Blogging on Meds

Sketchy dead Taliban

Unprecedented Violence Makes Afghanistan Deadliest Front Yet in War on Terror

Damn, nine soldiers were killed in a Taliban assault Sunday. Besides the downing of a chopper in 2005, this is the single deadliest attack on American troops of the war. It comes a week after the war’s Kabul biggest Kabul bombing, on the Indian Embassy, which killed 40 and injured 200. A few weeks earlier, the Taliban staged a crazy-bold prison break which freed 400 fighters. Last month 46 US soldiers died in Afghanistan, by far the highest tally of the war. Exhale…

How bad is it? Well, applied to Iraq, where there’s more than four times as many troops, last month’s Afghanistan death total would have topped 170. By comparison, the worst month in Iraq, November 2004, saw 141 killed. Therefore, Afghanistan right now the most violent front per capita of the War on Terror.

To think, seven years in, things are worse than ever—maybe worse than ever imagined. That quagmire Johnny Apple q-headed back in 2002 is fully upon us, even though he was ridiculed for writing it at the time.

Today, the NYT shows why it’s the most important news organization in the world (by a factor of like five), featuring both an intrepid cover story from Pakistan’s tribal areas and an oped by Barack Obama on the War on Terror. The two Times’ stringers were detained for three days in the Tribal Areas after reporting on a Taliban-held marble quarry. And Barry O says he would send two combat brigades, about 10,000 more troops, to Afghanistan.

Here’s some copy about yesterday’s battle the AP report:

Militants with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars attacked the remote base in the village of Wanat in the mountainous northeastern province of Kunar at about 4:30 a.m. Sunday, with insurgents firing from homes and a mosque.

An unknown number of militants got inside the outpost, the reason the fighters were able to inflict such high casualties…

Ok, so the US Army, the most sophisticated and heavily armed fighting force in world history, somehow had a base breached by a bunch of illiterate AK-47-toting kids? I’m shocked. I’m angry and depressed.

There’s no question that this Taliban 2.0 is more powerful, organized, and well-funded than the one that took Afghanistan in the late 90s. That’s right folks, we invaded Afghanistan to remove the Taliban only for a stronger Taliban to emerge. “Regime change” actually helped the Taliban mobilize popular support. And years of battling the US have forced the Talib to become smarter, better fighters.

Is there a solution? The Taliban are hardly moderates, but as rulers they were isolationists. Unfortunately, the Taliban are Pushtu and follow a super-duper strict code of hospitality—one so deep that they’d never consider turning on their Al Qaeda guests. The world could live with the Taliban were Al Qaeda not living on their land. No negotiated settlement would erase Al Qaeda’s dedication to global jihad. Sadly, there is no near-term solution. Still, the occupation is failing…

Here’s Juan Cole on Obama’s Afghan plan:

I don’t know whether Senator Obama really wants to try to militarily occupy Afghanistan even more than is now being attempted. I wish he would talk to some old Russian officers who were there in the 1980s first…

If the Afghanistan gambit is sincere, I don’t think it is good geostrategy. Afghanistan is far more unwinnable even than Iraq. If playing it up is politics, then it is dangerous politics…

Search and destroy in Afghanistan is an even worse example of going overboard. My advice to his campaign team is to give more thought to how he can take a strong enough position on an issue to win on it, without giving away the whole store.

We who admire him don’t want Afghanistan to become an albatross around the neck of a President Obama.

Afghan tribes are fractious. They feud. Their territory is vast and rugged, and they know it like the back of their hands. Afghans are Jeffersonians in the sense that they want a light touch from the central government, and heavy handedness drives them into rebellion. Stand up Karzai’s army and air force and give him some billions to bribe the tribal chiefs, and let him apply carrot and stick himself. We need to get out of there. “Al-Qaeda” was always Bin Laden’s hype. He wanted to get us on the ground there so that the Mujahideen could bleed us the way they did the Soviets. It is a trap.

