The Great Game heats up.....Plus, some
things to think about.....MichellePakistan Bomb That Killed 53 Aimed to Destroy Hotel (Update1)
By James Rupert
Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The truck bomb that killed 53 people in the Pakistani capital Islamabad yesterday tried to smash its way through the Marriott hotel's entry barricades in a bid to bring the building down, security camera footage showed.
The security gates kept the truck from entering the compound and causing more casualties than the 53 people who lost their lives in the blast, said Rehman Malik, senior adviser to the interior ministry, at a press conference in Islamabad today.
Two Americans, a Vietnamese woman and the Czech ambassador to Pakistan were among the dead, he said.
The speeding truck, loaded with at least 600 kilograms (1,300 pounds) of explosive, swerved into the gate and burned for several minutes before detonating, according to a video shown by Malik at the briefing. Guards scattered when the truck rammed the barrier, and again moments later when a small explosion ignited a fire in the cab.
The driver's actions and the size of the bomb indicated that the attacker meant to ram the truck into the building and pull down the six-story structure, Malik said. When the truck's main charge erupted, the blast shattered the facade and interior, and ignited fires that gutted the building. Hundreds of guests and hotel staff escaped when the building failed to collapse.
During several minutes while the truck burned, a lone security guard approached with a fire extinguisher and tried to put out the blaze. It was not clear whether, if he had succeeded, the massive explosion that followed might have been averted.
Truck Bomb
The truck was packed with high-grade TNT, trinitrotoluene, or RDX, cyclotrimethylene-trinitramine, a military explosive, said Malik, as well as mortar bombs, artillery shells and an incendiary aluminum powder. He described the bomb as the biggest ever used in a terrorist attack in Pakistan.
Malik said the investigation is at too early a stage to say who committed the attack ``but previously, all the investigations, all the roads have led to South Waziristan and to Tehrik-i- Taliban,'' the main Pakistani Taliban movement.
South Waziristan is the stronghold of Taliban commander Baitullah Mahsud, whose guerrillas fight U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and whom Pakistan blames for numerous suicide bombings, including the December assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Pakistan says Mahsud is a senior al-Qaeda figure, and the CIA said this year that Waziristan has become a new base for al-Qaeda. No group has claimed responsibility for yesterday's attack. The previous suicide car-bombing in Islamabad, against the Danish embassy in June, was claimed by al-Qaeda.
Help Rejected
Malik rebuffed a U.S. offer for FBI help in investigating the attack.
``We reject it,'' he said. ``Our agencies are quite competent.''
The attack came hours after President Asif Ali Zardari pledged to resist recent incursions into Waziristan and other border areas by U.S. forces in Afghanistan battling Mahsud and his allies. Zardari spoke in his first speech to parliament since succeeding Pervez Musharraf on Sept. 9.
The U.S. Embassy gave no confirmation of Malik's report of two U.S. citizens killed. The other foreigners killed were Czech ambassador Ivo Zdarek, who had recently arrived to take up his post, and a Vietnamese woman accompanying him, Malik said.
The 290-room Marriot, located a kilometer (0.6 mile) from Pakistan's parliament, presidency and ministries, was hit by smaller bombs in 2004 and 2007.
U.S. Support
U.S. President George W. Bush vowed to ``fully support the democratically elected government of Pakistan and the Pakistani people as they face enormous challenges economically as well as from terrorism,'' in his condemnation of the attack.
Bush is to meet Zardari on Sept. 23 during the United Nations General Assembly session in New York.
The attack may heighten long-running tensions between Pakistan and the United States over how aggressively to use military force against the Taliban and their allies. It ``will create more of a disconnect in terms of how the U.S. looks at terrorism in Pakistan and how Pakistan looks at it,'' Hassan Abbas, a former security official and now a researcher on Pakistani politics at Harvard University, said by telephone.
