Story of a blast

Everyone so far seems to be more interested in the blast at the Islamabad Marriott as the biggest blast so far in Islamabad, and whether or not the president, PM and the service chiefs, among other dignitaries, were the real targets, rather than the effect of the blast on the War On Terror.

The very first effect it had has been the forcing of the consideration of the role of the blast in the war. Initially seen as a part of the war, the failure to claim responsibility by any group should not necessarily be a discounting factor. Even those who are fighting that war on behalf of the Americans have worked out a possible motive- the operations in the tribal areas.

This, and the very blast itself, is an indication that the operations are having an effect, but not enough of an effect. So it is no wonder that the Americans are not making any promises, and President Bush has only promised very generally to respect Pakistan's sovereignty, something which the USA has not been bothering with too much.

If one goes for the subtext, it does not mean an end to any more missile attacks, which preceded and succeeded Pakistani protests, but it means that there will be no more of the raids by American military personnel that provoked the protests. In fact, since the first two raids, there have not been any others. This is probably more because the US military realises that they do not have enough of an effect, than because the USA has any regard for Pakistani sentiment, though the latter is the reason that is going to be passed up the chain of command.