Dear Mr. Iqbal,

I have not figured out all issues--not even a tiny fraction of them--but I know a few things about having an informative discussion. I am almost sure that you read the letter purported to be written by Benazir and released by her political opponents more than 10 years ago and forwarded it to us without applying an iota of skepticism and without asking yourself some basic questions. Questions like what can make one think that this letter was real. Have you seen the original image (which was printed prominently by The Nation and Nawa-i-Waqt, two pro-Nawaz papers)? If not, click here for the image (And click here for the NY Times discussing it). Is there anything on that piece of paper that can prove that it was written by Benazir? Was the release of the letter in question accompanied with some testimonial of a fingerprints expert? Has Galbraith accepted that he did receive the letter? Did the numerous language mistakes in the letter made you stop to think that it maybe a forgery, considering Benazir's command of the English language? Did you pause and think that how could Benazir sign-off on such an important letter to such an important person with those horrible mistakes? Did the fact that Benazir could not spell the name of Galbraith right (who was supposedly her close friend) make you raise your eyebrow? And, finally, did you ponder for a minute on what kind of a stupid person would put such a thing in writing? Even secure phone lines are not relied upon for such communications. People use emissaries, sometimes multiple to increase the deniability, and even these emissaries don't go out and use direct phrases like "please ask VP Singh to engage Pakistan Army on the border". Instead, suggestive language is used which conveys the message without outright blurting it out.

If all of the above occurred to you but you were in possession of some piece of information that made you decide that the letter was authentic enough to be shared with us, you forgot to share that piece of information. This, to the best of understanding, is not how informative discussions are carried. Let me also add that you were not my sole addressee. I look at FoTH's discussions on these issue--this one, a previous one on Benazir's return to Pakistan, and numerous others that were carried on thru emails--and with a few exceptions, all the discussions were and are being conducted in a barber-shop format. All rhetoric, little substance,and a lot of cherry-picking of issues. That's not discussion sir, that's gossip, and I plead guilty of calling it as I see it. There is nothing wrong with gossiping. Many people gossip about songs, movies, cars, sports etc. Most of our friends  here seem to be fond of gossiping about politics and that is fine. I just wanted to warn the audience of this discussion that if they are watching this "discussion" to learn something, they are wasting your time. But if they are just waiting for their turn to get a haircut, I would request them to please stay and for their sake, I would request the contributors to spice the "discussion" up a little. Its too bland. Lets now talk about Benazir's sex life.

 Rafi