Meanwhile, our friends connected to the fight in Iraq

Are having problems of their own.

In Pakistan:

With Pakistan's judicial crisis spiraling into a fullblown political campaign against him, President General Pervez Musharraf has decided to fight fire with fire on the streets of Karachi. The scores dead and hundreds injured in clashes between Pashtun-based opposition parties and the pro-government Muttehida Qaumi Movement could mark a bitter turning point.

In Turkey:

Its prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said it was “a shot fired at democracy.” Others labelled it an “e-coup”. Whatever you call it, a threat to intervene against Turkey's mildly Islamist government posted on the general staff's website on April 27th has hurt democracy and deepened the chasm between the secular and the pious. A defiant Mr Erdogan has called for an early general election. It may take place in July, instead of the scheduled date, November 4th. Opinion polls suggest that his AK Party will again beat its secular rivals.

How would the army respond to that? Seasoned Turkey-watchers who once scoffed at the notion of another coup say that it now can't be ruled out. Many admit that the European Union is partly to blame. EU dithering over Turkish membership has dented enthusiasm: when Olli Rehn, the enlargement commissioner, scolded the army for its meddling, few paid attention.

And more:

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's Islamist-rooted government condemned on Saturday an army threat to intervene in the nation's presidential contest while the EU and the United States urged a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

The army, which has ousted four governments in the past 50 years, issued a toughly worded statement on Friday expressing concern over the election and said it was ready to act in defence of the secular system separating state and religion.

Update 5/15: Pakistan hotel suffers a suicide bomber attack:

At least 24 people have been killed and many more injured in northwestern Pakistan after a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a hotel, according to police.

The blast on Tuesday, which officials later confirmed as a suicide bombing, occurred at the Marhaba Hotel in a crowded area of central Peshawar, a city close to the Afghan border.