Many international channels have covered assassination attempt on Imran Khan extensively. An event that won't be forgiven and which we won't forget. #عمرانخانہماریž 5;یڈلاین_ہے #SackGeneralFaisal pic.twitter.com/yPdi7dZ55W

— PTI (@PTIofficial) November 4, 2022

Protest continues in Khyber! pic.twitter.com/6TpKpwkRUY

— PTI Politics. (@PTIPoliticsss) November 4, 2022

Pakistan narrowly avoided a catastrophe: @ZarrarKhuhro [_link]

— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) November 4, 2022

Was there a sniper involved? I found these two statements relevant:

1- @therealfasih says his car was right behind the container. He believes a burst of fire came from 2nd story of a plaza.

2- DJ Hamza says he witnessed another shooter who opened brust from the nearby roof. pic.twitter.com/flfFCP12JW

— OSINT Insider (@OSINT_Insider) November 3, 2022

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has claimed that former premier Imran Khan, time and again, has used the language in which he crossed the "red lines of religion".

"It is because of this reason that a man attacked him," Asif alleged.

Follow live updates: https://t.co/wLVAE4mO37 pic.twitter.com/zAUjdM3OCb

— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) November 4, 2022

Khawaja Asif vows to fight against anti-army campaign as defence minister | Oct. 5, 2022 |

Says five senior officers are shortlisted for the appointment of the new army chief

With the ousting of Imran Khan, early general elections were to be held.

'Sapere aude'

The intervention by America in Civil Strife in Afghanistan against the Soviets, the Iraq War and later in Libya and Syria brought millions of AK-47 into a violent war theater and more destruction and deaths. Do US Presidents and U.S. Congress never learn this ugly message? Or is it simply export of American violent gun culture.

Supply of arms to "rebel groups" or "freedom fighters" in Chechnya ... true definition are jihadists who spread terror and chaos, thus the breeding ground for Bin Laden's Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.

The involvement of Salafism/Wahhabism in the support and supply of arms to rebel groups across the world

The invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union in 1979 can be considered as ... fears the heavier weapons (Stinger missiles) could end up in the hands of terrorists (Worth,

Abstract
The war in Afghanistan is undoubtedly a key moment in the emergence of an armed rebellion in the Muslim world. The impact of this conflict quickly exceeded the borders of Afghanistan to extend Pakistan. Since then, the Iraq war, the civil war that engulfed Syria and the armed conflict in the Sahel have helped to increase guerrillas in the Muslim world. This study aims to analyze the role of the Salafi / Wahhabi networks in financing and arming rebel groups.

UNIDIR: The Small Arms Problem in Central Asia: Features and Implications | 2000 |

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Terrorism and the Dynamics of Threat Exaggeration | 2005 |

Prepared for presentation at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington, DC, September 1-4, 2005.

ABSTRACT

It has been common to exaggerate and to overreact to foreign threats, something that seems to be continuing with current concerns over international terrorism. This paper assesses threat exaggeration and overreaction from Pearl Harbor to the post-Cold War period and applies that experience to post-9/11 fears of, and policies toward, international terrorism. Alarmism and overreaction can be harmful, particularly economically. And, in the case of terrorism, they can help create the damaging consequences the terrorists seek but are unable to perpetrate on their own. Moreover, stoked by the terrorism industry, many of the forms alarmism has taken verge on hysteria. The United States is hardly likely to be facing an existential threat in the sense that it will be toppled by dramatic acts of terrorist destruction, even extreme ones. The country can, however grimly, readily absorb considerable damage if necessary, and it has outlasted more potent threats in the past. A reasonable policy might be to seek to reduce fears about what may well prove to be quite a limited problem.

The State of Israel, Iraq War provoking America, and FEAR Inc.

Fear Inc: Funding Islamophobia in America | @BooMan - Aug. 27, 2011 |

FEAR creates mental instability which will be exploited by men meaning to do evil.

