This is CBSI in the world. I'm John Batch with two veterans of the Afghanistan conflict,

both having experienced it from the point of view of decision-making and analysis for

decades. And we're looking now at Afghanistan, darkness visible. The Taliban in charge

of brutality, sometimes called medieval, but I think that that speaks poorly of the

Middle Ages. The Taliban are conduct themselves unacceptably, savagely. Pakistan, however, is

the country that the Afghanistan people must depend upon for the trade routes, Afghanistan

being a landlocked country. Also, the Pakistan and Afghanistan border is a source of conflict

between. And then there's the Taliban of Pakistan. All of that adds up to the fact that

you might not care about Afghanistan. You know how that finishes. Mr. Ambassador, there

are new questions that echo questions you have identified before about the election going

forward in Islamabad. There's a caretaker government right now, a man who I believe originates

in the Bluetooth stand part of Pakistan. And questions are being asked, when is it going

to be? What's the date? And their speculation that the military is going to delay this election

as long as possible. Can you help me understand why these reports are coming in now? Is something

happened? No, nothing has happened. These reports are kind of, there are certain things in Pakistan

that are news only because reporters choose to report them again and again. The fact remains

that Pakistan is controlled by the military. The military is more in control today than it was

when it was sharing power with civilians until last year. Imran Khan's defiance from our

prime minister Imran Khan's defiance of the military after he was removed from office by his

opponents in parliament to a perfectly legitimate means of removal, which is called a vote of no

confidence in the parliamentary form of government. His defiance has led the military to be even

firmer and harsher. They do not want him to win the next election. And so all these rumors,

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