Pakistan -- the New Afghanistan

Good news. It's open season on al-Qaeda leaders, no matter where they are. More interesting, however, is Obama's war against Pakistan. We've invaded the country, killing lots of bad guys, including bin Laden. So far, the US has carried the ball.

What's Pakistan doing to fight the al-Qaeda forces and other "enemy" forces? Very little. Why should they? It seems the leaders of Pakistan have an agenda that might not appeal to many Americans.

What side are the power elites of Pakistan on? Clearly not our side. They don't object too strenuously when the US kills people in Pakistan. At the same time, they fail to find and kill the bad guys, which suggests their behavior is mere posturing. They pretend to object while American forces fly drones and SEAL Team 6 kills high-value targets, and they'll handle things this way until the US departs.

Then the truth about Pakistan will come out. Maybe India will step in.

Ilyas Kashmiri Dead: Al Qaeda Commander Killed In Pakistan In U.S. Drone Strike, Official Says

06/ 4/11

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — A top al-Qaida commander and possible replacement for Osama bin Laden was killed in an American drone-fired missile strike close to the Afghan border, the militant group he heads and a Pakistani intelligence official said Saturday.

Ilyas Kashmiri's death is another blow to al-Qaida just over a month after bin Laden was killed by American commandos in a northwest Pakistani army town. Described by U.S. officials as al-Qaida's military operations chief in Pakistan, he was one of five most-wanted militant leaders in the country, accused in a string of bloody attacks, including the 2008 Mumbai massacre.

His death was not confirmed publicly by the United States or Pakistani officials. Verifying who has been killed in the drone strikes is difficult. Initial reports have turned out to be wrong in the past, or are never formally denied or confirmed by authorities here or in the United States.

But a fax from the militant group he was heading – Harakat-ul-Jihad al-Islami's feared "313 Brigade" – confirmed Kashmiri was "martyred" in the strike at 11:15 p.m. Friday in South Waziristan tribal region. It vowed revenge against America.

The Pakistani official also said Kashmiri was among nine militants killed in the strike. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with his agency's policy.

Kashmiri's name was on a list of militants that the United States and Pakistan recently agreed to jointly target, officials have said. The successful strike could help repair ties between the two countries that were badly damaged by the unilateral American raid, especially if Islamabad helped provide intelligence leading up to the attack.

The 47-year-old Pakistani, said to be blind in one eye and missing a finger, was one of the country's most accomplished – and vicious – militants. He was so close to al-Qaida's central command that he had been mentioned as a contender for replacing bin Laden.

Indian officials have alleged he was involved in the 2008 Mumbai siege that killed more than 160 people. He has also been named a defendant in an American court over a planned attack on a Danish newspaper that published cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in 2005.

Kashmiri has most recently been linked to last month's 18-hour assault on a naval base in Karachi. He is also accused of masterminding several bloody raids on Pakistan police and intelligence buildings in 2009 and 2010, as well as a failed assassination attempt against then-President Pervez Musharraf in 2003.

The U.S Department of State says he organized a 2006 suicide bombing against the U.S. consulate in Karachi that killed four people, including an American diplomat.

In September 2009, officials said Kashmiri was believed to have been killed in a drone strike. The report turned out to be wrong. The United States does not acknowledge firing the missiles, though its officials have confirmed the death of high-value targets before.

Driving While Christian -- in Pakistan

Plurality? Tolerance? Multiculturalism? Acceptance? Respect? Peace? Isn't that what Islam is all about?

Gunmen Kill Pakistan's Religious Minorities Minister

Mr. Bhatti was Pakistan's government minister for religious minorities and a member of Pakistan's Christian community, which makes up about 5% of the country's population.

ISLAMABAD—Suspected Islamic militants shot dead Pakistan's federal minister for minority affairs who had campaigned for reforming the country's controversial blasphemy law.

