Pakistan’s Crisis Is Our Crisis - The Assassination Is A Major Blow To The War On Terror
This is no time for us to be looking the other way as Pakistan begins to crumble.
The murder of Benazir Bhutto , orchestrated in the most dangerous country in the world, is a wake up call to Americans who go about their way and remain oblivious to the globalization of terror.
On my Comcast show Voice of Reason earlier this year, the Ambassador from Afghanistan talked frankly about the percolating disaster-in-the making that is modern day Pakistan. He warned that most of the mountainous border with his nation was occupied by Al Qaeda and Taliban forces, adding that the Pakistani government of President Musharraf was unable or unwilling to deal with the menace.
It is fairly obvious that Musharraf has a tenous control of his own government. There are some who will say he is behind the murders. Others will point to the Army in Pakistan and to Al Qaeda.
There will be many prime suspects, but the bigger story is that Pakistan is falling apart. THIS IS A NATION THAT HAS AT LEAST SEVENTY DELIVERABLE NUCLEAR WEAPONS. Add to that scary scenario the fact that terrorists seem free to act at will.
It is now obvious that, in the near term, Pakistan may be more of a danger to world and American security than Iran or Iraq.
This is a difficult thing to talk about, but American leadership will have to rise to the occasion by asserting hard-line diplomatic pressure for real change and fast change or face the horrid possibility of military action in a nation that could unleash the unthinkable if the wrong people get their hands on that nuclear arsenal.
This is shocking news that will force the administration to come to grips with the fact that our Pakistan alliance with Musharraf may be failing. Our government had hoped that Bhutto would be a soothing force. Now she is gone, bullets once again determining the future of her nation.
The conflict is not easily characterized as revolving around just its consequences for the US. It is more an internal political conflict and a regional political conflict than a global one. Of course, it can elevate itself over time to that level. The Pakistani Security forces have its brass trained here by our Pentagon,as well as its secret intelligence apparatus. There is a bigger conflict between India and Pakistan with the Kashmir region and its armed fundamentalists that demands our attention. The primary conflict between US national interests and Pakistan lies in the consequences for hurting India. Before the taliban is seen as a threat, there is India, also a nuclear power and very much at odds with Pakistan. The evacuation of taliban forces to Kashmir could not have been done with the approval of Pakistan security forces. Furthermore, India disputes its boarder at this geographic location and sees a buildup of taliban forces as a direct military threat to its sovereignty. A few years back during the wind down of the Afgan conflict the bizarre reporsts of war between these two nuclear powers was reported but very little analysis on why came to the public’s attention. The Indian intelligence organization is armed with state of the art electronic wizardry, thanks to their hi-tech economy. Very little goes on in the region without India eavesdropping much like Echelon in the US. Placing a small army of tactically trained heavily armed muslim militants in what India sees as its territory is as close to an out right declaration of war that you can produce. Basically, they are being used as a proxy by Pakistan’s military dictatorship to promote the destabilization of the Indian state. The taliban can reprise their greatest role from their days of defeating the Red Army as a CIA proxy. We have gone from Charlie Wilson’s war against the soviets to Musharif’s war against his foes, domestic and foreign with his esteemed guests, the taliban to do all of the dirty work. The Pakistan military will keep a tight wrap on things. It will be easier to use the iron fist without the pretense of democracy or the genteel arts or compromise to slow things down. And with out elections and credible leaders to calm the public, violence will rule the day. Of course the military is better organized for that than they are for elections. Militarists have one tool in the box and they have assured themselves the unlimited opportunity to hammer Pakistan into their total submission.
Larry,
Quit freaking people out! “Pakistan’s Crises is our crises”, “the most dangerous country in the world”, “percolating disaster in the making”. You’ve simply got to compose yourself fella. Some questionable democratic leaning political dilettante gets her head blown apart and the next thing you hear from Larry is nuclear carnage and a US invasion of Pakistan. Larry I feel your pain but running around flailing your arms up and down isn’t the proper approach to this unfortunate occurrence. Half the world thinks we Americans are insecure and jittery enough already. Lets give this thing a day or two to play out. Then you can tell us all about your big interview with the ambassador from Afghanistan.
Some sixty years after the Manhattan project countries like N. Korea, Iran and yes Pakistan either are making or have nuclear weapons. Southwest Asia and the turmoil of what is essentially tribal Pakistan should scare all reasonable people.
The military calls this a threat assesment.
Let one of those nuclear weapons fall into the wrong hands; be transported to a large city in Europe or North America and 9/11 will look like a minor event.
For Polman and those who would trivialize the war on terror they really don’t understand how tenuous our safety is.
Look at the fact, our own US Air Force could lose track of it’s own nuclear weapons and find them on a B-52 in Barkstale La after having been flown from North Dakota and consider something. If a well practiced, well disciplined US Military can make that mistak what will it mean to the Islamic extremists who is determined, who hates us because we let a woman run for President or becuase we drink tea differently then they do or that we dare water our lawns.
The events of the last two days in Pakistan should remind us all that our security and safety is not as guaranteed as we think.
It is too bad that our original mission in Afghanistan to hunt Bin Laden was scaled down too early. This is the key problem in Pakistan and its relation to the U.S. Remember that Musharraf wrote that Pakistan was essentially threatened to be “blown back to the stone ages” if they didn’t cooperate with America. Under such conditions it is not hard to imagine the wheels put in motion to shape what is unfolding in Pakistan now. When the U.S. ‘forced’ Pakistan to function in accordance to U.S. dictation, that act alone inflamed any potential radical to overthrow the government, but not necessarily in order to gain control of dangerous weapons. To be sure, Musharraf is a creep, but he is partly manufactured by the U.S. and for that he too fears for his life. There have been attempts to assassinate him, as well. Therefore, I see the big picture as being a failed mission in Afghanistan and U.S. policy in Pakistan as the real source of danger to the U.S.
v c you’re not telling me anything that I don’t already know. You forgot about India, China and Israel(who knows). You also left out the Russian threat. They are more likely to sell nuclear capabilities to a rouge nation than any other country.
I’m just tired of hysterical responses by the press to everything that occurs throughout the world. I’m afraid, like the boy who cried wolf, when the real “crises” comes down we will all turn our heads and say, “I’ve heard that “crises” crap too many times before”.
Why do old people freak out and wave their arms about over every little thing? This woman was a corrupt crook. She is partially responsible for destabilization for having blamed Mussharrif Street for failing to provide adequate security. And it turns out she died because she was standing up in a vehicle and banged her head on part of the sunroof. What an idiot. Maybe some trial lawyer will sue the auto manufacturer on behalf of her estate for designing a “defective product.”
I have no idea how a civil war hasn’t already broken out in Pakistan already with all the deaths there in the last few days. This has been a major blow to democracy and our principles. Musharraf publicly says he feels bad, but we really know he’s celebrating behind closed doors. People are going to boycott the election in protest, but that’s giving Musharraf what he wants. He can keep his seat without a fight. The situation is dangerously unstable there, just a little nudge could cause everything to collapse.