Pratima asked : Shekhar, What are your thoughts on the Pak-bashing that Hillary Clinton did today?.
Imagine a war that has continued for 9 years, with 20,000 foreign troops, that has killed tens of thousands of people, many of them innocent men women and children, and plunged two countries into chaos that will take years to come out of – all in search of one man called Bin Laden that nobody mentions any more !!
I believe the American Policy in the region suffers from a clear lack of goals. How would they be able to declare victory, when they don’t really know what they want ? I have already argued that the Islamic form of democracy is not something the West understands or is willing to accept, while the western form of democracy will never succeed in Afghanistan.
So Hilary Clinton’s frustration is showing. She effectively got as close to saying that the Pakistan Army secretly supports the Taliban as a visiting senior politician of the US can say within Pakistan. She said that is ‘not possible that the Pakistan’s Govt does not know where the Taliban hide outs and centres in Pakistan are”.
Partly of course there is a growing frustration within President Obama’s administration over their inability to control the Taliban either in Pakistan or in Afghanistan. And in the meantime billions of dollar worth of military aid is pouring into Pakistan from the US, and they are not even sure how much of that is actually landing up in Taliban hands. And as more US troops die in the region, Obama has to show tangible results if he to send more troops. Not only that, each day of terrorist activity pushes Pakistan to the brink of economic collapse, and the closer the terrorist organizations are to their goal of throwing a nuclear state into complete chaos, and take power. That is the scenario that the US fears, and the whole world should fear.
What the US must understand that the borders between Pakistan, Baluchistan and Afghanistan were created by the Colonial powers and are very porous. The lines created left families and cultures divided, but who have never really accepted or respected these borders. That is true about Iraq and Israel and Palestine and the Gaza strip too. Borders created by the colonists are the last but probably most devastating legacy of their colonization. And in this area community, family and tribal bonds are very strong. So many of the officers and soldiers in the Pakistan Army have family, community and friends across the border, and probably feel a greater affinity to them than many of their own army. So the Taliban is bound to have strong sympathizers and support in the Pakistan Army and the rugged tribal areas at the border. A support that grows everyday as American troops and government encourage the Pakistan Army to launch an offensive against their own kith and kin. Just as would happen to the Latino troops of Mexican origin in the US army if the US went to war on the borders with Mexico.
Somehow everyone has forgotten that the American troops went into Afghanistan and then into the the border areas of Pakistan in search of Bin Laden. No one talks about him anymore and the scope of the war seems to has just widened with no definite goal in mind. It’s becoming more and more indefinite, with consequences that are more and more dangerous to us.
Need of this hour is:
1) A World leader with First interest ONLY Humanity
2) One World with One Government
3) All existing governments, part of one big government for better world
4) Separate the religion from politics
5) Politics should not be mixed and part of Religion.
Reminds me of an episode of a news reporter was interviewing US or UK officer-in-charge in Afghanistan who just couldn’t remember who bin Laden was !!!
Wondering if you have come across this resignation letter of a US State Dept rep in Afghanistan http://www.globaldashboard.org/2009/10/28/remind-me-afghanistan/
btw, is the spelling mistake in title a typo or a Freudian slip :p
Shekhar,
don’t you think that it turned out like Mama spanking his boy? US gives aid, arms.. and at the same time this. Don’t you feel the noose needs to be tightened? Isn’t the foreign policy extremely confusing?
it is a Good thought and laid it out all well Shekhar… I feel the same..
I also feel that – If we want to secure our own home, we don’t go and sit in other people’s home just b/c their parents cannot afford to send their children to better schools or give them a proper education – where later they become the-ifs or not properly adjusted in their own society. It is like being : ALWAYS – “InSecure” which is exactly seems like the portrayal of US at this time. It is somewhat like that rich spoiled brat who has the money and out of his own insecurity keeps going on and on and start fighting with everybody without clear Goals and then they seems to enjoy it…..They have some of their own major issues FIRST to deal with.,
Isn’t ???
Manav
” … American Policy in the region suffers from a clear lack of goals. How would they be able to declare victory, when they don’t really know what they want ?”
You said it sir that is the crux of the issue and the confusion.
As for Hillary accusing Pakistan, does it really mean anything and even the US knows it. They can say whatever but reality is they will still provide them with arms and aids. Not coz they have love for Pakistan or its people but Pakistan is the only country which can give them easy access to border.Where will they turn if things go wrong in Afganistan.
This said Mr Kapoor i came across this link and was wondering what you think about it?
http://www.pcworld.com/article/174205/google_placates_india_china_with_different_map_versions.html
Pratima ji:
u mean to say that the whole offensive in afghan/pak/iraq is abt bin laden? u must b a high school drop-out to say that. Forgiving n forgetting is the indian way of life; do u think americans have forgotten 911? when pearl harbor n cold war r still fresh in the american minds, how can they even think abt forgetting 911 & deviate from killing bin laden.
bin laden is only one of the many many targets US is gunning for; other goals r to wipe out al-qaeda, taliban, funding to all of these islamic fundamentalist groups, iranian nukes, hezbollah, middle east oil dependency; gag paki govt and ISI etc. etc.
plz dont be so imaginative that paki nukes r a threat to US and the rest of the world; the only country that will pay dearly if paki nukes fall into islamic fundamentalists is:INDIA; surprised?!
Please do not be, coz, in such a scenario the allied forces will step-up their offensive by a million times to ensure the safety and security of their borders but our secular govt. will do NOTHING to protect us.
“Islamic form of democracy is not something the West understands or is willing to accept”
What does religion have to with democracy ?
Can there be a be a Hindutva democracy then ?
Amazing our religion and politics are so interwoven. The pillars of war, dissent, divisions, bloodbath
Ok Shekhar, Hillary bashed pakistan? She simply spoke the truth, and now you are bashing her up? Great, If you don’t live in America and dont know its democracy and thoughts then you should live her for some time, America believes and promotes only one thought FREEDOM. WE American will go to any length to achieve freedom and not just freedom we want TOTAL freedom and yes we are taking this upon ourselves to bring freedom to the whole world because INDIA is obviously not doing much about it regardless of countless attacks that India has faced India will ofcourse as always kneel down to their answers and just nothing about it. So yeah just like the rest of the Indians you too go ahead and Kneel to pakistanis answers of “investigations is on” even after the attacks of 26/11 so please shekhar and rest of INDIA wake up please and do something about this rather than just bash America all the time. America is atleast doing something about its freedom and terrorism. After that one attack on 9/11 we went to war. How many attacks have been made on India and how many real decisions have been made by it hmmm..let me guess NONE. So stop being politicaly correct and let America do its job.
Land of Free & Brave
America.