Pakistan Army must wake up and smell the coffee.

[fatman17]

posted here because it is the Army which controls our Foreign Policy!

Opinion Think serious, think American?


Mohammad Malick
Wednesday, May 18, 2011

American standup comedian Eddie Murphy once cracked a real funny racial slur when addressing an imaginary black friend he said, “Think serious, think white”. Unfortunately for us, neither is Pakistan in a funny situation nor is its ‘friend’ imaginary. So maybe it’s also time for Pakistan to “think serious, think American”. The government and the people of Pakistan in particular need to understand that while the world may not be unipolar it is being commandeered nevertheless by a unipolar superpower which is now openly telling everyone that it will do everything its way, because it can. Now you know why Frank Sinatra’s “I did it my way” remains eternally popular with our American friends. So with Pakistan finding itself in the cross hairs of a miffed mighty, what does it do next?

For starters, we need to look beyond the contemporary rhetoric of leadership in both countries and concentrate on the substantive US policy objectives, both declared and not so declared. This ‘objective oriented analysis of developments’ could be our first step towards thinking-American. Isn’t it interesting how suddenly the unrelated issue of the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear assets has come up tops on US security menu and only because one man, along with his three wives, had managed to hide amongst a nation of 180 million people? The latest visit of Senator John Kerry, arguably one of the closest things resembling a sympathiser of Pakistan within the US power corridors, was aptly summed in his own one liner when he declared that the future Pak-US relationship shall be defined by “actions and not words”. Here too without saying it he made it abundantly clear that his reference was exclusively to Pakistan’s actions. This statement was not a spur of the moment uttering by Kerry the individual, but a calibrated message based on formal US policy.

Then Kerry also talked about Pakistan’s nuclear assets. It is irrelevant that he thought they were in safe hands (for now), because what is relevant is his flagging the nuclear issue in the first instance as did Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her dramatically timed phone call to Prime Minister Gillani. Is this latest flagging of nuclear issue contemporary political verbosity or the implementation of the next stage of the long held US policy vis-a-vis our nuclear programme?

Did we ever ponder why Senator Lugar, and not any other, had stepped in after Joe Biden to co-author the Kerry-Lugar bill? The original draft of the legislation had overwhelmingly focused on socio-economic development but after Lugar its orientation swung the nuclear way, of course under the garb of this security concern or another. Is it a sheer coincidence that Senator Lugar also happened to have teamed with Senator Nunn to create ‘policy legislation’ that ultimately saw the demise of the Soviet nuclear programme? Our own KLB replicates certain provisions including bestowing the right to sell Pakistan’s national resources to pay for expenses associated with CTR (Cooperative Threat Reduction). The Soviets were actually billed for over 350 sting operations carried out against them by US in the name of CTR. And this is only one small part of the big policy picture.

Pakistan must wake up and smell the coffee, the American brewed to be precise. Time has come for us to recognise the drastically changed global political and security landscape and to readjust our actions, emotions, and ‘internal power equations’ accordingly. It cannot be business as usual. The new worldview being shaped by a belligerent over $3.2 trillion a year US war industry is wrong but it is the prevalent reality nevertheless and one that must be factored into our policy making. And it gets even worse. The proposed National Defence Authorisation Act expands the notion of America’s enemy to include forces “associated” with identified antagonists like Al-Qaeda and Taliban, and whoever is put next on the list once a delusional general like David Petraeus takes over CIA. Add this to our already having agreed to the inclusion of “terrorist sanctuaries” in our beloved Kerry-Lugar bill and the policy framework for ‘legitimate’ US military unilateralism in Pakistan and elsewhere in the world stands completed. America has started behaving like a swaggering empire and we need to plan accordingly.

And our doing so should not in any way be confused with us giving up our national honour (as the deliberately misleading ‘ghairat’ brigade will claim) but only tampering it with timely pragmatism. Our holy Prophet (PBUH) laid down examples of tactical easing off with his hijrat and Pact Hudabiya. Clear examples that short-term unpleasant tactical back stepping was ok, as long as one did not abandon legitimate desired strategic objectives. Whether it was a US induced intelligence failure or outright incompetence of our own sleuths is immaterial. What matters is that the Osama episode has put us in a hole and we first need to claw our way out of this pit and only then get on with doing things the right way. And we must begin in earnest by taking a worldview of our local priorities and concerns. We need to eschew conflict and buy time to build our economic might and positive relevance in the comity of nations. The world needs to be convinced that it would be a better place with us, and not without us. And if doing so means taking a step back without jeopardising our security then be it. There will always be another day.

