Good News Week

It's good news week,

someone's dropped a bomb somewhere

--Good News Week,

Hedgehoppers Anonymous

_______________

This is what passes as Good News for the U.S. today:

"Pakistani troops killed 80 militants and drove the Taliban from a major urban stronghold on Wednesday, the army said, as U.S. military planes brought aid for refugees fleeing fierce fighting across the northwest.

"One soldier was killed and nine seriously wounded as troops battled insurgents still holding several other towns in the neighboring Swat Valley, a military spokesman said (Pakistan Army Wrests Town From the Taliban.)".

An impressive kill ratio for the Paki Army, 80:1. It suggests a new strategy in the Phony War on Terror (PWOT ©) : subcontracting the war out to the crackerjack Paki Army. It would be cheaper and more effective than U.S. troops stomping around trying to scare up trouble.

This story seems a stretch. If the vaunted U.S. Army can't achieve an 80:1 kill ratio, how can the Paki's do it? How many of the killed were women and children?

"As part of that effort, two American military planes touched down on Wednesday at an
air base near Islamabad laden with supplies including air-conditioned tents and 120,000 pre-packed meals, the U.S. Embassy said."

80 bad guys dead and only 1.5 million refugees as a result of the action. And only $110 million in the immediate humanitarian aid; a bargain at double the price. Humanitarian aid = helping them after an army we support has destabilized them, removing any opportunity to carry on with their miserable lives.

The math: The U.S. delivers 120,000 meals to 1.5 million refugees. That means 1 of every ten gets one meal for one day. Now 1.5 million more people grasp the magnanimity of U.S. actions.

Reality: Even if the 80 dead were hardcore al-Qaeda elements, this does not justify the creation of 1.5 million refugees.