Strike In Pakistan Fails Pakistan

Juan Cole 01/15/2006

Strike in Pakistan Fails
Pakistan Demands Apology

Ooops. The bombing of a village in northern Paksitan, apparently done in hopes of killing al-Qaeda #2 Ayman al-Zawahir, missed its intended target. The idea had been to kill him while he was eating a joint dinner with his hosts in honor of the Feast of Sacrifice (commemorating the story of Abraham and his son).

I presume that the Pakistani government is crying crocodile tears over the strike, which it certainly authorized, and for which it would have held a victory parade if the bombing had succeeded.

As it is, the US has killed at least 18 persons, some of them, it is being alleged, women and children. In this age of global media, we’ll no doubt get to see the pictures.

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page