Beware.

TAGS: Al-Qaeda, attack, Barack Obama, free, India, insurgents, Iraq, kids, Mosque, NATO, NPR, obama, paris, Politics, russia, Taliban, war

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UPDATE 2:11PM: This is whole thing was a very funny joke by some viral comedian. I didn’t know, sorry. It did seem too ridiculous, but Juan Cole is pretty legit and he posted it first. Well done, viral prankster, I honestly thought you were real. That interview is the best video I’ve ever seen.

Green Zone’s Al Rasid Hotel to become casino?

Breaking: Insane McCain advisor plans to open 6000-room casino with golf course in Green Zone

I really wish this was a joke, I do. But Juan Cole posted this video of Martin Eisenstadt on Iraq TV. Eisenstadt claims he’s a McCain advisor, and that McCain backs his insanity.

Quotes from the video:

“I’m excited to bring Madonna and Elton John here. Democracy is the first step, next comes capitalism and entertainment. Because that’s what brings people together. A boxer might come from America; a mixed martial artist from Brazil.

Iraq is going to be like Berlin, Okinawa, Seoul, and it’s going to be like Las Vegas. There will be a Mosque [at the casino]. We’re going to have OTB for the camel races in Dubai! The Vegas pizazz—unapologetically—we’re going bring that here.  The rush of hitting on a 6 and 3 in Baghdad will bring people together, Sunni and Shia and Kurd.

I can assure you John McCain supports this effort. He knows how a casino, a golf course, a sauna can transform a people and a region and bring peace. Casinos fix the divide between people, like with Indians in America—they’re kids have Gameboys!

We’re in this together for at least 100 years. And I’ll see you at the black jack table. What happens in the Green Zone, stays in the Green Zone.”

Wow. This is real—-watch the video.

Ever heard of the word “Haram” (not Harem), it’s the Arabic word for verboten, forbidden, not f–king allowed or else you get your head chopped off? That’s what gambling is to Iraqis. This guy is nuts. And, of course, he has a blog, with a slogan of “Because freedom isn’t free.” From blog bio :

Founder and President of the influential Eisenstadt Group, Martin Eisenstadt is a senior fellow at the The Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy. An expert on Near Eastern military and political affairs, Mr. Eisenstadt is an advisor and liaison to the Jewish community for the John McCain presidential campaign.

Advisor? Not for long. My mind is seriously blown…wow wow wow.

TAGS: free, India, Iraq, John McCain, kids, Las Vegas, Madonna, mccain, Mosque, NSA, political, Race, Video, youtube

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Former NYT Baghdad reporter Dexter Filkins, whose million dollar advance book The Forever War (Knopf) comes out in Sept (and has been optioned by Tom Cruise), weighs in on Patrick Cockburn’s new bio of war criminal Moqtada al Sadr for TNR today.

The Wild Card
Dexter Filkins, The New Republic Published: Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Muqtada: Muqtada Al-Sadr, the Shia Revival, and the Struggle for Iraq

By Patrick Cockburn

(Scribner, 227 pp., $24)

To feel the power of Muqtada al-Sadr, the young Shiite cleric and tormentor of the Americans in Iraq, all you needed to do, in the years after the invasion, was go to the Mohsin Mosque in eastern Baghdad. There, spread in the street for a half a mile, as many as fifteen thousand young men would stand assembled, prayer mats in hand, waiting for the service to begin. The scene was safe: Mahdi Army gunmen searched the cars and the supplicants for bombs. There were no American soldiers in sight. And then, as the thousands fell to their knees, an imam would exit the mosque, climb onto a raised wooden platform, and signal the beginning of prayer. As he began, the crowd started to chant.

May God speed his appearance!
May God curse his enemies!
May God make his son triumphant!
Muqtada!
Muqtada!
Muqtada!

The “his” in the first three chants referred to the Mahdi–the messiah of Shia Islam–and the last three lines established a momentous equivalence between this redeemer and Muqtada al-Sadr. But Muqtada never showed his face; he almost never does.