``The U.S. will see terrorism in Pakistan getting stronger and will think if Pakistan can't control it then they will take control of it,'' Abbas said. ``Pakistan will be thinking that U.S. involvement over the past years has led to this reaction.'' To contact the reporter on this story: James Rupert in Islamabad jrupert3@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: September 21, 2008 10:08 EDT Source: www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601091&sid=aXrwOZ9BhAe4------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 21, 2008 -- Updated 1717 GMT (0117 HKT)
Official: Hotel blast 'biggest attack' in 7 years for PakistanISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- More than 1,300 pounds of explosives were packed into a construction truck that detonated outside an Islamabad hotel, killing 57 people, including two Americans and a diplomat, officials said Sunday.
Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the Saturday attack at the Marriott Hotel "is the biggest attack, volume-wise" in Pakistan in seven years.
Two American military personnel who worked for the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad were among those killed, the U.S. military said. A Lithuanian and the Czech Republic's ambassador to Pakistan, Ivo Zdarek, also were among the fatalities, police superintendent Sheikh Zubair said.
The suicide truck blast injured 266 people, including 11 foreigners, according to Malik.
British Airways temporarily suspended its flights to Islamabad as a result of the security situation, according to an airline spokeswoman who did not want to be named. A Sunday night flight has been canceled, and the airline is reviewing its operations for later in the week.
British Airways operates at least three flights a week to the Pakistani capital out of London's Heathrow Airport.
At a news conference in Islamabad on Sunday, Pakistani authorities released security video of the blast, showing a small explosion inside the truck before the larger, deadly explosion.
In the video, a large truck crashes into the security gate, sending one security officer scurrying for safety. Then, as security guards approach the truck, the top of the vehicle explodes and the security guards flee.
A small cloud of smoke appears above the truck, which is engulfed in flames minutes later. One of the security guards tries to put out the fire with a hand-held extinguisher, to no avail. The guards then walk away, and the camera freezes on the burning truck.
Pakistani officials said the blast apparently disrupted electricity to the area, causing the closed-circuit television camera to malfunction.No arrests have been made in connection with the attack, Malik said Sunday, adding that militants in Pakistan's tribal regions are suspected of orchestrating the attack.
"I am not in a position to tell you who has done it, but [in] all the previous investigations, all the roads have gone to South Waziristan," he said.
South Waziristan is one of Pakistan's seven tribal areas where Taliban and al Qaeda militants are active.
At the bombing site, video showed a deep crater in the pavement where the bomb detonated. More than a dozen cars were reduced to twisted steel.
The crater was 24 feet deep and nearly 60 feet wide, Malik said. The blast also caused a natural gas leak that set the top floor of the five-story, 258-room hotel on fire, police said. The blaze quickly engulfed the entire structure.
Most of the fatalities appeared to be drivers, who were waiting with their cars outside the Marriott, and hotel security guards, Geo TV's Hamid Mir said.
The hotel, where a standard room costs more than $300 per night, is near the compound that contains the Parliament building, the prime minister's house, the Supreme Court and the presidency.
The blast occurred about 7:50 p.m., after the breaking of the fast during the holy month of Ramadan, Malik said.
Trees were felled by the explosion, which occurred hours after newly elected President Asif Ali Zardari addressed a joint session of Parliament and promised to root out terrorism.
A few hours after the attack, Zardari addressed the nation on television, saying he knows the pain of terrorism after his wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was killed in December on the campaign trail.
"My heart cries tears of blood. I can understand your pain. I want to ask you to turn this pain into your strength," he said, describing extremism as "a cancer, which we will finish."
"In the holy month of Ramadan, no Muslim can act in this way. These people are not Muslims," he said. "I appeal to all democratic nations to help us get rid of this menace."
The Marriott, a Western brand-name hotel, has been the site of attacks in the past.
Malik said authorities had received a threat against Parliament two days ago.
"We had taken all security measures," he said. "There was heavy security in the city."
Located near the diplomatic section of the city and heavily guarded by police and the military, the hotel is popular among tourists and had been packed Saturday night. Any vehicle entering the facility is searched, its underside checked for bombs, before it is allowed to pass through heavy steel gates.
The British High Commission in Islamabad said six British nationals -- five adults and one minor -- were injured in the attack, including three commission members. A Pakistani staff member of the commission was also injured, it said.
A spokeswoman for the German Foreign Ministry said six Germans in the hotel were slightly hurt in the attack, and that all embassy personnel were accounted for.
