The US & others working with Pakistan

[Bill Moore]

Here's the scary part, or senior leaders embrace this dogma, yet the facts don't support it, so we have a policy of nation building that has resulted in hundreds of our troops being killed and thousands maimed to pursue armed economic development and economic development isn't the underlying issue for terrorism.

Yet there is no evidence that economic development changes attitudes toward violent militant groups, or even that it is the poor whose attitudes are problematic. A number of scholars, including Claude Berrebi, Alberto Abadie, and Alan Kreuger and Jitka Malečková, have found that people who join terrorist groups are predominantly from middle-class or wealthy families. Public opinion scholarship, such as that of Najeeb M. Shafiq and Abdulkader Sinno, and Mark Tessler and Michael Robbins, suggests that differences in income and education do not explain variation in support for suicide bombing and other forms of violence

.

I remain a strong advocate for providing intelligent economic assistance for a number of reasons, not the least which is humanitarian, but let's not pretend that economic development will address the underlying issues of terrorism. Let's be honest about what economic development can and can't do, and separate it from the terrorism issue except in "specific" situations where it may be relevant. Sadly we have wasted billions of development dollars in war fighting efforts that could have been spent more effectively in nations not at war and produced real results, possibly preventing future wars. Instead we largely underfunded our global interests to surge efforts into Iraq and Afghanistan.

[davidbfpo]

Lt. General and former ISI Chief Assad Durrani has supplied to The Atlantic journal a text entitled 'The ISI: AN EXCEPTIONAL SECRET SERVICE'. Link:http://www.theatlantic.com/internati...inside/242471/

The intermediary writes:

Durrani is not a booster for the Taliban; he is a hard core realist -- and his view is that Pakistan's generals prize the Taliban for its ability to give them "strategic depth". Whether you agree or not, his assessments are very much worth reading in full.

There are some moments to pause when reading, especially when you reach the Epilogue, cited in full:

I do not know what all the ISI knew about Bin Laden's whereabouts before he was reportedly killed, or when the Pakistani leadership was informed about the US operation on that fateful night. But the fact that we denied all knowledge or cooperation -- even though the military and the police cordons were in place at the time of the raid, our helicopters were hovering over the area, and the Army Chief was in his command post at midnight -- explains the Country's dilemma.

The Atlantic intermediary ends with:

The most important takeaway from this fascinating snapshot of the ISI, the Taliban, and Pakistan's view of America and its strategic choices is that Pakistan will never be a predictable puppet of US interests.

[omarali50]

The most important takeaway from this article is that the generals are not under adult supervision and there is no sign that they can be brought under adult supervision. The mess will continue....

[davidbfpo]

I missed the FM's appointment, she is a young lady, hence the storyline:

Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan's new foreign minister, secured a diplomatic breakthrough in New Delhi after sweeping India off its feet and into a "new era" of trade and co-operation in the war on terrorism.

Ends citing an Indian lady commentator:

She's incredibly young pretty, glamorous and has no fear of appearing flash. She wore pearls when she arrived and diamonds for the talks. We're so obsessed with her designer bag and clothes that we forget she first held talks with the Hurriyat [Kashmiri separatists]. She could be Pakistan's new weapon of mass destruction.

Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...rms-India.html

Surely the FM is a 'new weapon of distraction'?

[omarali50]

Umass grad.
I think she is an improvement over the last foreign minister, who had pretensions above his humble station and has been shown the door. She is good looking and has no ideas of her own. What more could one want?

[omarali50]

Pro-military websites are already hinting he was a spy: http://rupeenews.com/?p=37555

The truth, of course, may be another matter.

[omarali50]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_1...29-503543.html

very professional. Is it good to know that they were not amateurs? or would the US be happier thinking its just some local kidnappers?

[German Gurkha]

I missed the FM's appointment, she is a young lady, hence the storyline:

Ends citing an Indian lady commentator:

Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...rms-India.html

Surely the FM is a 'new weapon of distraction'?

I am quite new to this forum, but I know the Pakistan-Indian conflict from buttom-up, being , perhaps, slightly biassed because of Indian origin...

My theses to this conflict are as follows:

1. Having behaved as irresponsible as they have in the past, there are no legitimate interests of Pakistan whatsoever.

2. Accepting this, they - the Pakistani - have to disarm immediately to a level consistent with internal security.

3. Failing to do this voluntarily, a combined Indian/US/NATO-operation should be able to identify and disable the 10-odd storage sites for their nukes.

4. Using the internal fault lines of this punjabi-dominated country, Pakistan can then be dismembered at will. Beluchistan and Sind are ripe for secession and could be used for a very comfortable supply line, in fact facilitating the cut of Taliban supply lines...

Just my two cents

[davidbfpo]

Hat tip to Circling the Lion's Den for the pointer to:

Pakistan's policy elite believe their state has two overriding objectives in the endgame in Afghanistan..

The first is to ensure that any settlement does not lead to instability in Pakistan, particularly amongst Pashtuns; second, to ensure that the Afghan government is not antagonistic towards Pakistan and does not allow its territory to be used against Pakistani state interests - presumably a reference to alleged Indian interference in Baluchistan. These two objectives translate into three outcomes for the government, say the authors; first the need for stability; second, a government in Kabul that adequately represents Pashtuns and - as far as some of those questioned were concerned - includes participation by Mullah Omar's Quetta Shura and the Haqqani Network; and third, a limit on India's activities in Afghanistan to ensure it is restricted to development work.

(Ends with)Many participants recognised a dilemma for Pakistan over US policy in the region. While they argued that the US military presence exacerbated tensions and led to instability, they also felt an early US withdrawal would lead to added instability in Afghanistan. Most thought it was in Pakistan's interests for reconciliation talks to take place as quickly as possible, although they recognised that there could be no return to Taliban rule in the whole of Afghanistan. Good material in this report which casts light on a subject that is seldom aired.

Link to commentary:http://circlingthelionsden.blogspot....me-by-pak.html

Link to the report by USIP and Pakistan's Jinnah Institute:http://www.jinnah-institute.org/imag...hanendgame.pdf

[carl]

My theses to this conflict are as follows:

1. Having behaved as irresponsible as they have in the past, there are no legitimate interests of Pakistan whatsoever.

2. Accepting this, they - the Pakistani - have to disarm immediately to a level consistent with internal security.

3. Failing to do this voluntarily, a combined Indian/US/NATO-operation should be able to identify and disable the 10-odd storage sites for their nukes.

4. Using the internal fault lines of this punjabi-dominated country, Pakistan can then be dismembered at will. Beluchistan and Sind are ripe for secession and could be used for a very comfortable supply line, in fact facilitating the cut of Taliban supply lines...

Just my two cents

I've read something along these lines before. How widespread do you think these ideas are in India, especially amongst the politicians and the military?

[omarali50]

Regarding that "Jinnah institute" report: http://criticalppp.com/archives/56832

I assume most of the American establishment has not yet fallen out of love with the Pakistani establishment, so they are likely to be sympathetic to Sherry Rahman's piece...but Senator Mark Kirk does seem to have wandered off the reservation..

[Ray]

I've read something along these lines before. How widespread do you think these ideas are in India, especially amongst the politicians and the military?

Officially, such a policy does not exist in the Govt or the military.

But that there are sub-nationalism in Pakistan on the rise, of that there is no doubt.

Pakistan is not quite on the self destruct mode, but if the terrorism within is not controlled or the Punjabi domination, things could turn ugly.