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Myth of South Waziristan broken: Kayani
Saturday, February 13, 2010
By Mariana Baabar
ISLAMABAD: Sitting under a portrait of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, with a huge blazing red calligraphy on his left and an impressive piece of framed Chinese embroidery on his right, recalling the deaths at the Parade Lane of four young sons of his officers who were Hufaz-e-Quran, COAS General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani emerged as the first Army chief to resort to speak to the Americans and their Western allies in words and images that they cannot fail to understand.
One of the last few senior generals to have undertaken military training in the US until the Pressler Amendment was slapped on Pakistan, the US and its allies are now not only listening but also understanding as the COAS uses the symbols of American legendary golfer Tiger Woods on his power point display and comparing full bases at a baseball game to some of the war situations on the Pak-Afghan border.
In a meeting at the GHQ, with analysts and retired senior generals, some under whose command he had served, the COAS opened up his mind and heart to dwell on the dangers facing Pakistan militarily, and the region, and ways and means that the military leadership thinks are the solutions to ensure that at the end of the war, Pakistan does not find itself in the wrong corner of the room. The interaction continued for nearly three hours.
Speaking on and off therecord, the COAS shared with the participants the presentation that he had made at Nato headquarters in Brussels, where generals from 45 countries heard him, and which many Western military analysts told The News, was a make and break presentation, which got the Western military leadership not only educated, but confess amongst themselves all that they were doing wrong inside Afghanistan.
One of the direct results of this Brussels presentation, which even the Foreign Office agrees, resulted in the final push which made India coming reluctantly to the negotiating table. The COAS had convinced Nato and others why it was important for him to have his eastern border peaceful.
The proudest moment for any Pakistani was to hear and readily believe that the myth of South Waziristan had been broken and the military operations before that in Swat and Malakand in the words of the Army chief, We did it with no help from the United States. Daily I would receive calls if we needed any help and we replied we needed nothing.
He was very clear about what was best for Pakistan in these days of turmoil. Partnership (with the US) does not mean you desire and I start doing it, said the COAS. He said with the US military aid still in the pipeline, In many cases I have eaten into my reserves. While acknowledging he said there has to be a balance for a military budget and one for development as well.
The fear was, said Kayani, even if his military had accepted 5%, it would have been blown up to 50%. The COAS earlier had met General Stanley A McChrystal, Commander International Security Assistance Force, Afghanistan, at a time when everyone in the region was still waiting for the US to explain in detail the policies that will take them up to the time that they are ready to leave the region.
I told McChrystal that the acid test of a policy is that options should increase, he said, adding that he believed that the only way to measure success inside Afghanistan was to gauge the public support and not the number of people you kill.
Today, this is McCrystals policy inside Afghanistan, where they talk of a political process and reconciliation. Finally, there is realisation today, added the chief. Looking at the US Afghan strategy, Kayani says he has clearly told the US that raising an Afghan Army in the stipulated time is not possible, and weaning away of the Taliban will only happen if the US is seen willing inside Afghanistan.
This has not happened and the perception has not been formed. Only when you win over 70%, you are really winning, he added. He also does not shy away from telling his US visitors that the bulk of Nato supplies are still going through Pakistan and they will continue to do so, and threats of looking for alternative routes do not impress him.
South Waziristan We had a history of mismanaged operations in South Waziristan and there was a myth that no-one has ever come here and controlled the area. If we had turned back, we would have destroyed the credibility of the military.
The victory in South Waziristan, the chief said, was because of motivation of the troops, changed tactics of engaging the adversaries from the dangerous ridges of mountains instead of the customary land routes which also resulted in fewer casualties.
Swat operation The COAS said there was no example in history of what the Pakistan military accomplished in the Swat operation and which successfully changed the public opinion. It was the largest heliborne operation.
So when we send foreign defence chiefs to Swat, we have a story to tell. When I accompanied Admiral Mike Mullen and showed him how we had done the operation, including showing him the gorges there, his response was, I will send General McChrystal to see this.
The last visitor was US National Security Advisor James Jones, who heard for himself from educated locals how unpopular the Americans were.
India-centric
Kayani says he did not mince his words when he told Nato that he was India-centric and there was logic behind this. There was no way he could relax on his eastern border to concentrate fully on the west.
We have unresolved issues, a history of conflict and now the Cold Start doctrine. Help us resolve these issues. We want peaceful co-existence with India. India has the capability and intentions can change overnight, Kayani had told his audience in Brussels.
Nato is also realising why it is important for Pakistan to help train the Afghan Army because Pakistan could strategically simply not tolerate an Afghan Army trained by the Indians and having an Indian mindset.
Pak-Nato ratio
It is not easy for any commander to count his dead when the killing fields are still alive. But Kayani told Nato how Pakistan in 2009, lost 2,273 soldiers with another 6,512 being wounded.
Pakistan as one nation lost 2,273 soldiers while US/Nato in the same period lost 1,582. We have 10,000 troops on UN missions, recalled the COAS. Pakistan has contributed 147,000 troops to its silent surge while 43 nations in Afghanistan have sent a mere 100,000.
Pakistan mans 282 posts at the Pak-Afghan border while the coalition and Afghan Army have only 112. Pakistans operations have decreased cross border movements, there is control of areas, squeezing of spaces, and continuous flow of logistic flow, pointed the COAS. For a man of few words when he was DG ISI, today Kayani is saying a lot more. All of which has to be heard loud and clear by the people of Pakistan.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
By Mariana Baabar
ISLAMABAD: Sitting under a portrait of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, with a huge blazing red calligraphy on his left and an impressive piece of framed Chinese embroidery on his right, recalling the deaths at the Parade Lane of four young sons of his officers who were Hufaz-e-Quran, COAS General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani emerged as the first Army chief to resort to speak to the Americans and their Western allies in words and images that they cannot fail to understand.
