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| India-Pakistan | ||
| Pakistan's addiction | ||
| 2008-07-29 | ||
| By Ali Eteraz There is a scene in the famous film about drug addiction, Requiem for a Dream, where the addict pushes his mother into the closet, then unlocks her TV which she had padlocked to the wall, and rolls it across many city blocks to a pawn shop. There, he sells it for 20 dollars and goes off to get high with his friend. Then he passes out. This scene came to mind recently when I was waiting for a flight at a US airport and watching a story about Pakistan on CNN. The story focused on how Pakistan's military command is trying to convince some extremely sceptical and recalcitrant members of the United States Congress to fork over a few F-16s that, the military says, are virtually essential to resisting the Taliban threat in Pakistan. Here we have yet another case of an addict trying to fulfil its decadent addiction - in this case weapons - through any sort of manipulation and extortion it can think up. In fact, the truth is that the military's claims that F-16s are essential the war on terror is an outright lie. First of all, Pakistan's military doesn't very much directly engage with Taliban warlords. When military action does take place, it is usually the poor kids from the paramilitary (which means: not fully military) Frontier Corps that do the dying. F-16s don't enter the picture. Second, Pakistan doesn't fight the Taliban militants the way the US in Afghanistan does. The Americans like to surround the militants with armoured vehicles, then hit them with airstrikes, then follow this up with a ground assault and helicopter gunships. Pakistan usually foregoes the use of airstrikes and gunships. F-16s don't enter the picture. Third, dropping bombs from up high on the Taliban would be a self-defeating exercise because it would further increase the impression that Pakistan's war on warlords is a job outsourced from Washington DC, when in fact it must be something the Pakistanis want. F-16s shouldn't enter the picture. In other words, F-16s have nothing to do with the most pressing national security issue afflicting the Pakistani nation, yet here I am, thousands of miles from Pakistan, listening to the pre-eminent news station in the world, and the lead story about Pakistan isn't the oil-food-currency crisis in the country or the economic development in NWFP or the issue of Pashtun nationalism, it is a squadron of airplanes. What for? According to Pakistani military expert, Shuja Nawaz, and various other international groups,
Something is very wrong with such a picture. All signs point to addiction; one in which the military has successfully co-opted Pakistan's civilian structure as well. No doubt Prime Minister Gilani, on his way to Washington DC now, is coming to politely shout at the US congresswoman holding up the deal for the F-16s. To accomplish this, he will endeavour to make American policy experts believe that the fate of the entire future of the world rests on the procurement of these aged aircrafts. As he does this, the US media will pick up on the story and tell everyone that Pakistan is run by such a bunch of inept loons that what separates a functioning republic from a nuclear caliphate is merely one squadron of aged planes. The worldwide community will then proceed to simultaneously bite their nails and laugh at Pakistan, all of which will make Pakistanis even more ashamed of their nation than they already are. This is the sort of self-hatred that addiction arouses. People like to say that Pakistan's addiction - to weaponry and military hardware and brass medals and tin skinned rulers - is due to its confrontation with India, with which the nation is waging a purported cold war, for which it needs to match its counterpart blow for blow, as did the US and the USSR. Yet, illusion is all this is.
Then, when these tricks don't work, all of a sudden there is an upsurge of attacks by the Taliban warlords, and Peshawar looks like its going to fall. This frightens the US and it goes rushing into the closet and hands to the Pakistani leaders the keys to its padlocked possessions. At this point, Pakistani leaders get high. Then they pass out. (Usually in Europe or Dubai). How long can this addiction go on? NWFP is being sacrificed to it as we speak. That leaves only three provinces after that. The writer is a political commentator. | ||
| Posted by:john frum |
| #2 Forget what you hear and read about some need to beg starving Afghan farmers to end Opium production. These farms are run by wealthy industrialists who live in large guarded estates, close to the fields. Not one farmer, inside of Helmand District, has EVER been targeted by Taliban. Why? Taliban gets a huge share of drug profits. F16s are worthless in defoliation, which is badly needed. While little Afghan heroin makes it into the US, bumper crops are driving down the global price. That means those who might resist heroin use would be more likely to use it. |
| Posted by: Omuger Oppressor of the Veal Cutlets1477 2008-07-29 19:13 |
| #1 Yep. And until there's a reliable alternative logistics route into Afghanistan, or Afghanistan becomes a moot item, Pakistan will remain a necessary evil. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-07-29 13:30 |