Stardate 20011108.1114 (On Screen): Mush word watch: President Musharraf of Pakistan wants this war to be "short and targeted". I think we can all agree on that, at least until we talk about what those words mean. It's unlikely that anyone really wants a long war; and we certainly want it to be as short as we can make it consistent with winning. But that may still take a year, or maybe longer (possibly much longer). Equally, "targeted" seems to be a code-word for "with as few unnecessary deaths as can be managed" and I think we're all in favor of that, too.
So what, exactly, is Musharraf actually saying here? Let me see if I can't read his mind: "Taliban supporters in my nation are starting to get out of hand and the longer this goes on the greater a chance there is of Pakistan erupting in civil war." (discuss)