CNN's Zein Basravi and Reza Sayah, and journalist Tomas Etzler contributed to this report.Source: edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/21/pakistan.islamabad.marriott.blast/------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Official: warning on terrorist attack in Islamabad received 3 days ago www.chinaview.cn 2008-09-21 21:16:09
ISLAMABAD, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's interior ministry said on Sunday that the authorities had information three days ago that terrorists would carry out a attack in the capital Islamabad.
"We had information that terrorist can strike near the parliament or any other place in Islamabad," Interior Advisor to the prime minister Rehman Malik told reporters at a news conference. The suicide bomber used a dumper, carrying construction material, for the attack, he said, adding that the bomber wanted to target Hotel Marriot.
He said that the Saturday suicide attack was the biggest in terms of volume and the quantity of explosives used in seven years.
He informed the reporters that 600 kg of explosives were used for the attack.
Preliminary investigations showed that RDX and TNT of high intensity were used for the attack, which is used by the army, he added. The explosion created a crater of over 18 meters wide and 16 meters deep on the road, Malik said.
He rejected the reported offer by the United States to help Pakistani investigators to probe the deadliest suicide attack in Pakistan in seven years.
"We do not need any help. We are competent, we reject it," Malik said when asked if Pakistan will seek help from the American investigators.
He said that the bomber targeted Hotel Marriot, an international chain, to attract attention of the world, adding that foreign investors and journalists stay in the hotel.
Malik did not blame any group for the attack but said that most of such attacks in the past had roots in the tribal region of Waziristan bordering Afghanistan.
"Unless we complete investigation as to who's done it, I can not blame any one but all the roads have gone to South Waziristan in the previous investigations," he said.
He confirmed 53 deaths and 266 others injured. He also added that four foreigners, including the ambassador of the Czech Republic, were killed and 11 others were injured. The injured included British and German.
Asked if the American marines were staying at the hotel when the attack happened, the advisor said that U.S. marines may have been staying there, but their stay does not justify to kill hundreds of innocent people.
"The U.S. should not be a reason for attack on other people," Malik said.
He denied reports about the arrest of any one in connection with the attack and said that no arrest had been made and investigation teams are working hard.
Malik asked the reporters not to air interviews of the militants, who he said are killing innocent people.
"Please stop glorification of the militants," he added.
He said that several foreigners had been arrested in the tribal region of Bajaur, who have links with some local people.
Editor: Sun Source: news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/21/content_10088209.htm------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two US marines killed in Marriott blast: Pentagon ISLAMABAD, Sep 21 (APP): The US Department of Defence at Pentagon has confirmed the deaths of its two marines in Marriott blast in Islamabad.
According to GEO News, the Pentagon said that its two marines succumbed to injuries in the blast. [see next article...who were these guys: the marines who unloaded and guarded the mysterious steel boxes? Were they sacrificed for the game?...M]The soldiers were deployed in US embassy in Islamabad.
Pentagon said names of the US marines could not be revealed prior to informing families of the victims.
Source: www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53561&Itemid=2------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Doesn't seem like such a mystery to me...How about you?...M[glow=red,2,300]What Was Mysterious Activity Going on in the Marriott Hotel Islamabad by United States Marines[/glow]
Sunday, 21 September 2008 12:18
www.daily.pk Marriott Hotel has now become a ghost house which was yesterday the most beautiful and prestigious hotels in the Islamabad. While the condemnation of the blasts and the deaths and the loss of property is going on from all the quarters, some intriguing news is also pouring in.
After the blast, mysteriously fire was started at the fourth and fifth floors. It was said that this fire was the result of gas pipeline burst running through the hotel. The million dollar question is that was the gas pipeline not running through the other floors? Why the fire broke out from the fourth and fifth flours? That is the question which perhaps holds the key to the mystery as why the hotel was targeted yesterday, in which more than 60 people died including many foreigners.
Though it would never get confirmed but the fire on the fifth and fourth floor of the hotel broke out because those flours were housing the mysterious steel boxes under the heavy guard of United States marines and no one including the Pakistani security forces and the security men of the hotel were allowed to go near with the them. These boxes were shifted inside the hotel when the Admiral Mike Mullen met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and others in Islamabad.
