Friday, July 30, 2004

Conspiracy du Jour -- July Surprise?

The New Republic rehashes its claims about a July Surprise concocted by the Bush administration to grab high value targets in the tribal region of Pakistan. About a month ago, TNR printed the same article, and now they're updating it with this capture. Of course, the article stated that:
a White House aide told ul-Haq last spring that "it would be best if the arrest or killing of [any] HVT were announced on twenty-six, twenty-seven, or twenty-eight July"--the first three days of the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

The arrest was announced on the 29th. I guess they blew it. So much for conspiracies. And furthermore, the TNR claims that the US's pressure on Musharraf just began (to fit into the election conspiracy), and asked this question:
Pushing Musharraf to go after Al Qaeda in the tribal areas may be a good idea despite the risks. But, if that is the case, it was a good idea in 2002 and 2003. Why the switch now?

Well, there was no shift. In fact, the US has been pushing into the tribal region for over 2 years, as reported in the June 28, 2002 edition of the Christian Science Monitor. The article stated:
This marks the first major combat operation inside Pakistan's autonomous tribal areas, and underscores the shift in the war on Al Qaeda from Afghanistan to Pakistan. In May, US special forces and Pakistani troops searched a madrassah in Northern Waziristan.

Well, so much for that conspiracy.

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