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Excerpts from an article I just read.
US & Pak are both into election modes, there is a need for caution. However if if it is confirmed that Zawahiri is in Pak all bets shall be off.
Need for caution and weigh the consequences of intended acts.
Really now? – The Express Tribune
If I was chilled to the bone at Lt-General (retd) Asad Durranis assertions re: Dr Shakil Afridi, now removed to an undisclosed location to (literally) save his life, I am quaking in my chappals at what my old friend, Munir Akram Dopey, said in an article published in Dawn on May 27, titled Shame in Chicago. Now, Munir is considered by our FO as one of its best and brightest stars, aka the FOs sheesh nags (King cobras for those who do not know this colloquialism). As the title suggests, Munir discusses the cold shoulder given to President Asif Ali Zardari by the US president, and goes on to discuss future US-Pakistani relations with particular references to Americas ever-hardening attitude towards Pakistan.
But what he states in regard to a possible military confrontation between Pakistan and the United States is what makes one reel and almost pass out, as if one had been kicked in the head by a particularly nasty mule. Here is what the ex-ambassador to the UN says: It is uncertain if either the US or Pakistan has fully thought through the potential consequences of their possible military confrontation. Whatever its weaknesses, Pakistan will be compelled by national sentiment to respond to another US attack or intervention across its borders. A limited engagement could escalate rapidly into wide-ranging hostilities. If, during such a crisis, Pakistans strategic command believes that the US military strike is aimed to capture or destroy its nuclear and delivery capabilities, it may feel compelled to use rather than lose these capabilities.
To avoid such a miscalculation, Pakistans new nuclear deterrence doctrine, aimed to deter aggression from not only India but also from other sources, needs to be clearly and publicly spelt out. The apocalyptic danger of a military conflict between two (albeit unequal) nuclear powers should be addressed urgently by the international community.
The US-Nato should accept the measures Pakistan has proposed to avoid another shooting exchange. The US cannot continue to claim the right to strike at will within Pakistans territory without Pakistans concurrence. I ask you.
So then, (1) it is a settled matter, what, that it is Pakistans strategic command (read GHQ), that will decide when to press the trigger and not the elected government (whichever partys) that represents the will of the people? By golly! And, er, by using our bums, will we not guarantee a nuclear holocaust that will make Hiroshima and Nagasaki pale into insignificance? By golly!
(2) The international community should address urgently the apocalyptic danger of a military conflict between two (albeit unequal-Oh, thank you, thank you) nuclear powers? Since exactly when has Pakistan become a POWER please? A hundred or so nuclear warheads make a country as dirt-poor, and ill-run, and energy deficient, and one whose writ does not cover more than half its own land mass a POWER?
And which, pray, are the other (than India) sources from which Pakistan can expect aggression? I mean I know we are surrounded by enemies but who is being put on notice here please? With a half-million-man army, surely not Iran? Surely not Afghanistan? And China is a deep-as-the-ocean friend. So who? Ah, of course! The United States who well nuke the next time a Salala or an Abbottabad happens! Er, BTW, what US targets will we hit, please?
Well, Dopey old buddy he taught me the twist to Chubby Checkers Lets twist again when I used to virtually live in his gracious home on Golf Road in the GOR Lahore in 1961/62 and his dear mother used to welcome us as her own sons! you can bet your bottom Cent that if Zawahiri is mucking about in the Land of the Pure, there will be another US attack or intervention across our borders! And without Pakistans concurrence!
P.S. Actually the strategic command might not have to wait that long Leon Panetta has already said the US is losing patience with us .
Published In The Express Tribune, June 8th, 2012.
US & Pak are both into election modes, there is a need for caution. However if if it is confirmed that Zawahiri is in Pak all bets shall be off.
Need for caution and weigh the consequences of intended acts.
Really now? – The Express Tribune
If I was chilled to the bone at Lt-General (retd) Asad Durranis assertions re: Dr Shakil Afridi, now removed to an undisclosed location to (literally) save his life, I am quaking in my chappals at what my old friend, Munir Akram Dopey, said in an article published in Dawn on May 27, titled Shame in Chicago. Now, Munir is considered by our FO as one of its best and brightest stars, aka the FOs sheesh nags (King cobras for those who do not know this colloquialism). As the title suggests, Munir discusses the cold shoulder given to President Asif Ali Zardari by the US president, and goes on to discuss future US-Pakistani relations with particular references to Americas ever-hardening attitude towards Pakistan.
But what he states in regard to a possible military confrontation between Pakistan and the United States is what makes one reel and almost pass out, as if one had been kicked in the head by a particularly nasty mule. Here is what the ex-ambassador to the UN says: It is uncertain if either the US or Pakistan has fully thought through the potential consequences of their possible military confrontation. Whatever its weaknesses, Pakistan will be compelled by national sentiment to respond to another US attack or intervention across its borders. A limited engagement could escalate rapidly into wide-ranging hostilities. If, during such a crisis, Pakistans strategic command believes that the US military strike is aimed to capture or destroy its nuclear and delivery capabilities, it may feel compelled to use rather than lose these capabilities.
To avoid such a miscalculation, Pakistans new nuclear deterrence doctrine, aimed to deter aggression from not only India but also from other sources, needs to be clearly and publicly spelt out. The apocalyptic danger of a military conflict between two (albeit unequal) nuclear powers should be addressed urgently by the international community.
The US-Nato should accept the measures Pakistan has proposed to avoid another shooting exchange. The US cannot continue to claim the right to strike at will within Pakistans territory without Pakistans concurrence. I ask you.
So then, (1) it is a settled matter, what, that it is Pakistans strategic command (read GHQ), that will decide when to press the trigger and not the elected government (whichever partys) that represents the will of the people? By golly! And, er, by using our bums, will we not guarantee a nuclear holocaust that will make Hiroshima and Nagasaki pale into insignificance? By golly!
(2) The international community should address urgently the apocalyptic danger of a military conflict between two (albeit unequal-Oh, thank you, thank you) nuclear powers? Since exactly when has Pakistan become a POWER please? A hundred or so nuclear warheads make a country as dirt-poor, and ill-run, and energy deficient, and one whose writ does not cover more than half its own land mass a POWER?
And which, pray, are the other (than India) sources from which Pakistan can expect aggression? I mean I know we are surrounded by enemies but who is being put on notice here please? With a half-million-man army, surely not Iran? Surely not Afghanistan? And China is a deep-as-the-ocean friend. So who? Ah, of course! The United States who well nuke the next time a Salala or an Abbottabad happens! Er, BTW, what US targets will we hit, please?
Well, Dopey old buddy he taught me the twist to Chubby Checkers Lets twist again when I used to virtually live in his gracious home on Golf Road in the GOR Lahore in 1961/62 and his dear mother used to welcome us as her own sons! you can bet your bottom Cent that if Zawahiri is mucking about in the Land of the Pure, there will be another US attack or intervention across our borders! And without Pakistans concurrence!
P.S. Actually the strategic command might not have to wait that long Leon Panetta has already said the US is losing patience with us .
Published In The Express Tribune, June 8th, 2012.