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TAGS: attack, debate, election, HBO, Iran, Iraq, Islam, missing, model, Mosque, New York, New York Times, obituary, political, political parties, Politics, Shiite, Slam, spin, surf, Travel, war

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Moqtada al Sadr, who’s Mahdi Militia has been involved in fierce fighting across southern Iraq this week, has called for a truce. Initial government reaction is positive. The recent fighting is the fiercest Iraq has seen since the Surge went in to effect last summer and has left 500 dead in one week—making these some of the Iraq war’s bloodiest days. As of yesterday, Sadr still controlled the oil city of Basra, despite the efforts of 30,000 Iraqi troops backed by US air support. If the Iraqi government agrees to the truce, Sadr wins this round and increases his stock yet again. AP reports:

Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said Sunday that he was pulling his fighters off the streets nationwide and called on the government to stop raids against his followers and free them from prison.The Iraqi government quickly welcomed al-Sadr’s apparent move to resolve a widening conflict with his movement, sparked Tuesday by operations against his backers in the oil-rich southern city of Basra.

Al-Sadr’s nine-point statement was issued by his headquarters in the holy city of Najaf and broadcast through loudspeakers on Shiite mosques. It said the first point was: ”taking gunmen off the streets in Basra and elsewhere.” He also demanded that the Iraqi government stop ”haphazard raids” and release security detainees who haven’t been charged, two issues cited by his movement as reasons for fighting the government.

TAGS: free, Iraq, Mosque, Shiite, war

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Okay. Hello. I still can’t tell if unorganized, unplanned travel into foreign land is serendipitous and adventurous or if it’s stressful and hopeless. Maybe a healthy mix of both.

Left U.A.E. on Wednesday around 4pm…but before that, went to the Dubai equivalent of the DMV and Mike had to get a U.A.E. drivers license - which took four hours, two different DMV locations, an eye examination in a grocery store, and three cab rides. Fuck that. So we finally hit the road south to Oman. Getting out of U.A.E. was a breeze, but after a three hour wait in line for customs, countless amounts of line cheaters (the Scottish were the worst - they were fuckin jerks - my heritage has some patience issues), we finally got into Oman after driving on Oman’s version of the German Autobahn - drivers going 200km per hour wasn’t a rare sighting. Also, Oman has probably twelve cops per one person - or sure seemed like it. But I have never seen this many cops. Not even in Times Square, or around Ground Zero. FINALLY made it to the capital of Oman - Muscat. Or Muskat, which ever you like. Lots of names here have many spellings. You know we have like Colour vs. Color. Or Shoppe vs. Shop. Here it’s Muscat vs. Mukcat. Or Tire vs. Tyre. Not Tyre Banks - Ali’s Flat Tyre Fix. Understand?

