Yoshie: Whoever said that without the war on Afghanistan Al Qaeda would take over Pakistan? Not even the US government and Christopher Hitchens made such an argument.
---- Hitchens has repeatedly brought this up as have others like Ahmed Rashid, I believe. Of course the US government wouldn't admit that it wasn't paying attention however I wonder about that weird meeting in Europe before September 11th that included among others, American, Pakistani and Russian officials and where an attack on the Taliban was supposedly discussed. Some have suggested September 11th was a "pre-emptive" strike against such an invasion. If so, it was incredibly stupid and didn't work very well.
As I understand it, Pakistani Intelligence (with US help) inflicted the Taliban and Al Qaeda on Afghanistan. And before September 11th, Al Qaeda was metastasizing back into Pakistan and was posed to gain access to its nuclear arsenal. One good thing about September 11th is that West is now more focused on that arsenal and the Kasmir conflict.
I have talked about this a number of times but no one has taken me up on it until now.
Yoshie: Besides, Islamists on the brink of power are not just any Islamists but Islamists with Taliban sympathies.
Peter: Weak.