Afghan Refugees Forced to Flee in Push by Pakistani Army

[Snellius]

GHAZNI, Afghanistan, July 19 — Thousands of Afghan refugees have been forced from their homes in the border areas of Pakistan as the Pakistani Army, backed by United States intelligence and surveillance, has intensified its operations against supporters of Al Qaeda taking shelter in the mountainous region.

Some 25,000 people have poured into Afghanistan in the last few weeks from the tribal agency of South Waziristan where Pakistani forces, with American help, are battling a major concentration of foreign fighters and sympathetic local tribesmen, refugee officials said.

The Pakistani army, at the behest of the United States, has pushed into the normally autonomous tribal areas over the last five months, in an attempt to capture or kill an estimated 500 foreign fighters, and search for the Al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, and his Egyptian deputy, Ayman al Zawahiri, often rumored to be sheltering in the area.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/20/international/asia/20CND-AFGH.html?hp

Is someone looking for an October surprise?

[xchrom]

1. ooooh! gotta get on that october surprise

or august surprise or july surprise.... just do something or duhr fuhrer is der done fer it!

[acmavm]

2. Jeez, just what Afganistan needs, more displaced people at the

mercy of people with heavy artillery.

Considering how much money bush* handed Musharraf this past week, I suppose he should get something for OUR money.

[librechik]

3. ooh! Usama produced DURING the DNC!

That'll shut up the coverage (of one hr a day) that the convention is getting. We'll be crushed!

Oof! Remember that huge bump Shrub got from the Saddam capture?

Neither does anyone else.

But it makes me wonder if they do actually have him locked up somewhere already--why would they do this if they do? (Trolling for any presentable suspect, I guess.)

What a farce.