks like we have some leakage from the ABC blog…

Does it really f***ing matter how much support those Taliban SOBs get from the ISI? What matters is the fact that they are getting support, however f***ing miniscule, from the ISI. This reporter should realize that and so should the US government. India is a better ally in the War on Terror than Pakistan.

That last statement is so petulant it makes me laugh, and totally destroys any point you were trying to make. Since when is this a competition between India and Pakistan about who gets to play in the big fun War on Terror?

I can’t believe there’s actual discussion about whether there’s value in reporting on al Quaeda, the Taliban, and related stories in Pakistan. Yes, these reporters risk life and limb, but they should be commended for it, not castigated. And if they’re killed while reporting these stories, it’s not their fault, any more than a firefighter who was killed running into the WTC in an attempt to save others would be “at fault.” They do their duty, and their duty puts them in danger. Yes, the danger is to some degree foreseeable, but that hardly makes their duty irrelevant or useless. Quite the opposite, I think.

]]> By: Amitabh http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2006/12/27/the_isi_always/comment-page-1/#comment-108979 Amitabh Wed, 27 Dec 2006 21:29:05 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=4048#comment-108979 <p>Even tourists can end up in trouble in Pakistan. I would ideally love to visit there, check out Lahore, Multan, some of the smaller towns and villages, etc. The country has a wealth of historical, cultural, and natural beauty and heritage...but it's just too dangerous. You never know when the authorities will suddenly decide to detain you (or worse).</p> Even tourists can end up in trouble in Pakistan. I would ideally love to visit there, check out Lahore, Multan, some of the smaller towns and villages, etc. The country has a wealth of historical, cultural, and natural beauty and heritage…but it’s just too dangerous. You never know when the authorities will suddenly decide to detain you (or worse).

]]> By: M. Ram http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2006/12/27/the_isi_always/comment-page-1/#comment-108962 M. Ram Wed, 27 Dec 2006 20:21:31 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=4048#comment-108962 <p>Does it really f<strong><em>ing matter how much support those Taliban SOBs get from the ISI? What matters is the fact that they are getting support, however f</em></strong>ing miniscule, from the ISI. This reporter should realize that and so should the US government. India is a better ally in the War on Terror than Pakistan.</p> Does it really fing matter how much support those Taliban SOBs get from the ISI? What matters is the fact that they are getting support, however fing miniscule, from the ISI. This reporter should realize that and so should the US government. India is a better ally in the War on Terror than Pakistan.

]]> By: Janeofalltrades http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2006/12/27/the_isi_always/comment-page-1/#comment-108946 Janeofalltrades Wed, 27 Dec 2006 18:46:35 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=4048#comment-108946 <blockquote>For example, how much the Al Qaeda and the Taleban is being covertly supported by the ISI and the Pakistani army might be information crucial to future American foreign policy.</blockquote> <p>I'm not saying there is completely no value to any of it. My whole point is if the Taliban claims that they have ISI connection (big surprise) where is the credibility in that statement? The Taliban or ISI? Will the GWB administration change it's policy towards who they extend their kinship towards as a result of it? I guess my whole apprehension is with all these dangerous missions reporters are taking on and the true end result of them doing so.</p> For example, how much the Al Qaeda and the Taleban is being covertly supported by the ISI and the Pakistani army might be information crucial to future American foreign policy.

I’m not saying there is completely no value to any of it. My whole point is if the Taliban claims that they have ISI connection (big surprise) where is the credibility in that statement? The Taliban or ISI? Will the GWB administration change it’s policy towards who they extend their kinship towards as a result of it? I guess my whole apprehension is with all these dangerous missions reporters are taking on and the true end result of them doing so.

]]> By: Preston http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2006/12/27/the_isi_always/comment-page-1/#comment-108939 Preston Wed, 27 Dec 2006 18:28:04 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=4048#comment-108939 <p>On-the-record access to the Taliban or some other militant group in Afghanistan would be a huge scoop for a western reporter. There's plenty to learn, unless you believe only what the monolithic American corporate press tells you, which is pretty much just what the Bush administration wants you to know: Taliban = Al-Qaeda = bad. It's more complicated than that, even to people with only passing knowledge of the region. For example, are there foreign (Arab) fighters among the Taliban? How much support do militants receive from the ISI? Are the militants organized or are they just a rag-tag hit-and-run menace? How much money do they get from the (now record) opium trade? We in the west know next to nothing about Pakistan and Afghanistan in general and even less about the current military situation. It's in no government's interest for the public to know about the graft, double-dealing, drug-running, and US and Pakistani complicity in the resurgency of the militancy in Afghanistan. No reporter snooping around is going to have an easy time of it.</p> On-the-record access to the Taliban or some other militant group in Afghanistan would be a huge scoop for a western reporter. There’s plenty to learn, unless you believe only what the monolithic American corporate press tells you, which is pretty much just what the Bush administration wants you to know: Taliban = Al-Qaeda = bad. It’s more complicated than that, even to people with only passing knowledge of the region. For example, are there foreign (Arab) fighters among the Taliban? How much support do militants receive from the ISI? Are the militants organized or are they just a rag-tag hit-and-run menace? How much money do they get from the (now record) opium trade? We in the west know next to nothing about Pakistan and Afghanistan in general and even less about the current military situation. It’s in no government’s interest for the public to know about the graft, double-dealing, drug-running, and US and Pakistani complicity in the resurgency of the militancy in Afghanistan. No reporter snooping around is going to have an easy time of it.

