Christopher Hitchens Goes Nuclear On Pakistan

[Kyusuibu Honbu]

Wasn't he the same person who said backwardness is Gandhi gift to India.

whatever, i'd hate to be this guy's opponent in a debate.

 

[Developereo]

There is nothing to comment on a puerile rant from a perenially humorless git like Hitchens.

People who quote and revel in his bloviations are no different than stormfront junkies. Just because his brand of hatred is politically sanctioned by the western media does not make it any less venomous than the Nazi propaganda.

And, yes, the substance of the article does not merit a reply because it consists of self-serving generalizations and stereotypes which are the bread-and-butter of self-righteous hate mongers. Hitchens know his audience and, like a pusher serving up his junkies, he dishes up the requisite bile to satisfy their addiction.

 

[Rafi]

There is nothing to comment on a puerile rant from a perenially humorless git like Hitchens.

People who quote and revel in his bloviations are no different than stormfront junkies. Just because his brand of hatred is politically sanctioned by the western media does not make it any less venomous than the Nazi propaganda.

And, yes, the substance of the article does not merit a reply because it consists of self-serving generalizations and stereotypes which are the bread-and-butter of self-righteous hate mongers. Hitchens know his audience and, like a pusher serving up his junkies, he dishes up the requisite bile to satisfy their addiction.

Exactly right, if this hate filled allegory - would have been written against people of the Semite persuasion - then you would get the western world in a tizzy. But speak of Muslims like this and you get indians jumping up and down.

 

[CardSharp]

Wasn't he the same person who said backwardness is Gandhi gift to India.

whatever, i'd hate to be this guy's opponent in a debate.

A specialist in polemics, and damned good one, but in the end he's still just a neo-con cheerleader who led the blitz for the intellectual justification of the Iraq war. Though the fact that the Christian right hates him is a bit of redemption.

 

[A1Kaid]

Christopher Hitchens extrapolates half-truths that plague the tribal region and their backwardness onto the entire country of Pakistan. He raises the issues like honor killings, rape, "kangaroo courts", etc that sometimes occur in NW Pakistan and tribal region where many of the nations (societal wise) primitive people live not to mention where many Afghani primitives live as well.

So then knowing this he starts off his article with "Here is a society" Christopher Hitchens is unfairly and unjustly extrapolating and generalizing the situation that sometime arise in the primitive parts of the country onto the entire country and society of Pakistan.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Another ad hominem attack, shooting the messenger.

And what exactly has Hitchens offered in his rant, other than 'ad hominems' against Pakistan?

Did he build a case based on credible evidence to prove Pakistani complicity in sheltering and supporting OBL and/or AQ? No.

So why should his rant be countered with anything else but a rant and 'ad hominems'?

 

[Solomon2]

And what exactly has Hitchens offered in his rant, other than 'ad hominems' against Pakistan?...why should his rant be countered with anything else but a rant and 'ad hominems'?

Non sequitur. Attacking Pakistan is the point of his rant. If you don't like the messenger you have to do a more thorough job of disemboweling him in print to discredit him - and doing that to Hitchens, the only Western reporter willing to engage in fist-fights with the now-discredited Syrian regime's stooges link, isn't easy because through this and other journalistic escapades he has gained great credibility over the years: he is fearless, often right, willing to threaten the powerful, and is apparently incorruptible.

Did he build a case based on credible evidence to prove Pakistani complicity in sheltering and supporting OBL and/or AQ? No.

He feels he doesn't need to, based on the current situation and his own judgment. You can do that when you write for Vanity Fair.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

the usual propaganda and hysteria tactics

a failed argument, failed strategy, failed psy-ops on Pakistan. Perhaps the Americans would be best served in securing their own nuclear arsenal first, given the number of blunders in the past decade.

Our nuclear stockpile is safe and secure, so what these arm-chair analysts opine --for cheap publicity and attention --holds little sway.

 

[Solomon2]

the usual propaganda and hysteria tactics a failed argument, failed strategy, failed psy-ops on Pakistan.

Can you be specific, or do you expect everyone to be satisfied with empty blather?

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Can you be specific, or do you expect everyone to be satisfied with empty blather?

well based on this over-used, simplistic rhetoric like that of Mr. Hitchens we can see quite lucidly where the ''empty blather'' as you oh-so-eloquently put it is originating from

happy Friday..

 

[desioptimist]

the usual propaganda and hysteria tactics

a failed argument, failed strategy, failed psy-ops on Pakistan. Perhaps the Americans would be best served in securing their own nuclear arsenal first, given the number of blunders in the past decade.