Sit down to eat at this restaurant and their menu featured some very special meals: “hotdog club sandwich”, “lambs burger”, “hotdog burger”, “chicken lollipop”, “shrimps pizza”, and just about every other nasty combo of sandwich that you could imagine. I asked some Swedes who walked out of McDonalds where they’re staying in Muscat - to get an idea of where to go - and this is where the madness starts - finally end up lost, like really lost. Like deep in the hills lost. Drove around for three hours, popping into every hotel - had no road map of Oman, no GPS, every hotel we could find, “Sorry, no rooms.” Okay, so we figure we’re gonna have to sleep in the car. Fine. That sucks, but there was nowhere else to go when you’re tired and having brain pain. We finally get into the old part of Muscat and these kids yell out, “Are you lost? You need help?” Then after figuring out what we were saying, they point to a building with a little hotel sign. Al Mina Hotel. Yes! 200 Dirham later, I’m in the sketchiest hotel room on the planet, without hookers. Cigarette burn holes on the sheets. Phone numbers written on the wall closest to Mike’s bed. A bath towel that was comparable to highly abrasive sandpaper. Now imagine the shower. If I could have paid $5000 to levitate, I would have. So anyways, slept decently there in this hotel for about 4 hours then woke up and walked around the souk in the morning hunting for Turkish coffee. But damn, what a beautiful city Muscat is. Almost nothing modern about it, in comparison to Dubai, which is a relatively new country (35 some odd years old and big big big everything). And by far the friendliest people I’ve encountered on this trip. Everyone says, “Welcome to Oman” with a smile and a hand shake. People bought us tea, coca-colas, water, Pear juice, talked about New York - just really nice folks. We left Muscat around 4pm and headed north back into U.A.E. Got to Fujairah, which is a super nice mix of beach and mountains. Very Southern California looking - actually central coast area. Oh, on top of it being a weekend (weekends here are Thursday and Friday) it’s Mohammed’s Bday which means, good luck getting a hotel. NOT A SINGLE HOTEL available. None. Happy Birthday Mohammed! After pleading with every hotel reception worker and getting denied, we drove another two hours back to Dubai to the villa. The owner of the villa that we had rented for two weeks, Marie, had thought that since we were “going to Oman”, it would be a good idea to rent our room out to someone else while we were gone - so we got boned. So guess where Mike and I slept? In the freaking backyard, on the ground, next to the pool, with one blanket per person. I woke up at 5am to loud prayer from the Mosque around the corner and the fucking roosters. And to the flies at 6am. And to a girl wanting to swim at 8am but saw two super tall, white dudes laying on the ground at a nice villa poolside. I wonder what she thought…fuck it.

Gonna stick around Dubai until Sunday and then leave mid-day for Musandam, Oman. Fjords and shit…can’t wait.

Go to Oman. But make sure it’s not Mohammed’s Birthday when you’re there.

Chicken Lollipops and Shrimps Pizza - Are you fucking kidding me?

TAGS: dog, kids, Mosque, New York, paris, Pizza, Sandwich, Travel

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(Yesterday, Wathiq Kuzzai, displaced child.)
Today marks five years of war in Iraq. Here’s a look at what went wrong.

Four years ago I was in Baghdad. The city was in anarchy but of the free-market variety. Violence was sporadic. Hope still a viable concept. February 2004 was the most peaceful month of the last five years. But the rule of L Paul “Jerry” Bremer III and his Coalition Provisional Authority crashed so quickly—CPA Iraq may end up holding the land speed record for national collapse.

March 2004: foreigners could still walk the streets without fear of kidnapping. After dark there were dinner parties, Chinese karaoke, wood oven pizzerias, discos even. Yes, there were bombings and a small Sunni insurgency. Overall, however, the Iraqis my pal Jeff and I met (and we were on the streets as much as any foreigners in Baghdad) still radiated optimism for the future.

But as March moved forward, historical fissures combined with terrible CPA policies (disbanding the Army, ignoring the rise of Moqtada Al Sadr’s Mahdi Milita) in destroying any hope for a democratic Iraq. It happened so fast. March kicked off with a twin bombing in Karbala that killed 180. March 16th saw the first night attack in central Baghdad—a 1000 pd bomb at a hotel in cosmopolitan and foreigner heavy Karrada. A few days later, the CPA raided Moqtada Sadr’s office after he suggested opening a Hezzbollah branch in Sadr City. Many says the order came from DC via Ariel Sharon in Israel, a “No Hezz in Iraq” type of thing.

So, in the last week of March, Sadr’s followers—the Mahdi Militia—took to Baghdad’s streets. On the same day that 10,000 Shiites protested at the gates of the Green Zone, four Blackwater mercenaries were ambushed in Fallujah, dragged from their SUV Somalia style. That night I was in the Republican Palace, a gaudy neo-Islamic uber-bunker—the former seat of Saddam’s Baath Part, then the CPA’s HQ, and now the US Embassy. I could hear the Sadr’s followers chanting as I watched the Blackwater guys’ charred, broken corpses dangle from a green bridge on TV. A high-level diplomat (FS-1) was among those in the room, a large command center looking office ominoisly dubbed “Baghdad Central.”

