The government of Pakistan was set to begin an official
dialog with the Taliban. This would not
be the first time this has been attempted.
Several times in the past the Taliban have agreed to a cease fire only
to use the time to regroup and rearm before breaking the peace. The big difference is that this time, 18
hours before the first official contact was scheduled to take place, a US Drone
strike killed the head of the Pakistani Taliban along with his 2nd
in command. Now I am not personally a
fan of drone strikes. I feel we have
used them without sufficient controls in the past. This time though we seem to have used them
correctly. This guy was a complete
turd. He was a vicious prick and had done
innumerable harm to the Pakistani people.
Now there have been many drone strikes since I arrived in Islamabad 7
months ago, so why choose to bring this one up?
Because Meshud was the target, there is the likelihood his minions will
attempt to strike a retaliatory blow. Or
to put it another way, because the US killed their leader, the TTP may decide
to try and kill some Americans. So, this
weekend has been a slow one. We have
been restricted to our walled and guarded houses today. No travel unless absolutely necessary and
then only in armored vehicles. This is
my life in Islamabad.
We found out about the strike Saturday morning. We were told to be back at our houses by
sunset and not to leave. I was planning
to go for a bike ride today (Sunday) so I decided to ride my bike home. It isn’t very far, only a few miles. I knew I wouldn’t be able to ride today but
at least I’d have a nice ride home. I
love riding bikes here in Pakistan. It
is safer to ride here then the states.
As crazy as it is to drive here, they do pay more attention to pedestrians,
bikes, cows, goats, monkeys… well, you get the picture. In Malibu cars run into parked cars on the
PCH. I’ve never seen that here. The other thing I love about riding a bike
here is the reaction I get from the Pakistanis.
If I so much as say hello and smile they give me the most amazing smiles
in return. They are such a gracious
people. They make me feel so welcome
here. I suppose that seems odd to many
Americans. Most people I know back in
the US think I live in a bed of terrorists.
The reality is quite different. I
won’t lie, things do happen here, occasionally very bad things. A few months ago Taliban suicide bombers
murdered 80+ Christians as they left mass in Peshawar. One of our house staff lost 8 member of her
immediate family in that terrorist attack.
You would think she’d be bitter in this Muslim land. She went on to tell how the Islamic community
of Peshawar did their best to protect the Christians following this attack. They provided security, they provided food
and shelter, they were aghast that such a cowardly act had taken place in their
city. Pakistan is a complicated place
with complex problems that defy sound bite answers.
So, for those of you that still worry about my safety,
please don’t. I am in a place where
people have a very difficult life, and despite that, do not hate strangers, or
one another. It is the poverty here in
Pakistan that is the enemy. It is the
lack of education. It is the
corruption. The people of Pakistan are
not the enemy. So, a small request: next
time you hear someone going on about “all those damn terrorists in Pakistan”
set them straight. People are not that
different anywhere in the world. There
is no country anywhere on the planet made up primarily of terrorists. So if someone is trying to convince you
otherwise they are either ignorant or have their own hateful agenda. I don’t know what the future brings for
Pakistan but I do know I will have lifelong friends here.
Beautiful testimony to the humanity of all people
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