]]> By: Mr Kobayashi http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2006/12/27/the_isi_always/comment-page-1/#comment-108930 Mr Kobayashi Wed, 27 Dec 2006 18:04:17 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=4048#comment-108930 <blockquote>:) Awww, he probably still has the sniffles. I hope you're feeling better, Siddhartha.</blockquote> <p>No, Shruti. You can't show weakness with these people. Next thing you know, he'll be drinking tea with Al-Qaeda.</p> :) Awww, he probably still has the sniffles. I hope you’re feeling better, Siddhartha.

No, Shruti. You can’t show weakness with these people. Next thing you know, he’ll be drinking tea with Al-Qaeda.

]]> By: coach diesel http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2006/12/27/the_isi_always/comment-page-1/#comment-108927 coach diesel Wed, 27 Dec 2006 17:57:16 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=4048#comment-108927 <p><i>And y'all, I wouldn't bother bringing up comments left on stories in major news websites here. Those comments are always like that. For god's sake, do NOT try to knock some sense into those people; that's not why they go there, so you'd be wasting your time.</i></p> <p>I know, I know! I'm so stubborn though, that I can't just heave a sigh and roll. The vitriol was even spastic enough to scare Preston ;)</p> And y’all, I wouldn’t bother bringing up comments left on stories in major news websites here. Those comments are always like that. For god’s sake, do NOT try to knock some sense into those people; that’s not why they go there, so you’d be wasting your time.

I know, I know! I’m so stubborn though, that I can’t just heave a sigh and roll. The vitriol was even spastic enough to scare Preston ;)

]]> By: sakshi http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2006/12/27/the_isi_always/comment-page-1/#comment-108925 sakshi Wed, 27 Dec 2006 17:53:20 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=4048#comment-108925 <blockquote>What more is a reporter going to unearth? They hate the west or western ideals 20% more than they did last year? I'm not trying to be scarcastic at all, I genuinely don't get it.</blockquote> <p>For example, how much the Al Qaeda and the Taleban is being covertly supported by the ISI and the Pakistani army might be information crucial to future American foreign policy.</p> What more is a reporter going to unearth? They hate the west or western ideals 20% more than they did last year? I’m not trying to be scarcastic at all, I genuinely don’t get it.

For example, how much the Al Qaeda and the Taleban is being covertly supported by the ISI and the Pakistani army might be information crucial to future American foreign policy.

]]> By: coach diesel http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2006/12/27/the_isi_always/comment-page-1/#comment-108924 coach diesel Wed, 27 Dec 2006 17:52:20 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=4048#comment-108924 <p>We don't know if she and Soomro were meeting with the Taliban/Al Quaeda do we?</p> <p>Only that she was reporting in Pakistan on <i>something</i> and that someone wanted to send her a message to get the fuck out.</p> <p>She could have been uncovering a story about arms dealings between the police and the Taliban for all we know. (Not that I'm trying to imply that is happening.)</p> We don’t know if she and Soomro were meeting with the Taliban/Al Quaeda do we?

Only that she was reporting in Pakistan on something and that someone wanted to send her a message to get the fuck out.

She could have been uncovering a story about arms dealings between the police and the Taliban for all we know. (Not that I’m trying to imply that is happening.)

]]> By: Janeofalltrades http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2006/12/27/the_isi_always/comment-page-1/#comment-108923 Janeofalltrades Wed, 27 Dec 2006 17:50:03 +0000 http://sepiamutiny.com?p=4048#comment-108923 <blockquote>I am surprised you think you know everything about the Al Qaeda.</blockquote> <p>What more is a reporter going to unearth? They hate the west or western ideals 20% more than they did last year? I'm not trying to be scarcastic at all, I genuinely don't get it.</p> I am surprised you think you know everything about the Al Qaeda.

What more is a reporter going to unearth? They hate the west or western ideals 20% more than they did last year? I’m not trying to be scarcastic at all, I genuinely don’t get it.

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