Hair Was in the Commentary Box

Hair was in the commentary box at the Pakistan-South Africa warm-up as an expert on umpiring. Commentating on the condition of the pitch he said it was surely unplayable and even though no evidence was at hand he knew that the Pakistanis had tampered with it. He said he would have forfeited them out of the tournament even though it had not started yet.

Military Advice

I sometimes wonder whether the military ever advised Bush against some of the things the administration has used it for. Did they, or anyone among their ranks, ever say Gitmo might be a bad idea?

The intelligence, including military intelligence, has been panned for the WMD intelligence. It failed to forecast post war Iraq and it has failed to deliver effective information for fighting the insurgents.

Throughout the war (apart from the initial part where the U.S. force was so overwhelming that no thinking was really required) the military strategists have failed to provide, or at least implement, anything resembling a plan that will work. Part of the problem is that it is not a military problem. Part of it is in tying its hands but the question is why the serving command level officers have not conveyed this forcefully enough to the civilian leadership. Instead we now have the twenty thousand man surge. I cannot accept that any military mind would consider this a viable strategy.

Training Iraqis sounded like a good idea but for many reasons it has not quite worked. Part of the reason is factions within Iraq. However, the time is drawing neigh when the training itself will be questioned. For the given situation and time frame is the training appropriate?

Then there was the military police and the Abu Ghraib Prison. The less said the better.

Now the military medical facilities are under mold attack. The first Major General to be fired throughout this whole fiasco, unbelievably, headed a hospital.

Now with the military tribunals military justice is about to come under the lights. No matter how it goes it will not be good for military law. It was not designed to handle the cases it has been asked to handle. Trying a fifteen year old (now twenty but held at Gitmo for five years) at a military tribunal is not going to look good even if (highly unlikely) in the end he is let go(http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/03/08/gitmo.phone.call.ap/index.html).

The First Match Again

Going into the first match Pakistan must be much more confidant than a few days ago. They now know with certainty what the team is and they have done well in their practice games. West Indies, on the other hand, had an uneasy win over Kenya and an annihilation at the hands of the Indians in their practice games: Not the best preparation.
The big three (Younis, Yousuf, and Inzamam) had a decent time out on the pitch; The bowlers for the most part had a useful workout. Naved's current bowling form and Nazir remain a concern.
If the wickets are anything like those for the practice matches Pakistan must also be second guessing their decision not to include Abdurehman. Also Azhar recently and Arafat have not been regular members of the team and as such there is concern over finding the right balance quickly enough.
What will be the playing eleven? Afridi still has a couple of games to go before he can play and with the pitches looking somewhat spin friendly Danish, Shoaib and Hafeez will be playing. The big three, Akmal and Gul are automatics. Naved's current form makes Sami a certainty. One spot will go to Razzaq's replacement, Azhar or Yasir. I think Azhar will start. The last spot is really up for grabs. If Pakistan want eight batsmen then Nazir plays but he has not done much. Naved might squeak by for his death bowling. I think they will go with Nazir.