NOTES FROM A SOCIAL SCIENTIST
The Solution!!
By Dr. Haider Mehdi
"Hathi ke dant khane ke aur dikhane ke aur (deception is always concealed)."
An Urdu proverb
"We are fighting an unwinnable war… and we have tasked our military with solving an insoluble problem: how to win over a people whose land we've occupied. Our military leaders, in response, are forced to invent plausible reasons explaining why they've been unable to accomplish the impossible. The 'blame Pakistan narrative' serves that purpose admirably."
- Justin Raimondo, Are We At War With Pakistan?
As a political analyst and student of American domestic politics and its inter-relatedness with foreign policy, I am willing to assume that the recent threatening rhetoric coming out of Obama's administration against Pakistan's military establishment was, in fact, primarily an exercise in domestic political control. Having seen no way to achieve a military victory or dictated peace in Afghanistan and, in view of the American presidential election next year, the Obama "killing machine" high command suddenly went into overdrive against the Pakistani army and its primary intelligence service, the ISI.
What if the Obama administration, in absolute desperation, facing the possible loss of the presidential bid for his second term, escalates the "war of words" into yet another highly organized and media-supported military campaign on Pakistani soil under the pretext of incapacitating its newly-fabricated enemy, the Haqqani network? Truth does not matter in the American political notion of "might is right" and "the end justifies the means." Indeed, the Obama administration is fully knowledgeable of the Haqqani presence in Afghanistan, its political association with the Afghan Taliban movement and its allegiance to Mullah Omar's leadership. And yet, the US might insist that the Haqqani network is a distinct political entity affiliated with Pakistan's intelligence agency and controlled by the ISI, with its armed wing freely operating from Pakistani territory – in spite of all the evidence to the contrary.
Consequently, a new US military offensive starts on Pakistani territory. American public attention is deflected from domestic issues and the US military-political failures in Afghanistan and Iraq. A new enemy is fabricated, demonized, attacked, bombed, and killed. And Obama wins the presidential election for a second term. The American dream lives on: yes, the US once again proves itself to be the only global superpower. The gullible American public is happy and reassured of their country's immense military might. Another war continues. America sells more arms. It engineers more regional and global conflicts. American corporate interests flourish. Pakistan is destabilized. India becomes a regional superpower. US-Nato alliance with India and other nations in the region set the final stage for the containment of China. White nations' historical supremacy remains intact. Imperialism lives on.
The Pakistani nation is faced with innumerable dangerous but plausible political-military scenarios. And any of these possible threats might turn out to be absolutely real: we are being openly threatened politically and militarily. This is a realistic assessment of the prevailing pernicious situation on ground. America will attack Haqqani family members on Pakistani territory (though the armed network is in Afghanistan) – drone attacks will increase, covert military activities will accelerate, suicide bombings will expand, the US media will go on a political rampage against Pakistan, and American military surgical strikes are a real possibility. We are about to face a crisis of monumental scale.
When a nation is in a state of war or serious national crisis, as Pakistan is now, the Islamabad All Parties Conference communiqué (of September 29th) does not offer substantive solutions to its problematics. Communiqués, by their very nature, are only a reflection of presumed intentions; they are not actual political acts in themselves. Their value is abstract in nature and expressed in a non-reality format which is removed from ground actualities. And it avoids the need for instant engagement with the prevailing crisis. Hence, such conferences and communiqués become political theatrics rather than actual solutions to the problems at hand.
The real solutions lie in strategic political-military management and decision-making initiatives in the appropriate context of the crisis and an instant head-on engagement with the problems so as to resolve them: these decisions have to be decisive, rationally approached, applicable and policy- orientated and expressed with absolute clarity of purpose and form to our adversaries. Unfortunately, the Zardari-Gilani regime has not done so in the wake of Admiral Mullen's testimony before the US Senate and the assault on Pakistan's army by the American media and the Obama administration. Perhaps Islamabad is not willing to do so; perhaps the Zardari-Gilani regime is incapable of taking such bold and decisive policy decisions to counteract American verbal aggression that might later turn into a military threat, overt or covert, against Pakistan.
In my own considered opinion, Admiral Mullen/Obama/American media's accusations against Pakistan have, in fact, offered us a window of opportunity to correct our foreign policy discourse and set up a new direction to our alliances with the US, Nato, Afghanistan and the rest of the global community.
First and foremost, instead of denying Pakistan's link to the Haqqani network, we should make it clear to Obama's administration that we have a historical-political association with them. We should remind Barrack Obama that these are the same people who were American mujahidin heroes in the US war against the Soviets.
Two: We should tell Obama that the Haqqani network is our asset: a valuable ally whose massive political influence and military presence in Afghanistan can be the decisive leverage in bringing about an instant peaceful settlement in Afghanistan.
Three: Pakistan can use its influence with the Haqqani network for bringing the Afghans and the Americans to a negotiation table. If the US gives peace a chance, it would greatly enhance Obama's popularity domestically and guarantee his re-election for the second term.
Four: The US-Nato war is unwinnable in Afghanistan because it is against an entire nation and people – its expansion into Pakistan will not be in the interest of American long-range regional and global objectives. It is time to put the "war on terror" behind and treat Pakistan as an ally in seeking peace – the mantra of "do more" is now absolutely unacceptable.
Five: Pakistan must immediately disengage itself from the so-called "war on terrorism" and stop all military operations all over the country. It should immediately engage in dialogue with all warring factions, including the Taliban, for political settlement of all issues facing the country. Pakistan needs to clearly tell Obama that the "war on terror" is not our war and it is in Pakistan's national interest to stop this destructiveness against our own people – as long as this war continues, internal violence will continue to accelerate. We have had enough of it – no matter if financial aid is cut or not.
Six: Pakistan should make necessary military preparations to respond to any likely US-Nato aggression.
Seven: Pakistan needs to tell the US to stop drone attacks on its territory. We will react with a stern step-by-step military and diplomatic response should the US continue to disregard our vital domestic concerns and further violate our sovereignty.
We must have faith and respect of our own political judgments – only then will the others respect us!
Have we not had enough of concealed deceptions in the name of democracy!
Now that the APC theatrics are over, the curtain has fallen on the stage where the Zardari-Gilani regime's political charade was being played out. Now let us get to work on some real issues.
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