B. McPherson
Iran and Pakistan held a ceremony at their borders to mark the Pakistani phase of a gas pipeline that would carry gas from the Persian Gulf to Pakistan’s stretched energy sector. Originally India was a partner in the project, but withdrew.

The US quickly denounced the deal between the two countries as a violation of the sanctions in place against Iran and threatened to impose sanctions on its ally Pakistan.

“We have serious concerns if this project actually goes forward that the Iran Sanctions Act would be triggered,” State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said, commenting on the so-called ‘peace pipeline.’ RT News

The pipeline may be more than it seems. Undoubtedly, if it is completed, natural gas will supply much of Pakistan’s energy needs. But if land disputes with India in the north involving Kashmir can be peacefully settled, then further pipelines could be pushed through to the People’s Republic of China, allowing China a secure land based energy source for its billions.

With tighter, more friendly relationships among Iran, Pakistan and China the influence of the US in the area would wane. Pakistan has increasingly withdrawn from friendly relations with the US over their unauthorized military action in killing Osama bin Laden and the continuing drone strikes which have killed numerous non-combatants.

The US influence and threats to impose sanctions are nothing to sneeze at. In the eight year period from 2002 to 2010 that country channeled at least $20.7 billion in funding for military and food aid.

On the other hand the government in Islamabad may be posturing to show that it is not under the thrall of a foreign government or it may be a way to pressure the US to speed up its commitment to help create the electrical energy that it has promised in the past.

The one, sure thing is politics in the region are very complex.

B. McPherson
The death count is up to eight since Monday in Pakistan. Others have been wounded, some mortally. Most of the victims of violence are female health care workers who have been administering polio vaccine to children. The UN supported campaign has come to an abrupt halt in most of the area surrounding Peshawar.

Some Muslims maintain that the immunization programme is an attempt to sterilize them. There is also the suspicion that immunization campaigns are thinly disguised spy missions. There is reason for the suspicions. During the US search for Osama bin Laden, a fake hepatitis campaign was engineered with the help of a local doctor. It entailed taking blood samples which were then screened for chromosomal matches to that of bin Laden. It allowed the ‘black ops’ team to pinpoint his location.

While this campaign to eradicate a crippling disease is legitimate, the fall out from a poorly thought out strategy is also real.

Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are the three remaining countries that harbour this crippling virus.

Polio has been eliminated in most of the world due to rigorous immunization campaigns. Older people in N. America and Europe will remember the epidemics of the 1950s before vaccines were developed. Many who did not die were confined to ‘iron lungs’ when muscles needed for breathing became paralysed.  Those touched by this very contagious disease were often left partially paralysed.

A more recent phenomenon is the emergence of post-polio syndrome. Victims who worked very hard to regain normal muscle usage after an attack are starting to find years later that the paralysis returns.

There are numerous good sites for more detailed information on this horrible disease. PubMed Health is only one of them.

B. McPherson

Shakeel Afridi, a Pakistani doctor who assisted the CIA in their hunt for Osama Bin Laden has paid for it by being sentenced to 33 years in prison. He was charged with treason and found guilty by a tribal court. He was not present for his trial nor could he present any defense.

"He has been sentenced for 33 years on treason charges and has been moved to Peshawar central jail after the verdict was announced by the local court," Mohammad Siddiq, spokesman for the administrative head of Khyber, said. Al Jazeera

Before the US military invaded the compound where the terrorist was living, they wanted confirmation that bin Laden was in fact resident there. Afridi was able to obtain DNA samples to confirm bin Laden’s presence there.

The incursion into Pakistan by the American Seals to assassinate bin Laden infuriated the Pakistani government and further eroded the relations with the US. Supply lines into Afghanistan have been interrupted, forcing the American coalition forces to rely on staging supplies in Russia.

The cooperation of Afridi with the CIA will likely have far reaching effects. He created a fake vaccination programme to gain access to homes. Now the legitimate vaccination programmes have come under suspicion and public health may suffer.