“Civil war is closer than ever,” the conversation went. “These Shiites could take this place in a few hours. We couldn’t stop 10,000 men. It would be choppers on the roof,” ala Saigon. Considering three weeks earlier I’d sat in that very room for a meeting on “civil society taking root in Iraq,” a civil war’s sudden arrival was the shock of my young life.

(Blackwater hangs in Fallujah)

If March 2004 was the month the pot started bubbling, April 4th—Black Sunday as it was later known—was the day Iraq boiled over. Suddenly Iraq was engulfed in a two-front nation-wide uprising. To the west, the Sunnis in Fallujah, a city of 300,000, were fighting 10,000 US troops, who invaded to avenge the Blackwater slaughter. In Baghdad’s Sadr City slum and across Iraq’s Shia south, Sadr’s Mahdi Militia revolted against the occupation. What seemed impossible a few weeks earlier—all-out war—exploded in two weeks time!

I still haven’t grasped the utter speed with which Iraq turned to hell. I never will.

(Augist 2004: Mahdi Militia fighter in Battle of Najaf vs US forces, 1000 killed)

Through the summer of 2004, Sadr continued his antics and the Sunnis expanded their war on the US. But the CPA controlled information with Nazi efficiency and Iraq’s decline never properly entered the US Presidential debate. Right after Bush won his second term, 10,000 US troop leveled Fallujah. In response, 2005 saw the Sunnis pick up the pace and hone their tactics. Meanwhile, the US increased sorties in the air war against the Mahdi and Sunni insurgency. Every day bombs crushed a house or two in Fallujah or Sadr City, urban areas so densely populated collateral damage is imminent.

(Fallujah fall 2004, 1000 killed)

Shiites came to power in the fall of 2005, when national elections saw 75% voter turnout. Still, many Sunnis boycotted or were afraid to vote, so they were underrepresented in the new government.

By February 2006 the Sunnis’ primary target was Shiite power. And their primary tactic was terrorizing the civilian population. But the Sunnis overplayed their hand. On Feb 20th, they attacked the Al-Askari shrine in Samarra, a 1000-year-old mosque central to Shia identity. That was a Friday. By Monday Shiite militias had killed over a 1000 Sunni, according to the Washington Post.

Just like that—snap—Iraq was a full blown civil war. Iran increased support for the Shiite militias. And Saudi funds continued flowing to the Sunni. Both sides stole oil profits to fund their wars.

(Samarra shrine bombed, Feb 2006, 1000 killed in aftermath)

Tit for tat sectarian violence cleansed mixed neighborhoods, partitioning Baghdad north-south down the Tigris: the Sunnis got the south-east and Shiites the west and northeast. The US was undermanned to defend Iraq; the 2 million refugees and 2 million internally displaced, nearly a quarter of the population, make Iraq the largest war on earth.

The US was now obviously losing the war. In the 2006 mid-term election, Iraq’s demise cost the GOP Congress. The next month, December, saw the release of Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group Report. Bulleted out were recommendations: engage the neighbors, remove troops, push for reconciliation. Buried deep in the report was a concept conceived by a Democrat, former Defense Secretary William Perry, to provide a short term troop “surge” to establish security. Of all the ideas in the ISG report, Bush chose this one. Much of America and the world were flabbergasted. More troops, I remember thinking, that’s what you come up with asshole?

But I was wrong. Adding 30,000 combat troops to the equation worked. Security—the most important step towards Iraqi stability—dramatically improved. And from the summer until the beginning of 2008 Iraq calmed down to levels not seen since 2005. Most importantly, the Sunni got sick of the Shia hate they’d unleashed, and chose to ally with the Americans. Now 80,000 US-backed Sunni Awakening Council members patrol Iraq, albeit outside the writ of the central government. At the same time, Moqtada al Sadr’s Mahdi Militia has been under a cease fire.