The writer is editor The News, Islamabad.

 

[Super Falcon]

Army and govt is responsible for all this mess from day one if they did right things for us and kept some distances with a friendship with USA we gained alot what we are getting self reliance is a key which we are missing once you be self reliant you dont need others anyway

 

[khurasaan1]

thats what weve been crying over all the times...but the sellouts been wrking for their pockets....now get ready to face the curse from Allah SBWT...no runaway from it....

 

[Safriz]

I disagree...Its obvious that decades of loyalty to the master didn't do any good to Pakistan.Used and abused..thats what they did..
Any more time wasting with them will do no good....it hasn't worked and wont..
The balance of power is now shifting to china..the age of west is pretty much over...Now look east..

even better will be to go through an internal revolution and change ourselves as a nation..self reliance is the key word..
safriz says...dont smell coffee...small "naswaar" and all will be fine

 

[fatman17]

By Country / Pakistan

So Who's Running Pakistan's Foreign Policy?

General Kayani, shadow foreign minister

May 18, 2011

There was a revealing detail about Senator John Kerry’s visit to Pakistan a few days ago.

The first place he stopped, immediately after his arrival on May 15, was the office of Pakistani Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani. Neither President Asif Ali Zardari nor Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was so favored. Both men had to wait until the second day of the visit to get face time with the chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. (Shortly thereafter Gilani set off to China, where he hinted that his government might favor an expansion of ties with Beijing if relations with the U.S. continue to go downhill.)

So what about the foreign minister, you might ask?

Well, ever since previous officeholder Shah Mehmood Qureshi resigned back in February over the brouhaha involving U.S. spy Raymond Davis, that position has been held by Hina Rabbani Khar, who was bumped upstairs from her spot as a junior minister of state. She is now the acting minister until parliament and the government can get their act together to appoint a full-fledged replacement.

As a result, Pakistan’s formal foreign policy apparatus is effectively on hold – at a time when the aftershocks of the bin Laden killing are still rocking the country. If Pakistan ever needed a steady hand on the foreign policy tiller, it’s now. Relations between Islamabad and Washington have hit a new low. The war in Afghanistan is entering a possibly crucial phase. And internally Pakistan is still struggling to come to terms with a persistent culture of terrorism that also has a direct impact on the country’s image overseas. (Note the recent Karachi attack on a diplomat from Saudi Arabia, one of Pakistan’s closest friends.)

Okay, someone might argue that the lack of a foreign minister makes little difference in real terms. The military, after all, has always played on outsized role in Pakistan’s internal and external affairs.

True enough. But the problem right now is precisely that the army’s already disproportionate role is additionally inflated by the power vacuum in one of the country’s key civilian institutions.

And this is happening at precisely the moment when it’s the military that’s trying to cope with the indignities inflicted upon it by the U.S. raid to get bin Laden. (First, the Americans didn’t trust the Pakistani generals enough to share information about the raid beforehand. Second, the military has also been embarrassed, in the eyes of many locals, by the apparent ease with which U.S. special forces were able to perform the operation in the midst of a city filled with Pakistani army installations.)

It’s precisely at times like this that it would be good to have a heavyweight civilian interlocutor around – a professional diplomat, perhaps? – to offer a bit of calming perspective.

Of course, the Americans are not entirely innocent in all of this. By so obviously putting General Kayani in the foreground, they’re also implicitly contributing to the militarization of Pakistani politics – something that they have always claimed to oppose.

- Muhammad Tahir and Christian Caryl

 

[muse]

Look at where we started out - see the "Don't malign.." and "Towards a new and improved Fauj" --- It's gratifying that not everybody is willing to see critical review in the reactionary frame.

The Fauj must make it out of Pakistani politics as quickly as it can - it must focus on what should be it's key competencies (killing Pakistan's external and internal enemies) .

The Fauj MUST also do whatever it can to stop being seen as a creature of the US - there's no future for the Fauj as a creature of the US.

 

[Developereo]

The Fauj MUST also do whatever it can to stop being seen as a creature of the US - there's no future for the Fauj as a creature of the US.

