Carl,
I actually do feel a bit sorry for the Pakistani people, even in this instance of "he said, he said". NATO country policies are so contradictory and passive-aggressive that I don't wonder people are in a frenzy of anti-americanism and anti-NATOism (media operations directed against the Pakistani people by elements of the state certainly doesn't help).
NATO is rather protective of Pakistan as a potential strategic asset against the Russians. There are complicated trade, aid and military sales relationships between various members and Pakistan. So on the one hand, NATO member nations are in a kind of proxy war with Pakistan, while on the other hand, various delegations from the EU and NATO member countries visit Pakistan, each making its own promises for future aid and long term developmental and strategic engagements. Australia has recently upped its aid because, I take it, the Australians are trying to develop a strategic relationship with Pakistan.
The situation is a genuine multinational "multicultural" international mess created by an alliance past its prime and the geopolitical games playing of multiple nations. Americans are not responsible for all the problems, although we certainly deserve blame for our counterproductive policies and strategies. But this really is an international project, both the Afghan war and Pakistan's proxy war against its neighbors conducted under a nuclear umbrella. There is too much money to be made for people to behave responsibly.
Indians and Afghans can read, too, and I bet what they read into all of this is that they are sitting ducks with regard to the NATOists (and no thanks to feckless Indian and corrupt Afghan governments).
I am going to shock you given my previous comments around here by saying we Americans should just pay up our protection money to the PakMil and get out. Indian analyst B. Raman reported on his blog today or yesterday that sources tell him mid level Pakistani military personal are very upset by this incident and that a mid level military coup is not an entirely outlandish thought. I think all of our attention is making things worse. So many other countries are interested in helping the Pakistani military develop weapons that we are in a bind. Our own arms sellers want a piece of the action, too.
And by get out, I don't just mean Afghanistan. I think Americans should seriously reconsider NATO.
Some day, Americans have to think about a foreign policy that places a primacy on American interests but I fear no one in our foreign policy community knows how to do that anymore. Heck, maybe even the American people have forgotten after all these years of a Eurocentric and Middle East centric foreign policy.
Speaking of NATO, thought you might find the following interesting within the context of the thread:
http://tinyurl.com/3o2slsnThe statement by Germany came on the eve of the annual meeting of NSG members, which is taking place this week in Nordwiijk, Netherlands. The controversial Chinese-Pakistani reactor deal, which was revealed last year and discussed at the 2010 NSG meeting at Christchurch, New Zealand, will be among the key issues discussed at this week’s meeting. Presumably, Germany has come to the conclusion that the deal between China and Pakistan cannot be prevented anyway and that sticking to nonproliferation principles would not only be futile but also harmful to Sino-German trade relations.
Uta Zapf, chair of the subcommittee on disarmament, arms control and disarmament in the Bundestag, one of those members of Parliament behind the inquiry called this behavior “reckless”. She said that “German Foreign Minister Westerwelle’s talk about strengthening nonproliferation rules is contradicted by his deeds. If we don’t oppose this deal between an important NSG member and one of the most notorious proliferators of nuclear technology, which deal will Germany stand against in the future?”
You see? Am I making any sense? There is just too much money to be made and we stupidly allow ourselves to be scapegoats when everyone is in on the take.
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