Two suicide bombers attacked the campus of the Islamic International University in Islamabad on Tuesday (with one of them tageting the women students), killing 6 persons and wounding 37. The attacks had two contexts. They were meant as revenge for the Pakistani government campaign against the Taliban in Waziristan. But they also were patriarchal protests against higher education for women and assertions of extreme Puritanism.
The three women known to have bee killed by the bombing strike as as every bit martyrs to the cause of educated women standing up to authoritarian religious regimes as Neda Agha Soltan, who was killed in Tehran this summer.
Aljazeera English has raw video from the scene in Islamabad:
The USG Open Source Center translates an article from the Pakistani press on the Taliban’s campaign for puritanism:
Pakistan: Public, Clerics Join Hands Against Cable Network in Balakot
Unattributed report: “Demand To Stop Cable Network Over Spreading Immorality”
Shamal
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Document Type: OSC Translated Text
Haripur — Strong voice of religious scholars from Balakot has shaken the religious scholars of Haripur from their deep slumber.
Public pressure has also been increased in Haripur after the religious scholars acted against the cable network saying that it spreads immorality and obscenity.
Strong protest of people led by religious scholars against cable network also forced the religious scholars of Haripur to stand up against the spread of obscenity through cable network.
Cable network has been blocked after the protest of religious scholars in Balakot.
That is the reason that people of Haripur stressed that their religious scholars lead the public for rising up against the cable network.
(Description of Source: Abbottabad Shamal Online in Urdu The North, a conservative daily focusing mostly on issues related to Hazara, Mansehra Region of North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). Its chief editor and publisher is Niaz Pasha Jadoon.
It is also published in Swat and Karachi.
Claims it has the “highest” readership in NFP; URL: http://www.dailyshamal.com)
End/ (Not Continued)
America's war has now not only turned Afghanistan upside down, it has also turned Paksitan upside down. When Pakistan had to close very school in the country, this indicates the war has spread throughout ALL of Pakistan. Pakistan has become the Cambodia of this war. The "killing fields" are in Pakistan.
Couldn't the US have used better military brilliance when it decided to invad and occupy South Asia? Does the US deserve to be the leader of the world when it cannot do a damn thing right? To quote Laurel and Hardy, "another fine mess."
This is the key to changed policy and strategy in Afghanistan, and globally. The true nature of the conflict is a struggle by Islamic radicals to dictate the terms of Islam. Attacking the West is only a means to this end.
US troops are only useful if they do not drift into fulfilling the imperial role set out for us by radicals' framework. Yes, we will be sending more troops, but we should set a unilateral target for them to stand down again, say two years. This is not an endless battle between a global empire and a global rebellion. It is a race to see if we can help one country take care of itself in the time allotted.
If we fail, then we pull out and adopt the "anti-terrorism" posture. That is, Afghanistan goes back to being the shooting gallery for warlords, radicals, neighbors, ideologies, and foolish world powers.
Scott Corey
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I would like to better understand the article from Shamal. I cannot read Urdu, or whatever language that site is in. Can anyone shed more light on this ?
Also, Scott Corey, your idea about setting a date for withdrawal before committing more troops sounds, at first blush, like a stroke of genius. I'd like to read the thoughts of others.
an avid student of how indigenous people respond to uninvited foreign benefactors
Contrary to the theory that "the true nature of the conflict is a struggle by Islamic radicals to dictate the terms of Islam. Attacking the West is only a means to this end" the same Islamists were attacking the Soviets and we were all applauding. We have reached the outer limits of the universe, we can detect wind speed on Mars and check to see if a god forsaken rock has moved even a mm from the last time we observed it 10 years ago…..how come we are so dumb not being able to detect a 6"4" tall, bearded man in a landscape similar to Mars yet a lot closer? Or are we really interested? Do we want to keep the "global rebellion" alive for the rebels at one point in time or another have been on our pay roll.
The idea that women should not be educated still exists here in the US. In fact, I personally know a 'very Christian' family who have ~12 kids (most of them daughters) and not only do the parents refuse to support any of their daughters through college, they also strongly discourage such a mentality. Itis rather depressing how these ladies have been trained to accept such a mindset about women…