Pakistani Army commentary

[Hacksaw]

Speechless

Omarali... indeed if this is the prevailing view.... hmmm... revealing

Tequilla... couldn't agree more

[omarali50]

I would not describe it as the dominant "civil society" view. It is very much the dominant military view, though the serving generals know enough about where their money comes from to be able to dissemble about it when needed. But its worth keeping in mind that this mindset is amazingly ignorant and naive about the world at large. This means its available for misuse by anyone who understands their psychology and has a more sophisticated understanding of the world. The true Jihadis do it best: the entire Jihadi operation is a tribute to the abiliity of a few Jihadi generals to get the whole high command to follow their suicidal policies while mindlessly repeating nonsense about the "complex strategic threat from India"....But this means the same people can also be manipulated by others. The Chinese do it. I am sure by now the Saudis do it very well. And who knows, Anne Patterson may have learned a trick or two as well. Its a farce and a tragedy of epic proportions...

[carl]

I'll add jaw-dropping to speechless and remarkable. This thing reads like it was written as a parody. There ought to be bugles blowing and drum rolls.

He comes straight out and says the U.S. is the enemy, they are fighting us and the Pakistani government lies like hell; or at least as straight out as anybody associated with the Pakistani gov and army can be.

[davidbfpo]

I have read a number of Pakistani military leadership articles and the retired Admiral writes so well you'd think Pakistan was on the springboard to success.

For a more balanced viewpoint try this IISS commentary:http://www.iiss.org/publications/str...-implications/

Yes, the Admiral failed to notice the floods!

[Global Scout]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11385214

He's right about India's leadership, they're under seige by numerous insurgencies due to poor governance, and they're close to falling on their face even before the Common Wealth Games starts (see news at the link).

I think from his point of view Pakistan is ascending, and the U.S. is looking for an honorable exit from Afghanistan, which sadly he gives Pakistan credit for, and even worse he's probably right.

[tequila]

Yes, the Admiral failed to notice the floods!

He also seemed to forget the bloody insurgencies waged by the TTP and the Balochs against the Pakistani Army, as well as resurgent party/ethnic violence in Karachi. The savage bombings of Pakistani religious minorities probably count as victories in the good Admiral's mind --- strikes against Indian co-conspirators by "patriotic" elements, perhaps?

If the United States really wanted the end of Pakistan, you'd think we'd start by cutting off the aid pipeline.

[omarali50]

about Indian incompetence, I have a slightly different view. its not based on any notion of Indian patriotism (I am not even Indian, I am a Pakistani) but on the empirical observation that state failure is actually rather rare and success is coming to all sorts of previously totally incompetent countries provided they dont start a huge war or slip into civil war...in other words, the threshold for real disaster is much higher than the 24 hour news cycle implies. things change. I think India has a real chance of becoming a serious mid-level power (not a superpower) in 10 years or so, but its not a done deal. The joker in the pack is Pakistan. if Pakistan explodes and takes India down with it, end of story. But if Pakistan survives and has barely normal relations with India, then I dont think any of the other problems in India are insoluble. I cannot "prove" my view anymore than anyone else can "prove" theirs....in these matters, its always a guess based on a whole pyramid of other assumptions about human societies in general and this society in particular.
As William Burroughs put it, "in India, the man is always late"....