Shahbaz Bhatti, one of the few Christians in a senior government position, was traveling in Islamabad, the capital, to attend a cabinet meeting when three gunmen open fire on his car. Eyewitness and police said the gunmen dragged Mr. Bhatti out of his car and shot him several times before escaping in a white Suzuki vehicle. Mr. Bhatti was shot eight times and died on the spot. His driver was also seriously injured.

No group immediately claimed responsibility. But the attackers left leaflets saying they had acted in the name of the Punjabi Taliban and al Qaeda.

"This is the horrible fate of this cursed person," read the leaflet. It also blamed the government of putting an "infidel Christian" in an important position. The killing of Mr. Bhatti, a Catholic in his 40s, further deepens the political instability in a country where secular-minded politicians are increasingly at odds with a rising strain of Islamism in the middle classes.

It also complicates the role of the U.S. in Pakistan. Washington has strengthened ties with the government of President Asif Ali Zardari, including a massive new civilian aid package. But the government, viewed as too pro-U.S. and secular by many Pakistanis, is increasingly unpopular.

The U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter, in a statement condemned the killing of Mr. Bhatti, who he called a "Pakistani patriot and a voice for understanding."

In January, Salmaan Taseer, governor of Punjab province and a key ally of Mr. Zardari, was killed by his police bodyguard. Mr. Taseer, a Muslim, also had spoken out against the blasphemy law, which human rights groups and others say has been used to target minority groups like Christians and Ahmadi Muslims.

The police guard said he shot Mr. Taseer in a posh Islamabad shopping center because of his stance on the blasphemy issue. The guard is facing trial but has been feted as a hero by some religious groups and other sectors of the middle classes like lawyers' associations.

Mr. Bhatti had angered Islamic extremists for urging changes in the law which sanctions the death penalty to anyone found guilty of blasphemy against the prophet Muhammed.

He was head of a parliamentary committee which was examining misuse of the law. In many cases, people have used it to settle local scores unrelated to religion, human rights groups say. In recent media interviews, Mr. Bhatti had vowed to continue his campaign against the law, despite receiving repeated death threats from the Islamists.

Wajid Durrani, Islamabad's police chief, said Mr. Bhatti was provided protection in view of the threat to his life but was traveling without his security detail at the time of the attack.

The loss of one of the most prominent leaders of Pakistan's small Christian community comes amid increased persecution from Islamists. Last year, a court sentenced a Pakistani Christian farm worker to death for blasphemy. The Vatican and rights groups have slammed the verdict and called for her release.

Christians are the largest religious minority in the country, where about 5% of the nations's 180 million population are non-Muslims. "We have lost our most courageous spokesman," said Akram Massig Gil, a Christian member of parliament.

Authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy since the laws were tightened under the Islamist dictator Gen. Zia-ul-Haq in the 1980s. But human rights groups say the laws have encouraged militant violence against minorities. Scores of people, most of them Christians, are in detention facing trial under the law.

"Bhatti's murder is the bitter fruit of appeasement of extremist and militant groups," Human Rights Watch, the New York-based rights advocacy group, said in a statement.

Mr. Bhatti's killing also is likely to deepen security concerns for others who have spoken out against the blasphemy law. Sherry Rehman, a former minister of information and prominent opponent of the law, is currently in hiding.

Frank Capra -- Why We Fight

Most of us know or have heard that Frank Capra was a movie man connected to the making of "It's A Wonderful Life." Some know he made some documentary films for the US Military around the World War II years. One of his films, "Why We Fight" is probably the best. One segment, titled "Prelude to War," won an Oscar.

In this film, a popular Japanese slogan appears. It says "To Die for the Emperor is to Live Forever."

Sounds eerily similar to the Islamic belief that dying in a suicide bombing in which non-muslims are murdered is an act that will earn the killer more sexual opportunity in an eternal paradise than even Tiger Woods can imagine.

Unfortunately, our president is doing his best to protect the leaders of the muslim terrorists most determined to destroy the US, the West and Israel.