Adm. Mike Mullen, America’s top military officer, accused Pakistan of being behind the recent attack on the American embassy in Afghanistan. This is a bit too convenient. As the United States prepares to withdraw most of its troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, it seems that fighting Pakistan by proxy will become Washington’s new reason to stay.
Pakistan’s spy agency, ISI, has always been reluctant to counter the Haqqani network, the insurgents U.S. officials accuse of carrying out the attack. If that’s true, it’s no surprise as that’s been the backdrop of the entire war: America’s young volunteers have been attacked by ISI-affiliated insurgents operating from Pakistani soil. Of course, America’s mainstream establishment media failed to elaborate this simple fact and instead repeated Mullen’s blunt assessment absent that broader context.
But let us remember that as in Iraq, the ingredients for interminable conflict remain the same. A neighboring country—Iran or Pakistan—has ethno-linguistic and historical ties to a country—Iraq or Afghanistan—in which the U.S. is fighting a war. Then, U.S. officials excoriate the neighboring country—Iran or Pakistan—for doing the unspeakable: exercising its influence. Never mind the wars Iraq and Iran, and Afghanistan and Pakistan, have fought between each other in the past. In Washington-speak, if the U.S. government claims to have interests on the other side of world, then countries adjacent to them should not have interests there as well. Thus, among the U.S. government’s plethora of justifications, when pesky neighbors get in the way and are divorced from the intractable realities of history and geography, fighting them becomes a recipe for endless war.
With Pakistan, of course, nuclear weapons and American aid compound this equation. After all, those nukes are the reason the coalition must stay, and being duped into giving billions in aid to a country makes U.S. officials feel wronged. (Of course, if Washington stopped giving aid to Pakistan, so I am told tirelessly in Washington, then Pakistan might behave even worse. This argument defies reality, as billions in aid has not made Pakistan behave differently.)
For almost a decade, however, U.S. officials have refused to confront the most obvious truth: Pakistan is unwilling to abandon its support for militarized jihad. That’s because decades of assisting select militant groups have cemented ideological sympathies for radicalism among elements of that country’s armed forces. A stabilized Pakistan is not on the horizon, and so long as Western troops are fighting an all-out war in neighboring Afghanistan they will only continue to be fodder for radical aims.
Comments
Pakistani Military and ISI have reached on the point of no return as regards their adventures strategy to promote Jihad and to export their lucrative items to their neighbouring countries. Historically, Pakistani Military used "Islam" to suppress and occupy their neighbouring nations like Gilgit-baltastan and Balochistan in 1948. They used this weapon of Islam to brutally role over Pakistani people to enhance their business from Poultary form to heavy Industries. Afterwards, Pakistani Military dreamed to extend their hands and legs to occupy, a part or the whole, of their neighbouring countries through their proxies. As regards the war of Pakistani Army against Afghanistan, one can`t blame only Haqqanis.There are dozens of such groups who dance on the orders of Pakistani Military who are directly involved in fighting against Afghanistan. The funds received from U.S. are used to fighting in Afghanistan against NATO/ISAF & Afghan Army, it`s no secret anymore. ( forget the funds they receive from many other countries to bleed western forces in Afghanistan) Now, western countries should accept two realities. First, Pakistani war against westners and their allies in Afghanistan has reached to the boiling point and second, Pakistan has decided to not act as the so-called a partner of U.S. to fight against terrorism. They are, now, on the other side. The side to the forces against Western democratic countries, China, Saudi-arabia and etc. Yes, Pakistan needs to fight to terroze his own people. According to the public opinion created by Pakistani Military and ISI, United States and the whole Western world never afford to carry the war to the unlimited time in foreseeble future in Afghanistan? They wish the stay of foreign forces in Afghanistan because in this situation Pakistani Military shall continue to benefit from American aid and bleeding them in the field, they shall not be deprived from enormous funds which they receive from other Muslim countries and in such scenario the "narcotic money" shall play their part and in the last American treasury is totally broken and they shall run-away from Afghanistan as they did in Viet-nam.Inevitably, the tsunami of Pakistan can be cured by surgical operation against Pakistani Military as in the case of Iraq and Afghanistan. There is no way left to put the Jinn back in the bottle but to Balkanize Pakistan. Soviet Union collapsed despite her possessing of many nuclear Arsenals, why to worry about Pakistan? For the security and peace in Afghanistan, South Asia and in the whole world the tough and right way should be chosen.http://www.savebalochistancampaign.blogspot.com