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Chapter 5 Contributions from the Military Counterinsurgency (COIN)
= Literature for the Prevention of Terrorism =

Abstract:
In addition to Van Heutsz's manuals, in drafting the new manual, the Dutch army staff also used the British counterinsurgency manual, which is one the most detailed for this type of warfare. Of the former colonial powers, the British - and to some extent the French - have not given up their colonial military skills and the mindset to carry out counterinsurgency operations. Especially, the counterinsurgencies in the Dhofar province in Oman (1965-1975) and "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland (1969-1998) have given the British first-hand experience. In Dhofar, strategic interests were at stake because Oman's leaders could control the vital oil route of the Strait of Hormuz. The Dhofar campaign was a classical, rural counterinsurgency campaign, while the one in Northern Ireland was a mix of rural and urban fighting. To this day, the most elaborate COIN doctrine remains the one developed by the British military.

An important Lesson Learned has been that unconventional warfare is first of all a method of achieving asymmetry. Asymmetry is a key concept for confronting the adversary not on his own terms. It is often the tactic of the weak. At the strategic level, the opponent using asymmetrical tactics exploits the fears of civilian population, thereby undermining the government, compromising its alliances, and affecting its economy. To achieve this, the opponent uses unconventional warfare techniques at the tactical level to change the course of action in order to prevent the opponent from achieving political objectives. The tactics of unconventional warfare include guerrilla ambushes, hit-and-run attacks, sabotage, terrorism, and psychological warfare. Usually, rebels, terrorists and criminals with small, but well- organized forces or militias tend to adopt such tactics.

He hasn't got a clue about supporting terror groups and paying the heavy price of blow-back.

'Sapere aude'

Shifting Ties Boost China's Influence in Iranian, Pakistani Ports | Maritime Report - Nov. 22, 2019 |

In the wake of escalating US-Iran tensions in the Persian Gulf, the geopolitical realities of the Asian region are rapidly changing. New strategic alliances are being formed as old partnerships give way.

A good example is the trouble surrounding a three-way transit agreement between Iran, India, and Afghanistan. The deal, signed in May 2016, had promised to open new routes of connection by converting Iran's Chabahar port into a transit hub.

But Tehran has grown increasingly frustrated with New Delhi in recent months over what might be described as a policy of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds in the wake of U.S.-Iran tensions. After crippling unilateral sanctions imposed on Iran by the U.S., India also shut down oil imports from Iran, leading to warnings that New Delhi's future in Chabahar port might be hurt.

Iran has instead looked to China. Beijing has continued importing oil from Iran, despite the sanctions reimposed by the U.S. last year. Iran has also showed interest in building an LNG pipeline to China along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship project of China's One Belt One Road initiative.

Strategically located on the Gulf of Oman outside the Strait of Hormuz, the Chabahar port provides India direct access to the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistani territory. It offers an alternative to the Chinese-run Gwadar Port in Pakistan, another regional port that is an essential part of the CPEC. Both bypass the congested pinch point that is the Strait of Hormuz.

By retreating from Afghanistan as a lost military campaign, Trump and Biden seek new avenues to combat the loss of a foothold in Central Asia. Military campaign in Ukraine against Russia is a first stepping stone.

'Sapere aude'

Previous posts:

Biden's 'Multilateralism' Amounts To AmericaFirst!!

A new face, a bit of adjustment in packaging the act.

On Defense and Security, NATO and the EU preemptively complied with the wishes of the new Biden administration ... wishful thinking there will be reciprocity.

EU envoys agree first China sanctions in three decades | Reuters - March 17, 2021 |

The European Union agreed to blacklist Chinese officials for human rights abuses, two diplomats said, the first sanctions against Beijing since an EU arms embargo in 1989 following the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

EU ambassadors approved the travel bans and asset freezes on four Chinese individuals and one entity, whose names will not be made public until formal approval by EU foreign ministers on March 22, as part of a new and wider rights sanctions list.

My earlier diaries ...

• Outcry for Genocide Should Be Universal
• Uyghur Muslim Ethnic Separatism in Xinjiang
• Uyghur Freedom Fighters and Kunduz Mosque Attack

After 9/11 and the terror attack on Beijing's Tiananmen Square ...

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