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Pakistan, War On Terror
And Consequences Under
Feudal Governance

By G. Asgar Mitha

17 September, 2008
Countercurrents.org

An excerpt from the report Securing Pakistan’s Tribal Belt by Daniel Markey, Council on Foreign Relations Special Report no. 36, August 2008 mentions that “With a new, more representative civilian government in Islamabad, the national debate over these counter-terror tactics is likely to become more prominent and politicized than it was under Musharraf’s military-led regime”

In the foreword of the same report Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) states that “There is no way to escape either the difficulties or the dilemmas. Securing Pakistan’s Tribal Belt is a thorough and knowledgeable examination of a critical set of issues involving Pakistan, the United States, and much more. ….These alternatives, be they coercive sanctions to induce Pakistan to act or unilateral U.S. action against security threats, could bring some short-term progress in dealing with significant threats—but at the cost of bringing about a more hostile Pakistan that would cease to be a partner of any sort”. The question that begs an answer is would or could an aid dependent and economically acquiescent Pakistan afford to become hostile to the US?

CFR is a nonpartisan organization which has exerted considerable influence on US foreign policy. It was founded in 1921 by J.P. Morgan’s lawyer Elihu Root but over the years it has been influenced and funded by the Rockefeller family with participation in the Council by such prominent names as George H.W. Bush, Zbigniew Brezinski, Dick Cheney, Bill Cohen, Alan Greenspan and Richard Holbrooke among several other leading government officials, bureaucrats, politicians and corporate members. One of the Rockefeller sons, David Rockefeller joined the Council at the age of 34 and became its Chairman from 1970 to 1985.

In my article The Last Great Game on Counter Currents I’d written that both Iran and Pakistan feature prominently and both are critical players if US and NATO are to win the great game once again being played out from Afghanistan. Iran, a non-nuclear nation, has been winning in a diplomatic merry-go-round and other than the potential threat from Israel the US threat for an invasion is not on the cards. Therefore, Pakistan, a nuclear nation, geo-strategically and logistically now features more prominently. As per Mr. Markey’s report “Pakistan remains an essential—perhaps even irreplaceable—link in the massive logistics chain for U.S. and NATO forces operating in Afghanistan. As of October 2007, approximately 40 percent of fuel (roughly equal to 120,000 gallons per day) and 84 percent of all containerized cargo for delivery to coalition forces operating in Afghanistan passed through Pakistan”. Pakistan offers the only warm water outlet for US.

It is not the intent here to cover in detail the contents of the CFR report (http://www.cfr.org/publication/16763/) but more specifically how both the military and the new civilian “representative” feudal Pakistani government under the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) will oblige the US and NATO in securing the country’s tribal belt. This belt comprises FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas), an area in north-western Pakistan between the tribal provinces of Balochistan and the NWFP (Northwest Frontier Province). FATA, sharing a porous border with Afghanistan, comprises seven agencies viz N. and S. Waziristan, Khyber, Orakzai, Mohmand, Khurram and Bajaur.

Pakistan under Musharraf’s governance had refused to allow the US and NATO to conduct full military operations against the Afghan insurgents (Taliban and Al-Qaeda) in FATA for fear of reprisals within the country. He had therefore chosen to tactically opt between limited military operations as well as negotiations. Both options had been unacceptable to US which preferred full military offensives. On September 3, with Musharraf’s departure, US first signalled its intention to launch a direct offensive inside Pakistan in S. Waziristan in which 20 or so inhabitants were killed among which were only 3 or 4 men, none insurgents, the rest being women and children. This was inhumane and a blatant violation of a nation’s sovereignty. According to the US, this was only phase 1 of an undisclosed three phase US plan. Besides shrouded bureaucratic protests and public outcry against the US action no other action was forthcoming from the so-called democratically elected government. Three days later, the co-chairman of PPP, feudal lord Asif Zardari, was elected as Pakistan’s president by the senate and national and provincial assemblies also dominated by feudal lords.

It is most noteworthy that the CFR report was issued in August 2008, very soon after Musharraf’s resignation and that Daniel Markey should reference the new Pakistani civilian government as being representative. Unfortunately, the PPP government is neither democratic nor representative. It is feudal. President Asif Zardari has forged a feudal alliance with other feudal parties to the detriment of the people who, supposedly, elected his party into power. The economy is in shambles and the military has been packed off to the barracks. Now all that remains is for Zardari and his hand picked and obedient Prime Minister and cabinet to issue a carte blanche to US and NATO to launch more strikes in FATA. Optionally, the president could order the military to launch full scale operations in FATA. Both should be acceptable to US.

But will the military abide by the orders of the president to launch an attack on the insurgents? It must be remembered that General Ashfaq Kiyani was chosen by Musharraf to head Pakistan’s military and subsequently their policies must be in tandem. It is very doubtful that in the interests of national security Kiyani would obey the president’s orders. With the US and NATO ability to seal off the border on the Afghanistan side, the consequences of a military clean-up operation in FATA by Pakistan army would result in the insurgents launching attacks deep within Pakistan thus compromising national security. Hence, it is more probable that even the Pakistan military would be content to permit US and NATO/ISAF to launch offensives against the insurgents in FATA agencies how and when they desire. General Kiyani has met several times with American military brass, the last time being with Admiral Mullen and General Petraeus on USS Abraham Lincoln in the Indian Ocean.


The result of an offensive by either Pakistan’s military or US/ NATO would be to push the insurgents from FATA into other areas of Pakistan thus sacrificing its national security but ensuring security for US in Afghanistan. The Taliban and Al-Qaeda will have no difficulty in finding shelter and support in Pakistan’s rural and urban areas. The net effect may be anarchy or at the worse a civil war requiring the army to use firepower against their own people. The Pakistani feudal mentality is, and has always been, to care about themselves, line their pockets and damn the people. There has also always been an unholy alliance between Pakistan’s military and feudal lords. What is important for the feudals is to obtain aid from US to line their pockets as they’ve done on other occasions and, if required, hand over power to the military as on previous occasions. Knowing his guile and political manoeuvrings thus far, President Zardari will ensure that he, his family and his henchmen will be constitutionally protected and not suffer the same fate as he and his family had previously.

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