It's not that anyone wants the Fauj to be a creature of the US. It is just that the civilians are beyond redemption, and the Fauj is seen as the lesser of two evils. They may be pawns of the US -- like the civilians -- but at least they will give two thoughts for the country's security also -- unlike the civilians.

Pakistan's problem is not the Fauj; it is the complete vacuum of credible leadership that pervades the civilian political space. Imran Khan fires up people's passion but he has yet to convince a significant majority that he is capable of delivering solutions.

As for the original article, it is spot on. America has all but declared Pakistan as enemy #1 and things are likely to get much much worse before they get better. The question now is how to negotiate the coming years with the world's superpower squarely gunning for you at every turn.

 

[chops4d]

I disagree...Its obvious that decades of loyalty to the master didn't do any good to Pakistan.Used and abused..thats what they did..
Any more time wasting with them will do no good....it hasn't worked and wont..
The balance of power is now shifting to china..the age of west is pretty much over...Now look east..

even better will be to go through an internal revolution and change ourselves as a nation..self reliance is the key word..
safriz says...dont smell coffee...small "naswaar" and all will be fine

one think i must ask you in wake of so many innocent pashtun killings, so many displaced, and the povince in utter destruction because of government and army, can the pashtun loyalties change and they struggle for their independence??? im not asking this as a pakistani but as a human

 

[Khan_patriot]

one think i must ask you in wake of so many innocent pashtun killings, so many displaced, and the povince in utter destruction because of government and army, can the pashtun loyalties change and they struggle for their independence??? im not asking this as a pakistani but as a human

Dude I am from Khyber Phuktunkhwa adn army ops were conducted in my area and there is no anti PA or anti Pakistan sentiments there and the ''Pathans'' are very loyal to Pakistan,and Pakistan is with a capital P not a small one

PS are you the one who got banned a few days ago.......

 

[muse]

It's not that anyone wants the Fauj to be a creature of the US. It is just that the civilians are beyond redemption, and the Fauj is seen as the lesser of two evils. They may be pawns of the US -- like the civilians -- but at least they will give two thoughts for the country's security also -- unlike the civilians.

Pakistan's problem is not the Fauj; it is the complete vacuum of credible leadership that pervades the civilian political space. Imran Khan fires up people's passion but he has yet to convince a significant majority that he is capable of delivering solutions.

As for the original article, it is spot on. America has all but declared Pakistan as enemy #1 and things are likely to get much much worse before they get better. The question now is how to negotiate the coming years with the world's superpower squarely gunning for you at every turn.

Sorry Develepero, but these excuses have run their course -- It is the Fauj itself that seeks to be a creature of the US, nothing would please her better than to be a stooge for the US, if only the US will give her weapons and allow her to make Pakistanis believe that their biggest problem is India.

The civilians are Pakistan's problem? This is rather disappointing coming from you -- All around us, especially with the Arab Spring, the world is changing and will change even more - the US and the West in general will seek to use the armed forces in Arab countries to suppress the peoples, however, so shaken are the US and the West in general, by an awakened peoples, that the US finds herself in panic, because she is exposed as a hypocritical -- it is to this that Obama will have to address in a major speech -- So I think your "sentiment" is missing the Zeitgeist, and Pakistan is a part of this -- I don't think it's unfair to say that the army cannot claim that the civilians are useless on one hand and on the other hand, the populace sees that it's the civilians who have got the army's nuts out of the fire (abbottabad performance).

With regard to the US and the related aid -- Have you considered that the US may not be as relevant as the Pakistan Fauj insists it is? - I am persuaded that the case of the US being relevant is rather weak --- with regard to the aid from the US - please do note that the Fauj is number one in accepting it, not schools, not roads, dams, bridges, but the army -- why is this necessary? The claim will be fighting the TTP and such but do you really believe the Fauj cannot handle these tribals? Consider your answer carefully, because if one accepts the line, then of course the Pak Fauj is not competent at what is supposed to be it's very reason for existing and therefore it would have to abandon politics and concentrate on being proficient at killing the islamist enemy and really any kind of enemy, even if that enemy is some power from far away.

you may kind the link below of some interest:

Cool it, military tells media persons

 

[khurasaan1]

Nope!...Sssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Dont wake her up....let her sleep peacefully and watch sweet dreamz. with US/NATO......