Yet, as the ISG Report stated, there is no “magic bullet” for Iraq. What the Surge has opened is a window, a tenuous peace with a chance to move forward. But that window is now closing. Violence was up 33% in February. March is off to a bloody start. Attacks on US troops are stuck at 2005 levels. Not the bliss of early 2004, but better than the bloodbath of 2006-7. The Iraqi political front is deadlocked. And neither US political party is offering realistic plans for Iraq. McCain wants endless war. By calling for immediate withdrawal, Hillary and Obama ignore the Iraqi people, who, according to the New York Times’ chief Baghdad hand John Burns, have “an overwhelming desire to see American troops remain long enough to restore stability.”

As for Iraq’s future, only one thing is certain: the Iraq war and America’s involvement in it remain far from over. As for Iraq’s place in history, only one thing is certain: hundreds of thousands have died in a preemptive war launched on shoddy intelligence.

TAGS: attack, Congress, debate, drama, election, free, GOP, HBO, Hillary, Iran, Iraq, Islam, mccain, Mosque, NATO, New York, New York Times, obama, political, Shiite, Slam, war

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Greetings from Dubai.

Holy crap. Not that big of a deal so far…except it’s freakin insane. So yes, it’s actually a big deal here. Trying to actually get the grasp of what’s going on here in terms of construction, massiveness, sprawl, amount of people, or maybe the amount of “Americanization” even in an area of the world where I’d not expect to see this. I’m kinda obsessed with how much American shit is here. Fast food, automobiles, clothing, music, faux culture… In a few days or so I’m getting out of Dubai and heading into the deserts of the rest of United Arab Emirates and Oman and see some sand dunes, sheppards, hawk trainers, a non mall souk, off roading in a 4×4, kids with guns, you know, the normal day-to-day gnarly stuff. Papa Persia told me directly via Melika to stay out of Kish (Iran) so I might take his word. Unless I have an Iranian entourage that will take care of me.

This place is CRAZY - did I say that already? It’s literally the most hypocritical, kinda ridiculous but awesome, playground for the wealthiest people (Arabs) on the planet - which doesn’t necessarily make it cool…but keeps it interesting I walked around all day today, went to the beautiful beach, walked some more to the souk (but it was a wack souk - not authentic at all), stumbled upon some horrific boat show in the marina and saw what I thought was the most expensive superyachts - the yachts in the marina here had price tags of upwards of 50,000,000 Euro., crazy hotels ($700 a night??) the most expensive cars zipping up and down Jumeirah Beach Rd., the most expensive this, the most expensive that - whatever - mean while, the Mosques are blaring prayer - contrasting the new Puff Diddy/Mariah Carey songs coming out of these super wealthy prince-like kids’ Mercedes Benz with 20 inch “dubs.” Such a shock for that reason alone. Pizza Hut here, McDonalds here, K.F.C. inside a Starbucks inside a T.G.I.Fridays over there (nah, kidding). I swear that where I am is a mix of Newport Beach mixed with Miami mixed with Beverly Hills mixed with old Iranian and Saudi oil money mixed with tons of German tourists mixed with Las Vegas mixed with the Upper West side snobbery mixed with Disneyland and a sprinkle/dash/pinch of slave like workers from Bangladesh, India and Malaysia. I must say, this city/country’s people have been very welcoming and very warm and open. But I’m starting to think that with a overall population made up of 80% of ex-pats, along with countless amounts of tourists, we (they) have completely tarnished what U.A.E. once had - culture wise. From what some neo-local’s have said, the U.A.E. is doing a good job of weening itself off of it’s oil money and instead opting for other means of capital. And in fact, the U.A.E. wants Dubai to be THE world hub, not A world hub - which makes sense that all this construction is happening not now, but right now.

p.s. There’s a Tony Roma’s rib joint here. Not sure why that’s so funny to me, but it is.

p.p.s. There’s also a freakin ski slope in a mall. You can pay to ski, in the desert, in a mall. Not weird at all.

p.p.p.s. Dubai’s customs was a breeze. Don’t even worry about it.

p.p.p.p.s. T.G.I.Fridays here are called Where It’s Always Friday - I think because of the “God” in T.G.I.F.

