‘US needs Pakistan strategy’

[Neo]

‘US needs Pakistan strategy’

By Anwar Iqbal

WASHINGTON, Dec 4: Pakistan needs to abandon the search for ‘strategic depth’ in Afghanistan and instead focus on the economic revival of the South Asian region, writes Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria.

In an article published in the Washington Post on Monday, the eminent Indian journalist tells the Bush administration that ‘an Afghan strategy’ alone cannot prevent the country from becoming another Iraq. The United States needs “a Pakistan strategy” to stabilise Afghanistan.

Mr Zakaria claims that top Pakistani military officers have believed that they need to have some sway over events in Afghanistan to create a strategic depth for Pakistan.

This mechanistic view, he argues, comes out of the cold war, when India and Afghanistan tilted toward the Soviet Union, and has gained ground as India and Afghanistan have both become pro-America.

“There are even those in Islamabad who believe that to counter these trends, Pakistan should help drive western forces out of Afghanistan — even establish a pro-Pakistan, Taliban government in Kabul.”

This attitude explains Islamabad's ‘constant refrain’ that the Taliban must be rehabilitated within the Afghan political system, says Mr Zakaria.

Quoting unnamed informed sources in the Bush administration, he reports that at the dinner that President Bush threw for Afghan and Pakistani leaders in September, President Karzai warned President Musharraf that if the United States was forced to leave Afghanistan, Kabul would ally far more closely with India and Russia, which would not be in Pakistan's interests.

He also urged President Musharraf to recognise that in supporting the Taliban and its doctrine of ethnic Pashtun nationalism, he was creating a problem for himself since there are millions of dissatisfied Pashtuns within Pakistan.

Mr Zakaria then urges Washington to push President Musharraf to recognise that what Pakistan needs right now is not strategic depth but stability.

“Its economy is on a roll thanks to a strong reform programme established and overseen by its savvy prime minister, Shaukat Aziz,” he writes. “With India and Pakistan growing at 8 per cent a year, the sub-continent could move into a win-win world in which peace and prosperity reinforce each other in an upward spiral of success.

“South Asia could then look a whole lot more like Southeast Asia, a region where economic growth has alleviated historical tensions and border disputes.”

http://www.dawn.com/2006/12/05/top14.htm

 

[Neo]

Bla bla bla..
Bla bla bla..
Bla bla bla

 

[Cheetah786]

Quoting unnamed informed sources in the Bush administration, he reports that at the dinner that President Bush threw for Afghan and Pakistani leaders in September, President Karzai warned President Musharraf that if the United States was forced to leave Afghanistan, Kabul would ally far more closely with India and Russia, which would not be in Pakistan's interests.

C .I. A man karzai isnt going to be around after the Americans leave.as he has no control over Any thing. but iam willing to bet he will be an ornament hanging from tree. if he sticks around after wards.

 

[TomCat111]

C .I. A man karzai isnt going to be around after the Americans leave.as he has no control over Any thing. but iam willing to bet he will be an ornament hanging from tree. if he sticks around after wards.

He can’t even take a casual stroll outside the walls of his palace guarded American special operators.

 

[araz]

Quoting unnamed informed sources in the Bush administration, he reports that at the dinner that President Bush threw for Afghan and Pakistani leaders in September, President Karzai warned President Musharraf that if the United States was forced to leave Afghanistan, Kabul would ally far more closely with India and Russia, which would not be in Pakistan's interests.

C .I. A man karzai isnt going to be around after the Americans leave.as he has no control over Any thing. but iam willing to bet he will be an ornament hanging from tree. if he sticks around after wards.

Agreed. the poor man cant even go to the toilet without 20 security guards surrounding him . His reign is confined to the Palace alone. He is in no position to bark about what he is going to do. He will be too busy saving his Arse once the Americans leave

 

[Neo]

Agreed. the poor man cant even go to the toilet without 20 security guards surrounding him . His reign is confined to the Palace alone. He is in no position to bark about what he is going to do. He will be too busy saving his Arse once the Americans leave

Lol...

 

[TomCat111]

The Afghan mess

FIVE years after the Taliban were ousted from power, Afghanistan does not know peace. It has also been five years that Mr Hamid Karzai has been in power — first as a nominee of the Bonn conference, later elected by a jirga and a general election as head of state — but the hopes placed in him by the international community have not been fulfilled. He began well, and within a surprisingly short time order was restored in Kabul. Some warlords in the west and north-east defied him, but his government’s writ was established in parts of the country, including Kunduz. Over the years, however, things have moved in the wrong direction. The events of last May showed that his administration was not in control even of the capital city, and the Taliban insurgency has assumed new dimensions in spite of an increase in the number of troops in the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force. This is in addition to the 23,000 American troops backed by the firepower of the US air force. Yet there are no signs that the Karzai regime is anywhere near giving his people peace, much less a better life. An indication of the chaos in Afghanistan is an NYT report that says that the $1.1 billion US assistance for the Afghan police force has gone down the drain, and the force is unable to perform even routine duties. The managers of the programme, the report says, do not know how many officers are on duty and where most of the trucks given to the police under the programme have gone.

There are several reasons for the mess in which Mr Karzai finds himself. First, like Babrak Karmal, who came to Kabul riding a Soviet tank, Mr Karzai entered Kabul in the wake of the American victory over the Taliban. This was enough to arouse the suspicion of the Afghan people, who never welcome foreign troops on their soil. Second, even though he himself is a Pakhtoon, he began his rule by relying on non-Pakhtoon elements, especially Tajiks and Uzbeks. This alienated the Pakhtoons, who constitute the country’s largest ethnic group. Third, he has not bothered to employ political means to secure a wider national consensus and has instead relied on force to consolidate his rule.

Mr Karzai should see the writing on the wall and note that even the critics of Pakistan’s North Waziristan deal have come round to accepting the need for a political solution to terrorism rooted in political causes. The situation in Pakistan’s tribal areas is improving, and the foreign militants have been tackled with the help of the tribal chiefs. Mr Karzai should do the same and try to study the implications of the results of America’s mid-term elections. America is not going to stay indefinitely in Afghanistan and Iraq, and sooner than later Mr Karzai will be left to fend for himself. This is, therefore, the time for the beleaguered Afghan president to try to be on his own and deal with his countrymen politically. Blaming Pakistan has not helped and will not serve Afghanistan’s interests. Because of the chaos in his country, thousands of Afghan refugees continue to cross into Pakistan, and — not without his knowledge — sections of his intelligence apparatus use the refugees as a cover to send into Pakistan saboteurs who give arms to terrorists in Balochistan and elsewhere. It is this aspect of his relationship with Pakistan that he should pay attention to.

 

[Janbaz]

If Karzai and his idiotic countrymen want to take us then, we'll show them what us Pakistani's do. Afghans might be fierce fighters but they ain't professional and modern.:GUNS:

 

[Neo]

Afghans might be fierce fighters but they ain't professional and modern.:GUNS:

There's no unity among the tribes in Afghanistan, they're fighting eachother.
No way they can stand up against mighty Pakistani forces.

 

[Janbaz]

There's no unity among the tribes in Afghanistan, they're fighting eachother.
No way they can stand up against mighty Pakistani forces.

Yup! Many i know think that they can kill Pakistani's and Pakistan but when they face the fury of Pak Army they shall cry in agony! Hum hain Pakistani hum to jeetain gain haan jeetain gaain!:flag: