11:29 am
The Mother of All Hungamas
My friend Nilay, who hails from Guwahati in the Assam province of India, taught me a great Hindi word: hungama. Think of it as a cross between a major kerfuffle and a holy mess.
RIght now, Pakistan has managed to put itself in the middle of one big honkin’ hungama, perhaps the largest ever recorded. Via The New York Times:
American intelligence agencies have concluded that members of Pakistan’s powerful [Inter-Services Intelligence] service helped plan the deadly July 7 bombing of India’s embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, according to United States government officials.
[I}ntercepted communications between [ISI] officers and militants who carried out the attack…[provide] the clearest evidence to date that Pakistani intelligence officers are actively undermining American efforts to combat militants in the region.
The American officials also said there was new information showing that members of the Pakistani intelligence service were increasingly providing militants with details about the American campaign against them, in some cases allowing militants to avoid American missile strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas.
Concerns about the role played by Pakistani intelligence not only has strained relations between the United States and Pakistan, a longtime ally, but also has fanned tensions between Pakistan and its archrival, India.
[snip]
When asked Thursday about whether the ISI and Pakistani military remained loyal to the country’s civilian government, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the [U.S.] Joint Chiefs of Staff, sidestepped the question. “That’s probably something the government of Pakistan ought to speak to,” Admiral Mullen told reporters at the Pentagon.
Uh-oh.
If there’s one thing we don’t need right now, it’s a nuclear state deciding to commit an act of war on another nuclear state. What the hell were these guys thinking? “I’m bored.” “Yeah, me too.” Hey, I know what we can do. Let’s turn South Asia into a big glass puddle!”
This could spin out of control faster than a tight-fitting sari on a Bollywood starlet. The Indians are not going to be satisfied with false contrition and muttered apologies.
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