 

[chops4d]

Dude I am from Khyber Phuktunkhwa adn army ops were conducted in my area and there is no anti PA or anti Pakistan sentiments there and the ''Pathans'' are very loyal to Pakistan,and Pakistan is with a capital P not a small one

PS are you the one who got banned a few days ago.......

there are othere from the same area there who think opposite of what you think

 

[Developereo]

muse,

You raise a number of issues, so let me address the easier ones first.

As for the Arab Spring, I don't think the US is losing one wink. Did you notice that, except for Egypt (and Tunisia which is insignificant and Libya where US interests were served), all the other other Arab uprisings have quietly been suppressed with the usual Middle Eastern brutality? The fact is that any future revolutions will fail and be quietly crushed because the global media will ignore them or, worse, brand them as Iranian-backed or Islamist movements. Egypt caught them unawares, but now the script is in place. The Arab search for democracy is back in the freezer.

What the US wants in Pakistan is compliant stooges. Military ones are good because of their longevity and power; civilians are preferable for domestic and international PR. And Pakistan has an inexhaustible supply of both. Despite lofty pronouncements, America doesn't seem too interested in the Pakistani public at large. They are not fools, nor are they so naive as not to understand the corruption rampant in developing countries. If they really wanted to connect with the Pakistani people, they would have funded reputable NGOs and other grassroots organizations to make sure the aid money was spent properly. The American 'aid' is bribe money and all sides know it.

Which brings me to the point that America does not, and has never had, Pakistan's best interests at heart. Quite the opposite. From its pro-Israel mandate to its anti-China obsession, Pakistan has always been on the wrong side for America. It is only our good fortune that India was in the Russian camp, or we would have been finished long ago. Now, given that all our civilians politicians from Benazir to Nawaaz to Zardari have been abject slaves to the US (directly or indirectly through the Saudis), at least the generals keep the American troops from parading openly in Karachi. I believe the military is playing a very tricky game with the Americans -- in exchange for their money, they are giving them just enough cooperation to keep the dogs at bay. You may disagree, but I believe they are doing so in the interest of keeping the country safe. At least this way we get some military toys because the alternative would be an American military strike on Pakistani assets. Remember the 'stone ages' warning to Musharraf?

Finally, as regards India, I already made my observation in another thread. As long as Kashmir remains unresolved, India will continue to be our enemy. That threat has not diminished in the least. All India has done is to increase activity on other dimensions: economic, diplomatic and media pressure on Pakistan. This is something we urgently need to address, and this is where the Fauj needs to move with the times. The Fauj handles the military aspect, but Pakistan needs to devote money to these other fronts also where it is being attacked. That money has to come from somewhere -- either reduced military budget or increased tax revenues.

 

[muse]

Nothing in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 for me to respond to - I do share your understanding

I do take exception with paragraph 4 -- this is really up in the air and a lot depends on whether the Indian political system can keep the US engaged without failing as Pakistan has -- The US line is that it is working over time to patch things between Pakistan and India - a gigantic lie, it is doing no such thing - Good relations between Pakistan and India are a nightmare situation for the US and the West in general, thinking Pakistanis understand this, as do a growing number of Indians.

The issue of captive Kashmir, to my thinking, is something that Indian authorities realize they must have resolution to, in order to transition to a genuinely global player with credibility, a power that is mature -- and believe it or not, Pakistan needs India to make this transition because Pakistan itself is ready for a similar transition -- but anyway, getting back to the "enemy" business -- Pakistan and India are adversaries and rivals, they are not ENEMIES -- Pakistan's enemies are the Islamist insurgents and their political enablers. Though some, I do realize, will be slow to coming to that realization, and others, it will just leave behind.

 

[Developereo]

With each passing day, I am more and more convinced that the US neocons are committed to destroying Pakistan -- either reduce it to insignificance or dismember it entirely. The single most important step in that endeavor is to weaken the Pakistani security establishment be degrading their morale and creating a rift between them and the people. So, while I agree with all the military's criticisms about corruption, budget bloat and Islamist appeasement, I still firmly support them in the face of the greater evil at the door.

P.S. Yes, I agree. We have two severe threats: the Islamist threat within our society and the American threat outside. And, yes, compared to those threats, India is a distant third.