Sorry, I’m so crazy over the Americana awfulness here.

I guess that’s really it for today. Kinda soaking it all in. Another update tomorrow with nicer pictures and not so much American shit to look at.

TAGS: India, Iran, kids, Las Vegas, Malaysia, mariah carey, Mosque, Music, NSA, Pizza, war

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“It’s Always Darkest Before The Dawn”… especially in India. It seems the sub-continent is either obsessed with late 80’s / early 90’s New Jersey melodic hardcore band Turning Point, or they have a penchant for naming things English words and phrases that don’t necessarily make sense.

Embroidered jacket outside the Red Fort, Old Delhi:

Cafe in Agra (note the “Minimal Water” for sale):

Along with extensive people-watching and sight-seeing, Erin and I were able to enjoy a few culinary delights on our recent spring-break blast through Mumbai, Delhi, Agra and Jaipur (alas, we mostly avoided street food as our 10 day trip was too short a time to afford getting infectious diarrhea). However, restaurants of note we did try were the Oberoi hotel in Delhi (same owners as Cairo’s Mena House) and the R.W. Apple, Jr. recommended TRISHNA in Mumbai’s swanky colonial-respite Fort neighborhood. Here’s an excerpt from Mr. Apple’s final column:

MUMBAI, INDIA Trishna, Birla Mansion, Sai Baba Marg, Fort; (91-22) 2270-3213.

This, I think, is the only truly remarkable restaurant I have ever discovered solely on the recommendation of a friend of a friend. Dubious, Betsey and I made our way there one night years ago and liked it so much that we went back 72 hours later. It was not the décor, which is shabby, or the service, which can be surly, and certainly not the menu, which is very nearly useless. It’s the food, stupid, the seafood.

Enormous king crabs fresh from the Indian Ocean, awash in butter, and seasoned with garlic and pepper until they make the lips tingle but not sting, draw an eager crowd of Mumbai businessmen and Bollywood stars to this little establishment on a crowded, noisy alley in the old Fort district. If you like, your crab will be brought to the table before cooking, still alive and dangling from a string held by a waiter.

These are among the world’s choicest crustaceans, and I say that as someone who lives 25 miles from the Chesapeake. But Ravi Anchan has plenty of other savory delights up his sleeve, including tender little pomfret (a kind of butterfish) barbecued in the style of Hyderabad, with black pepper; deep-fried squid; and gorgeous, never-frozen tiger prawns grilled with mint. Don’t mind the waiters; insist and they will bring what you want.

(L) Calamari; (R) Crab, Prawn (the size of a soda can), and Garlic Naan:

Jama Masjid, Delhi - one of India’s largest Mosques and Sally Kern’s worst nightmare:

Finally, I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around this Nehru graffiti from Jaipur. As a founding father, would the American equivalent be George Washington graf? Or based on time would JFK be a more appropriate comparison? A problem arises when you consider that, although dominant, the Kennedy dynasty has nothing on the Nehru/Gandhi’s. I propose it’s like JFK graffiti if Nancy Pelosi was John, Jr.’s wife and wasn’t in that plane over Long Island Sound. How’s that?

TAGS: India, Islam, Jr., Mosque, Seafood, Travel

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Photo: Akhtar Soomro for The New York Times

Senators McCain and Clinton are now on the same team at least until the Texas and Ohio primaries. Obama will have to fight off attacks from the both of them. Last night on MSNBC Howard Fineman of Newsweek said the Clinton campaign thinks the loss in Wisconsin (which turned out to be anything but close) could have been much worse if it wasn’t for the attack politics.

