Conflicts

The political process of Consensus seems like the greatest victim today. Bush, Musharrif, and Karzai are having a diplomatic conflict. Bush sided with Musharrif in his Agreement with the Tribes along the border, after Musharrif claims the U.S. Government threatened to bomb Pakistan back to the Stone Ages if he did not join Bush's War on Terror; Karzai claiming that Musharrif was making a deal with the Tribes who supported the Talibon. Hamas refuses to back their President's claim to recognize Israel. The Army is split between Donald Rumfield's desire to maintain current Force size, Army Command, National Guard Command, and retired Army officers over the Force readiness of the current Army. PGL at Angry Bear even highlights some of the conflict on Inequality on the Net.

Analysis: Bush is willing to sell out Karzai in order to get Musharrif to help capture ben Laden; I still estimate ben Laden could best be found sitting in a villa in Saudi Arabia. No Representative of Hamas could ever to expected to recognize the State of Israel, assasination being too prevalent in the warm, sunny land of the Gaza Strip. The retired Army officers are the only ones who can speak honestly about the Army, everyone else has either an out-of-date axe to grind, or suffer the threat of removal. The National Guard will likely get the shaft again, as it is the politically-expedient thing to do, and will again go to Iraq and Afghanistan underequipped and understaffed. In any case, nothing will be done until after the interim Elections in November. lgl