News of the Day (October 6)

NATO Commanders in Afghanistan detail Pakistan's support for the Taliban: The military commanders reveal that the level of support for Osama bin Laden's former hosts in Pakistan ranges "from ISI-run training camps near Quetta to huge ammunition dumps, arrival points for Taliban's new weapons and meeting places of the shura, or leadership council, in Quetta" (Daily Telegraph, UK, emphasis added). ISI is a reference to the Pakistani military's Inter-Services Intelligence; Quetta is city in the Pakistani province of Balochistan, and it is also the source for "Hundreds of Taliban reinforcements in pick-up trucks . . . waved on by Pakistani border guards" (emphasis added). The information on the support from Pakistan - Communist China's fifty-plus-year ally - comes from Taliban members themselves, "many of them Pakistanis" captured in a recent two-week battle. The NATO commanders who presented the evidence are from the U.S., Great Britain, Denmark, Canada, and the Netherlands; these are the nations "whose troops have just fought the bloodiest battle with the Taliban in five years." One NATO chief put it thusly: "It is time for an 'either you are with us or against us' delivered bluntly to (Pakistani strongman) Musharraf at the highest political level." The Musharraf regime signed a peace deal with the Taliban last month.

A new member for the China Freedom Blog Alliance: Welcome to the CBFA, Boycott 2008 Communist Olympics.

Will Stalinist North Korea conduct a nuclear test this weekend? Japan's Deputy Foreign Minister certainly thinks its possible (Daily Telegraph and The Korea Liberator). Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld highlighted one of the critical dangers of SNK's nuclear program - namely the regime's history of arms deals with terrorists (Yonhap via Daily NK). Other reaction to the possibility was maddeningly boilerplate (South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon, interviewed by Time, Peter Brookes in the New York Post, and even Australian Prime Minister John Howard, as cited by United Press Int'l via Washington Times).

Other news on the Korean colony: Stalinist-in-chief Kim Jong-il met with his military commanders (Fox News). Daily NK examines the recent military talks between SNK and South Korea. Anne Morse, of the Wilberforce Forum, reviews Yoduk Story in National Review Online.

Iraq the Model calls for the liberation of Middle Eastern Proxies One and Two: Mohammed, as he is known, echoed what this corner has long said, "The insurgents, terrorists and militias operating in Iraq depend on foreign support for money, training, technology and in some cases men. Moreover the influence of foreign interference is clear even in the political arena in Iraq through the numerous political crises the country had faced. Thus, this war will not see an end unless America revives the preemptive war strategy and start chasing the enemies and striking their bases in the region, especially in Syria and Iran" (emphasis added).

More on the Middle Eastern Proxies: Exiled Iranian dissident Amir Abbas Fakhravar calls for the U.S. to help bring the Communist-backed mullahcracy to an end (Seattle Post-Intelligencer).

Ignorant Comment of the Day: Claude Salhani (UPI via Washington Times) takes the dubious honor with a column calling for talks with the Syrian regime.

Enlightened Comment of the Day: Joshua Kurlantzick has a very informative piece in The New Republic on Communist China's machinations in Africa - and the damage done to Africa in the process (see also ninth, fourth, last, fifteenth, sixth, lead, ninth, eighth, fifteenth, seventh, twelfth, last, fourth, fourteenth, sixth, fourteenth, fourth, seventh, and ninth items).

More on Communist China and the rest of the world: Doug Bandow, of Citizen Outreach, examines the state of the internet in Communist China - and how American companies are making it easier for the Communists to crack down on web surfers - in The American Spectator. The cadres threaten to retaliate against the European Union over shoes (BBC). The U.S. India Political Action Committee will push the Senate hard to pass the U.S.-India nuclear deal next month (Washington Times).