One of the last few senior generals to have undertaken military training in the US until the Pressler Amendment was slapped on Pakistan, the US and its allies are now not only listening but also understanding as the COAS uses the symbols of American legendary golfer Tiger Woods on his power point display and comparing full bases at a baseball game to some of the war situations on the Pak-Afghan border.
In a meeting at the GHQ, with analysts and retired senior generals, some under whose command he had served, the COAS opened up his mind and heart to dwell on the dangers facing Pakistan militarily, and the region, and ways and means that the military leadership thinks are the solutions to ensure that at the end of the war, Pakistan does not find itself in the wrong corner of the room. The interaction continued for nearly three hours.
Speaking on and off therecord, the COAS shared with the participants the presentation that he had made at Nato headquarters in Brussels, where generals from 45 countries heard him, and which many Western military analysts told The News, was a make and break presentation, which got the Western military leadership not only educated, but confess amongst themselves all that they were doing wrong inside Afghanistan.
One of the direct results of this Brussels presentation, which even the Foreign Office agrees, resulted in the final push which made India coming reluctantly to the negotiating table. The COAS had convinced Nato and others why it was important for him to have his eastern border peaceful.
The proudest moment for any Pakistani was to hear and readily believe that the myth of South Waziristan had been broken and the military operations before that in Swat and Malakand in the words of the Army chief, We did it with no help from the United States. Daily I would receive calls if we needed any help and we replied we needed nothing.
He was very clear about what was best for Pakistan in these days of turmoil. Partnership (with the US) does not mean you desire and I start doing it, said the COAS. He said with the US military aid still in the pipeline, In many cases I have eaten into my reserves. While acknowledging he said there has to be a balance for a military budget and one for development as well.
The fear was, said Kayani, even if his military had accepted 5%, it would have been blown up to 50%. The COAS earlier had met General Stanley A McChrystal, Commander International Security Assistance Force, Afghanistan, at a time when everyone in the region was still waiting for the US to explain in detail the policies that will take them up to the time that they are ready to leave the region.
I told McChrystal that the acid test of a policy is that options should increase, he said, adding that he believed that the only way to measure success inside Afghanistan was to gauge the public support and not the number of people you kill.
Today, this is McCrystals policy inside Afghanistan, where they talk of a political process and reconciliation. Finally, there is realisation today, added the chief. Looking at the US Afghan strategy, Kayani says he has clearly told the US that raising an Afghan Army in the stipulated time is not possible, and weaning away of the Taliban will only happen if the US is seen willing inside Afghanistan.
This has not happened and the perception has not been formed. Only when you win over 70%, you are really winning, he added. He also does not shy away from telling his US visitors that the bulk of Nato supplies are still going through Pakistan and they will continue to do so, and threats of looking for alternative routes do not impress him.
South Waziristan We had a history of mismanaged operations in South Waziristan and there was a myth that no-one has ever come here and controlled the area. If we had turned back, we would have destroyed the credibility of the military.
The victory in South Waziristan, the chief said, was because of motivation of the troops, changed tactics of engaging the adversaries from the dangerous ridges of mountains instead of the customary land routes which also resulted in fewer casualties.
Swat operation The COAS said there was no example in history of what the Pakistan military accomplished in the Swat operation and which successfully changed the public opinion. It was the largest heliborne operation.
So when we send foreign defence chiefs to Swat, we have a story to tell. When I accompanied Admiral Mike Mullen and showed him how we had done the operation, including showing him the gorges there, his response was, I will send General McChrystal to see this.
The last visitor was US National Security Advisor James Jones, who heard for himself from educated locals how unpopular the Americans were.
India-centric
Kayani says he did not mince his words when he told Nato that he was India-centric and there was logic behind this. There was no way he could relax on his eastern border to concentrate fully on the west.
We have unresolved issues, a history of conflict and now the Cold Start doctrine. Help us resolve these issues. We want peaceful co-existence with India. India has the capability and intentions can change overnight, Kayani had told his audience in Brussels.
Nato is also realising why it is important for Pakistan to help train the Afghan Army because Pakistan could strategically simply not tolerate an Afghan Army trained by the Indians and having an Indian mindset.
Pak-Nato ratio
It is not easy for any commander to count his dead when the killing fields are still alive. But Kayani told Nato how Pakistan in 2009, lost 2,273 soldiers with another 6,512 being wounded.
Pakistan as one nation lost 2,273 soldiers while US/Nato in the same period lost 1,582. We have 10,000 troops on UN missions, recalled the COAS. Pakistan has contributed 147,000 troops to its silent surge while 43 nations in Afghanistan have sent a mere 100,000.
Pakistan mans 282 posts at the Pak-Afghan border while the coalition and Afghan Army have only 112. Pakistans operations have decreased cross border movements, there is control of areas, squeezing of spaces, and continuous flow of logistic flow, pointed the COAS. For a man of few words when he was DG ISI, today Kayani is saying a lot more. All of which has to be heard loud and clear by the people of Pakistan.
just forgive him. I feel he needs some time to adjust to the nature of the debate
So whos gona be Afghans Daday ..?
