FLASH: Sec. Rice Hints at Punitive Attacks Against Pakistan

In what may be her last, and perhaps boldest, move as the US Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice told Pakistani leadership that they cannot wash themselves of any responsibility for the Mumbia terrorist acts that originated from Pakistan. Punitive military strikes were threatened. The Times of India: Although US officials have not outright approved immediate punitive Indian strikes against terrorist targets in Pakistan, it is clear Rice has bought time for Islamabad to prove its bonafides and promise of cooperation. (Source) That's Rice grabbing Pakistan by the balls. Pakistan has a ''special responsibility'' and needs to act ''urgently'' she said, even as India has indicated it will wait for a Pakistani response to its demands before any punitive action. "Before any punitive action" is Rice squeezing hard, very hard. The response would be not the US alone, not India alone, but a coalition of sorts. The Times quotes Robert Kagan, a Carnegie Endowment analyst, as saying that "international community [could] declare that parts of Pakistan have become ungovernable and a menace to international security," which would theoretically provide a justification for those punitive strikes against Pakistan. FULL STORY at Times of India...