"Our jihad will continue, God willing," . . .

(Thusly) thundered Maulana Faqir Muhammad, a firebrand preacher with links to al-Qaida. "And our people will go to Afghanistan to oust American and British forces."

Woe-underful . . .

Here's where some of my concerns, vis-a-vie the veracity of the info on who was actually involved at the Pakistani madrasah which got bombed by that country's military on Monday, do to be getting addressed, if not exactly - or even close to fully - answered.

I just wanted to share the story. Of course I've some commentary, but it's really way too early to go into particulars and the likelihood of getting many of those out of Musharaf's folks doesn't seem all that great anyhow. Still, this mission seems to me to be precisely the kind of thing which the American military supposedly was going into Afghanistan in order to obviate just about 5 years ago.

Why did the greatest, largest, most powerful and technologically advanced fighting force in the history of our species fail to produce an atmosphere where these tribal folk could believe, learn and live how they want without becoming inextricably associated with terror, death and jihad?

Oh yah... We had to do all those things in Iraq first.

{shakin'head}

Well, that certainly ... No. Enough with the snark at this time. The situation in both countries, not to mention here in the U.S., is just too damned ugly and horrifyingly spiraling downwards for such whilst searching for real answers.

Read on, though it doesn't really help a helluvalot as of yet. Maybe someday, some day, it won't be such a common nightmare.

Pakistan's chief military spokesman, Major General Shaukat Sultan, said the US provided intelligence that led to the strike - a statement he later tried to withdraw. But he refused to deny US involvement.

"Intelligence comes from 101 different sources - media reports, satellite photos, agents, many sources. I can't pinpoint a source on this particular operation," he told the Guardian.

Doubts over the official explanation were fuelled by measures limiting media access to the site of the attack. Soldiers prevented local journalists from reaching Bajaur, while foreign correspondents were barred from the tribal areas. The timing of the attack also roused suspicions. Just days earlier, President Musharraf's officials were talking peace with the Bajaur militants and had freed several prominent fighters as a gesture of goodwill. The two sides were due to sign a deal yesterday.

Instead, the military bombed the school and killed Maulana Liaqatullah, one of the radical clerics with whom the government had been negotiating, and badly inflamed anti-government hostility across the province. Islamist clerics and politicians said they were convinced America had spurred the attack.

[Read the rest . . .]