Pakistani internal security (catch all)

[omarali50]

I have a rather longish post up about this topic and welcome comments.

http://www.brownpundits.com/2013/09/...-consequences/

excerpt: I believe this is so because of three concentric circles of confusion that have come together uniquely in Pakistan. The first is the worldwide struggle of mainstream Islamic sects to find a way to harmonize medieval notions of the nature and role of Islam with the realities and challenges of the modern world. This problem is not unique to Pakistan, but it is especially potent in Pakistan because it is reinforced by the next two circles of coflict and confusion. The second layer of confusion arises from the myths promoted by the state as the foundational myths of Pakistan. Those myths are insufficiently based on the actual ethnic and cultural makeup of Pakistan and make it harder to resist Islamist forces in Pakistan, over and above what exists in all Muslim countries. Finally, a third layer of difficulties arises from very specific policy options initiated by the Pakistani state itself in the last 30 years. Taken together, these three layers of confusion have made it impossible for the Pakistani state to create a coherent narrative against terrorism; terrorism that is so vile and indiscriminate that ANY state would find it child’s play to convince people of the necessity to fight against it. Let us take a closer look at all three..

[omarali50]

My latest on this strange saga http://www.brownpundits.com/2013/10/...tim-patsy-spy/

[omarali50]

And now on drones and anti-drones.

http://www.brownpundits.com/2013/10/...nd-anti-drone/

[davidbfpo]

Omarali,

Given the pakistani official and establishment reaction to the US drone strike on Pakistan Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud last week, how can anyone claim there is an anti-terrorist narrative?

Here is part of one commentary:

Mehsud, we should remember, was a brutal and effective guerrilla dedicated to imposing strict Islamic law in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the destruction of Western influence across the region. He was responsible for the deaths of thousands in his own country, including the lorry bomb that destroyed the Marriott hotel in Islamabad in 2008.

Yet the politicians in Pakistan have reacted with shrill indignation, treating the demise of the 34-year-old as a national humiliation and the removal of a potential peacemaker in a pivotal position to change the course of the conflict.

Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...an-peacemaker.

What the strike reveals - again - is that Pakistan fails to protect itself.

[omarali50]

There is method to this madness. The hope is that the US will blink first. The backup position is: we can always back down in exchange for some money.
The fatal flaw in the process is that the brainwashing of the public and the narrative that is being established is not fully reversible. The accumulated residue will become unmanageable at some point.
The cynical calculation by some likely includes: we will be outta here by then.
An old post for background: http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksd...omar-ali-.html

It could have been different. But all the mistakes were not made in Pakistan. Uncle Sam made his share.
Anyway, here is an optimistic take from 2011: http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksd...-omar-ali.html

and the 100 onions and 100 slaps strategy is explained here: http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksd...-omar-ali.html

[davidbfpo]

A puzzling Pakistani explanation in 'The Dawn', over-long alas, but some insight is there:

Why is one side always so quiet, always ceding so much space to even the mainstream enablers and sympathisers of the Taliban?

Link:http://dawn.com/news/1055337/the-fear-factor

[omarali50]

More here (unfortunately, mostly in Urdu)

http://www.brownpundits.com/2013/11/...-web-we-weave/

btw, the Air Marshall sahib representing the Pakistani army is the core of this post...