Our nuclear stockpile is safe and secure, so what these arm-chair analysts opine --for cheap publicity and attention --holds little sway.

Probably it is hysteria and propaganda, but pakistani leadership suffer from "low credibility" problem.(bit like the boy who cried wolf).
I remember the comical ali, the iraqi information minister, who was famous for lying to camera with a straight face.

Here is a partial list of lies.

1. Denied nuclear proliferation. - Caught Mr Khan.
2. Denied Kasab is pakistani national - agreed later
3. Denied kargil fighters are govt soldiers - Accepted later
4. Denied that Osama is in pakistan - accepted later

 

[Solomon2]

well based on this over-used, simplistic rhetoric like that of Mr. Hitchens we can see quite lucidly where the ''empty blather'' as you oh-so-eloquently put it is originating from -

But you're not combating it. Vanity Fair is a "pop" publication, not a scholarly or even a journalistic one. I've pointed out before that Pakistan has forfeited the benefit of the doubt, being judged guilty in popular eyes. Thus, you are going to have to work to change people's minds.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Probably it is hysteria and propaganda, but pakistani leadership suffer from "low credibility" problem.(bit like the boy who cried wolf).

cant argue with that.....but then again those sentiments resonate more amongst Pakistani diaspora within and outside the country more than it does with western officials who still seem to give them tacit approval in the form of so-called ''aid'' (bribes) --which, granted, the officials are more than happy to take. Thats a different matter though altogether.

I remember the comical ali, the iraqi information minister, who was famous for lying to camera with a straight face.

i also remember Donald Rumsfeld stating on the record (verbatim) that ''[they] know where [the WMDs] are --they are in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south, and north somewhat''

so it works both ways.....an entire country was bombed, invaded, destroyed pretty much based on a pack of fabricated lies --and in fact that is what damaged US credibility to a huge extent.

Here is a partial list of lies.

1. Denied nuclear proliferation. - Caught Mr Khan.

not only was he not acting on behalf of the STATE; his activity was discovered, he was reprimanded and now has nothing to do with the nuclear program. However yes, we were non-cooperative on the issue of allowing IAEA officials to talk to him. And in fact, given that he is still considered a hero in Pakistan I dont believe we will cooperate in this regard.

and we shouldnt. AQ Khan is a closed chapter anyways.

2. Denied Kasab is pakistani national - agreed later

there are still a lot of question marks regarding who exactly Kasab is....but regardless, he is in indian custody. I'm sure there were many indian facilitators on your side who will live on un-scathed and undetected.

3. Denied kargil fighters are govt soldiers - Accepted later

many were also Kashmiri mujahideen who had nothing to do with state organs....

are the indians still denying that the perpetrator of the Samjhota train blasts included active indian army personnel? These were links which Hemant Karkare (who was 'conveniently' killed during the mumbai whole mumbai drama) was working to uncover.

4. Denied that Osama is in pakistan - accepted later

well, we are told in western media that he was there for 5 years. I personally don't believe it. I don't have the evidence to prove otherwise, though you dont have evidence to prove he was.

Pakistan also did state that even though they do not BELIEVE he is in Pakistan, they would take action if they knew where he was. Would have been better had CIA shared the information rather than ''distrust'' their so-called ''allies''

but that as well, is a whole other issue altogether. The Americans need to find an exit from Afghanistan with at least a modicum of dignity so they can ''sell'' a pullout to their war-wary public. In that sense, their unilateral action which we are told about in the media would be a Godsend.

 

[forcetrip]

Another ad hominem attack, shooting the messenger.

Don't you think it would be good for Pakistan if that changed?

We haven't succeeded in changing your opinion by having you continuously visit this site to spew garbage by every tom dick and harry with an opinion. If you feel that is what Pakistan has done to you and your proxy state by religion, I would suggest explaining to your kids the evils that lurk beyond the borders of what is the USA. And conveniently forget to mention that every action has a reaction and the US had nothing to do with any of the global tragedies happening all over the world. I hope you, your children and your articles feel safe and sleep well.

 

[wmdisinfo]

i can only say that this guy who is writing this articale is insane.he should take a shower and then drink a cup of coffee to wake up.he dosent realize that fighting russians was not for free.making US a sole super power in the world will have to have a price tag and in case of US its nukes for pakistan.and what the guy says proves that either US is complicit in nuclear proliferation or its turning a blind eye to it