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Ralph Peters: What the generals won't tell the prez
As our powerless secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, dutifully covers her head to attend the inauguration of an Afghan president so unpopular his ceremony has to be held behind closed doors, our AfPak (Afghanistan/Pakistan) policy isn't merely adrift. It's sinking. President Obama inherited a mess, and promptly made it worse. But let's be fair: There's plenty of blame to go around in the ongoing Afghan nondecision debacle, as well as regarding our follies in Pakistan. And I've been wrong about a fundamental issue. For years, I've insisted that, while the Pakistanis would never give us "their" Taliban (such as the Haqqani faction), they'd deliver Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri if they could. Wrong, wrong, wrong: As the conflict dragged on, I failed to re-examine my conclusion and see what's become obvious: Osama bin Laden is the goose that lays platinum eggs. If we killed or captured Osama and Zawahiri, the Pakistanis might not be able to milk us for more tribute money. We could draw down our troop presence next door. And the Pakistanis would lose the mighty profits squeezed from our supply route into Afghanistan. The Pakistanis don't want us to remain in Afghanistan forever, but they're not ready to hit the brakes on the gravy train, either. They're of two minds -- and the greedy side tends to win in the short term. And as long as we "need" Pakistan, Islamabad will be able to sponsor more terror attacks on India, counting on us to intervene before New Delhi retaliates. Why on earth would they hand over Osama? My mistake became clear with the passage of time: Eight years after 9/11, Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence agency must know where Osama hangs his turban. The ISI has connections even among the state's most virulent enemies. It's impossible to believe that, after this much time has elapsed, it has no idea where Osama's hiding. He could even be under the ISI's active protection. We're such dupes. For the Pakistani government and the Afghan government. Secretary Clinton will show our support for Karzai in public, nag him a little in private, get a few worthless promises, bother Gen. McChrystal and fly home. Mission accomplished. Our president won't act, our generals won't think and our allies won't help. God help our troops. Peters nails it again. Posted by: Spot 2009-11-19 |
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