This - is - becoming - repetitive.
But I will continue...
A White House report says Pakistan is not doing enough to confront the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Captain Renault must therefore make another appearance in this blog.
Showing posts with label Pakistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pakistan. Show all posts
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Monday, 30 August 2010
Pakistani cricket
In today's FT, James Lamont and Farhan Bokhari say this about the Pakistan-cricket-and-betting-scandal:
The response to the latest apparent breach of the game’s rules will probably follow a pattern similar to Pakistan’s response to deadly terrorist attacks. There will be a hue and cry, promises of discipline and then nothing. The country, after all, has been unable to track down the killers of Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister, and the villains who made off on motorcycles after the daylight attack on the Sri Lankans in Lahore.
As I have observed more than once before, my usual expectations from Pakistan are of a Captain Renault-style response:
The response to the latest apparent breach of the game’s rules will probably follow a pattern similar to Pakistan’s response to deadly terrorist attacks. There will be a hue and cry, promises of discipline and then nothing. The country, after all, has been unable to track down the killers of Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister, and the villains who made off on motorcycles after the daylight attack on the Sri Lankans in Lahore.
As I have observed more than once before, my usual expectations from Pakistan are of a Captain Renault-style response:
Thursday, 29 July 2010
Cameron's travels (3)
A lot of hoo-haa (much of it misplaced in my opinion) has been generated by some of Cameron's remarks in Turkey and India.
His speech in Turkey generated considerable angst from various bloggers, including the down-to-earth Iain Dale, the excitable Melanie Philips (also here) and The Economist's reflective Bagehot.
I find it hard to get agitated one way or the other about Turkey. For as long as I can remember, it has been the "next big thing" that was set to arrive on the world stage, transforming relations between Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and between the West and the Islamic world. Ankara has never lived up to these expectations and the country always seems to punch below its weight. Why should it be any different now?
Turkey certainly filled a useful role during the Cold War on NATO's southern flank, and it continues to be a stabilising counterweight to other regional players (Iran, Syria, Russia). Perhaps we're best off leaving it as a semi-detached Western ally, rather than trying to give it more significance than it deserves.
Ankara may be useful as a stick with which to tease Paris and Berlin, but if anyone gets over-excited about the prospect of Turkey as Britain's "special friend", just throw a bucket of cold water over them by mentioning:
1. Northern Cyprus.
2. Kurds.
3. Armenians.
(A pause here for a tip of the hat to Gyppo Byard for a witty Turkey-based headline.)
As for the usual Pakistani splutterings after Cameron stated the obvious about Islamabad's support for terrorism, I am - once again - reminded of Captain Renault:
His speech in Turkey generated considerable angst from various bloggers, including the down-to-earth Iain Dale, the excitable Melanie Philips (also here) and The Economist's reflective Bagehot.
I find it hard to get agitated one way or the other about Turkey. For as long as I can remember, it has been the "next big thing" that was set to arrive on the world stage, transforming relations between Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and between the West and the Islamic world. Ankara has never lived up to these expectations and the country always seems to punch below its weight. Why should it be any different now?
Turkey certainly filled a useful role during the Cold War on NATO's southern flank, and it continues to be a stabilising counterweight to other regional players (Iran, Syria, Russia). Perhaps we're best off leaving it as a semi-detached Western ally, rather than trying to give it more significance than it deserves.
Ankara may be useful as a stick with which to tease Paris and Berlin, but if anyone gets over-excited about the prospect of Turkey as Britain's "special friend", just throw a bucket of cold water over them by mentioning:
1. Northern Cyprus.
2. Kurds.
3. Armenians.
(A pause here for a tip of the hat to Gyppo Byard for a witty Turkey-based headline.)
As for the usual Pakistani splutterings after Cameron stated the obvious about Islamabad's support for terrorism, I am - once again - reminded of Captain Renault:
Monday, 14 June 2010
"I'm shocked, shocked..."
The London School of Economics has published research showing that Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency funds, protects, trains and directs the Afghan Taliban to a much greater extent than had been thought.
Pakistani officials have declared themselves shocked and outraged by such a suggestion.
One thinks of Captain Renault:
Pakistani officials have declared themselves shocked and outraged by such a suggestion.
One thinks of Captain Renault:
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