http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a31ISoTro0dY&refer=home
This article is on the Pakistani elections for parilament that are coming up tomorrow. During these last few weeks of camaigning there has been terrorist attacks. Most recently was yesterday (the final day of campaigning)suicide bomber killed at least 38. he attacker, driving a car laden with explosives, struck in the northwestern tribal town of Parachinar yesterday, about eight miles (13 kilometers) from the border with Afghanistan. He targeted the offices of opposition election candidate Syed Riaz Hussain Shah. In this article, President Pervez Musharraf said tomorrow's parliamentary elections are vital to Pakistan's fight against terrorism. In this article the attacks during the campainging were not called terrorist attacks, they were called by militant attacks, including the Dec. 27 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. This surpised me. So I wonder why in some countries they call attacks, "Acts of Terror" and in other countries they are called "militant attacks". I also wonder about AL Queda's presents in the tribal villages of Pakistan. I hope you guys like the article and can fill me in on some new info.
Thanks
Austin Conners
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Here's another good article on that issue: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/18/world/asia/18pstan.ready.html?hp
It sounds like it'll only be bad news for the fight against terrorism in Pakistan. While it says that American officials are hoping for a new government that will rally around the fight, it sounds like the people are so against Musharraf, that they may go the opposite direction. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.
Austin,
It's not that there are countries that use the word militant instead of terrorist. It's that some media organizations do not use the word "terrorist," because it has such a strong negative connotation. They don't want to take sides, and they think that calling someone a terrorist means labeling them as the bad guy. So they use the word "militant," because it is more neutral.
Unfortunately for Musharraf, the election did not go so well. Unfortunately for the West, the election results don't bode well for democracy in Pakistan. Not only did Musharraf's party lose the election, but terrorists instilled enough fear in the population that many did not come out and vote. As a result, only a few of Pakistan's citizens chose the new government, which is good news for the terrorists. It'll be interesting to see how the new government works with Musharraf and how it effects the standing of terrorism within Pakistan.
Bhutto's party had a strong showing, but her widower has rejected the possible role of Prime Minister. Also, amid calls for his resignation, Musharraf has refused to step down as president, but promised to work with whatever new government will be in place. Like Carter, I wonder how this will play out and what the continued response of terrorist groups will be.
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