It is said that one member of parliament Mumtaz Alam who belongs to the PPP, the ruling party was there eye witnessed the whole scene when the white truck of US embassy came to the gate of Marriot Hotel and US marines themselves unloaded the steel boxes from the trucks and shifted them to the fourth and fifth floors without passing through them the scanners at the entrance of the hotels. When the truck was there, all the entrance and the exit passage way to the hotels were closed.
And now this blast has occurred at the Marriott, while that mysterious activity was going on. Source:www.daily.pk/politics/politicalnews/7422-what-was-mysterious-activity-going-on-in-the-marriott-hotel-islamabad-by-united-states-marines.html------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And now I'm going to throw the following into the mix, just to give you folks from Pakistan something to think about. You've got a recently elected leader who's totally unqualified and unprepared to lead your country...especially in the midst of the current chaos....It came about rather quickly; don't you think? While the beginning of this article is rather obvious, I'd ask you to read through to the conclusion.......It brings one back to Benazir Bhutto's murder and the consequences of it. It might also make you reflect on the celebrity-type leaders you seem to be drawn to; be they civilian or military...Sorry to sound so harsh, but that's what your current reality is...Hang in there, keep a firm grip, and listen to your intuition...Michelle Pakistan's Newest FeudalTuesday, 09.09.08
Asif Ali Zardari was sworn in as Pakistan's president, replacing Pervez Musharraf.Zardari's sole qualification is that he is the widower of the slain leader of the Pakistan's People's Party, Benazir Bhutto. Her main qualification for leading her party and twice serving as prime minister was that she was the daughter of the late prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
Pakistan is steeped in feudalism and governed by the cult of personality that arises from it. Political parties have no ideology: they are mere extensions of their leaders' love of self and power.Zardari, the new president, is an erstwhile polo player and playboy whose singular accomplishment in life is that he got Bhutto to marry him. When his wife was prime minister, he was known as "Mr. Ten Percent," for the commissions on state contracts he allegedly took. During the years his wife was in office, he reportedly made off with many tens of millions of dollars that enabled him to, among other things, buy a massive estate in Britain. For years, Swiss authorities wanted him for money laundering. His life seems to have no higher purpose than joining the ranks of the megarich. He is reputed to be the ultimate bullying rogue. His ascension to the presidency is viewed as another sign that Pakistan will join the ranks of other failed states.
And yet, the storyline may not turn out as direly as predicted. Zardari spent 11 years in prison in Pakistan on corruption charges that were never proved in court. Eleven years in prison does something to a man -- even if, in Zardari's case, he was given a private room and bathroom, catered food, and servants. His incarceration was more like house arrest than prison as most imagine it. Still, the experience can steel up the character, teach patience, change one for the worse or for the better.
In fact, for a neophyte politician, Zardari has performed quite credibly in recent months. He has maneuvered himself into the presidency while handpicking the prime minister, Yousef Raza Gillani, from the PPP. And he has cooperated with his political rival, Nawaz Sharif, to topple Musharraf.
Now backed by the United States, Zardari must get the Taliban rebellion in Pakistan's tribal areas under control, calm the fires of separatism and insurgency in the province of Baluchistan, and work with the prime minister to get Pakistan's economy moving again. A life spent getting rich quick provides him little experience in these affairs. Does he even have the emotional will and strength of character to work seriously on matters that would challenge even the best and most well-meaning of politicians?
If Zardari fails, the military might once again step in to fill the power vacuum -- but in a manner different from previous military coups. In Pakistan's muddled history, generals and politicians have taken turns in power, and both have failed. But the West would condemn another coup, and Baluch and Sindhi minorities -- who see the military as a Punjabi conspiracy -- would erupt in nationalist fury if the military seized power. What we might watch for in the months ahead are signs of a creeping, undeclared coup, in which Zardari and opposition leader Sharif engage in a soap opera of political machinations against each other, while the tribal areas and other parts of the country slip into partial anarchy. The military would quietly assert itself, filling the gap in governance. Military rule would prevail, in all but name. That scenario is what the former playboy Zardari threatens to unleash.— Robert D. Kaplan Source: thecurrent.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/09/zardari.php