Last night McCain held up his end of the bargain when he specifically attacked Obama on Pakistan saying:

Today, political change in Pakistan is occurring that might affect our relationship with a nuclear armed nation that is indispensable to our success in combating al Qaeda in Afghanistan and elsewhere. . .

Will the next President have the experience, the judgment experience informs, and the strength of purpose to respond to each of these developments in ways that strengthen our security and advance the global progress of our ideals? Or will we risk the confused leadership of an inexperienced candidate who once suggested invading our ally, Pakistan, and sitting down without pre-conditions or clear purpose with enemies who support terrorists and are intent on destabilizing the world by acquiring nuclear weapons?’

Today on his must read blog Informed Comment Juan Cole came to the aid of Senator Obama and offered his own critique on Senator McCain’s history in the region.

I personally think that Obama was unwise to make the statement he did, because there are some things better left unsaid. But aside from pure pacifists, what American would not pull the trigger on that old monster Usamah if he or she had the chance? I mind McCain pulling a Rove and making hay with a policy stance of his opponent that he actually agrees with.

And I think there is good reason to ask whether McCain helped create al-Qaeda and the mess in Pakistan to begin with. It is time for someone to start holding the Cold Warriors who deployed a militant Muslim covert army against their leftist enemies accountable for the blow-back they created.

Cole the takes an in-depth look at a quote that was made by McCain after jump

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The United States Institute of Peace is a Washington-based non-partisan institution funded by Congress focusing on conflict resolution and post-conflict stability. Below is their report on Pakistan (thanks to Jeff Neumann). Though I disagree with it’s thesis:

“This combination of factors leads to what several experts have termed the more realistic “nightmare scenario”: an act or series of actions that would lead to a full-scale insurrection of the Pushtun-dominated regions of Pakistan against the government.”

The true nightmare scenario is a coordinated uprising not only by Pashtuns but also Sindhi and Baluchi nationalists against the Punjabi led army and government. Those three states are already fighting Punjab Province in one way or another. Right now, Baluchistan is in low level civil war over natural resources. On top of that, the Baluchi capital of Quetta is a Taliban and Al-Qaeda staging ground. Meanwhile, much of Sindh Province is lost to government control. It’s major political party, the PPP, just lost its leader and hates the Punjabis in power. A break-up of Pakistan is the true nightmare. Imagine the carnage in Karachi, the cosmopolitan port city of 16 million located in Sindh but ruled by Mohairis aka post-1947 Indian refugees loyal to the Punjabis…

A Toxic Cocktail by By J Alexander Thier

Pakistan, a nuclear-armed, predominantly Muslim nation of 165 million, has experienced a dramatic rise in political turmoil and violence in the last year. Following the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on December 27, 2007, analysts have raised serious concerns about Pakistan’s stability and the possibility of a collapse of the federation>

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From VQR:

Word comes to us early this morning that Nicholas Schmidle, a regular contributor to VQR, has been deported by the Pakistan government, in the wake of his reporting for VQR, theNew York Times, Slate, and others. According to Schmidle, the government was most upset about his travels to Baluchistan (off-limits to journalists), one of which he detailed in “Waiting for the Worst” in our Spring 2007 issue.

What a shame. Schmidle has done some of the best work from Pakistan recently.

I remember when in Pakistan in 2006 asking the wife of the Pakistani Ambassador to Egypt whether she could arrange visas for travel to Baluchistan for myself and television journalist/alcoholic Inigo Gilmore. Her response: “Not if you want to a) live or b) ever come to Pakistan again in your life.”

She also said, “Baluchistan could easily become the next East Pakistan (aka Bangladesh),” meaning Pakistan’s largest province could breakaway from national authority. Since then, the focus in Pakistan has been on terrorism in the Tribal Areas, the Red Mosque, and the judicial crisis. Yet the Baluchi insurgency remains…

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Dan Pepper, 27, is a freelance journalist returning to Baghdad for the first time since 2004. Read his first report for Time (more…)

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