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Our Doolittle Retired Generals

NJ, MAY 25, 2007 - "Talat Masood, a retired general turned analyst, who would like to see democracy flourish and the army out of politics, recently said, "There's uncertainty about the president. Many people don't think he will last the crisis". But Gen Musharraf is considered a key asset in the war on terrorism and Pakistan's cooperation is crucial to the West's mission in Afghanistan. Therefore, the United States is standing by the Pakistani leader for now, as it lacks any Plan B. "In Washington they are trying to assess whether Musharraf is part of the solution or part of the problem."

"Cracks are showing in the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, while its coalition partner, the Muttahida Quami Movement, is tainted by involvement in the Karachi violence. The remaining pillars of support for Musharraf, i.e. the army and the United States, have not yet shown any signs of creaking which could be decisive". As long as the money will keep pouring in just as it happened during the 11 years Afghan War, and as long as the US will keep getting some out of Gen. Musharraf and hid Generals' participation in war on terrorism, the party will go on. One fine day then there will be an Ojhri Camp type star-studded disney show followed by may be a Mango explosion exhibition and we will be back to the future!

In Islamabad, 'Czech' means 'Check'

NJ, MAY 18, 2007 - This has nothing to do with fighting extremism or pushing enlightened moderation. This has to do with waking up from slumber, shaking up the responsible, and installing a simple system of proper supervision, checks and balances in the Capital where a simple gaffe can cost a diplomatic surrender!

Today I received an email which had done its usual round and included me as one of the recipients too. I read it and found it hilarious. It's funny but sad at the same time, because it shows how our folks in Islamabad do not believe in QA/QC nor is there a system to avoid such gaffes.

Thank God the Czech Republic is no longer part of the big Soviet Empire any more. There would have been another red dot on Islamabad this time too. Remember the U2 incident during Ayub era when the Soviets put a red dot on Peshawar on the map when they found out that the American spy plane U2 had taken off from Pakistan to spy on their territory?

Read along the text of the email and view the pics:
The Czech Republic PM Mirek Topolanek visited Pakistan May 8 - May 10, 2007

On your left is the picture of the flag of the Czech Republic . On your right is a 'Check' (or, rather, checkered flag, often used in car racing. The two should never be confused except for the fact that 'Czech' is pronounced as 'check.'

Ordinarily, this should not be a problem. But right now the Prime
Minister of the Czech Republic is visiting Islamabad, and the
Capital's PR people have adorned a number of (very) large banners to
welcome him in the spirit of good hospitality. The only problem is
that instead of putting the 'Czech' flags on the banners, they have installed
'Check' flags!

I saw these while driving back into Islamabad on the from the Airport.
I rushed back to see if I would figure out who was responsible for
this little gaffe and maybe alert them to the mistake before the Czech
PM arrived. Unfortunately, it turned out that the Czech PM was already
here.

I wonder what he and his team thought of this. Did they even mention
it to their hosts or did they just keep politely quiet? I also wonder
what they thought about the banner that read: "We Pray for the Czech
Progress and Prosperity". I am sure they liked the sentiment, but
maybe they also wondered why Pakistanis are praying for Czech progress
and prosperity instead of working harder for (their own) progress or
prosperity. On the other hand, maybe they do not think as hard about
what is written on banners as I do!

I have no way of knowing this, but my theory of how this might have
happened is this - Someone tells someone to find out what a Czech
(read 'check') flag looks like; they look up 'check flag' on Google,
and that is the one which makes it way on the banner.

Nice story for a chuckle? But how would you feel if the Pakistani Prime
Minister goes to another country and they mess up the flags this way?

-end of email.

I googled the meaning of a "check flag" and found that checkered Nascar Flag meant the race is complete! In diplomatic parlance, I don't know what it means. Remember it's off limits for civilians? Got to ask one of my military friends!

(Note: By the way, the above first appeared on Adil Najam's Blogsite)

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