Policy: America's Pakistan Dilemma

Writing's On The Wall

Is anybody reading it

The advent of democracy in Pakistan has left many without a cause to bash Pakistan. Its not perfect but its as close its going to get for now. In the halls of congress on both sides, the House and the Senate this little advance has many looking for other ways to convince the president that Pakistan remains the rogue state it was before Musharraf was president.

They are finding that reason in the relatively new phenomenon of Pakistani Taliban. Pakistani Taliban did not exist before Afghanistan was attacked by US forces. Who created this problem for Pakistan? Could this have been handled better? Could hundreds of thousands of lives and billions of dollars have been saved if this was approached with diplomacy after the fall of Taliban and Al Kaeda or more precisely soon after a legitimate Afghan government was sworn in?

The answers to those questions is a resounding yes! But was anybody thinking?

When Taliban found themselves pushed back in Afghanistan they adapted to their worsening influence faster than the US war machine. The US war machine was still celebrating and they were looking for an outright victory without realizing what that would require. The most important thing they neglected was the fact that those who were fighting against us had not seen anything but war for last 6-7 generations. They had partners on both sides of the border for centuries plus the intimidation factor. Top that with innate hatred of an occupying force from thousands of miles away regardless of the cause or reason and you have the sure making of an insurgency whose strength can test yours any day. And since most of these people are illiterate because of the ravages of war they have no clue what is democracy and more importantly what to do with it once they have it. Alliances were formed quickly and we have the making of Pakistani Taliban. This gave them base to work from, the sympathy of a thousand and one people, and the cause to fight for yet another day. We created the Pakistani Taliban and now, years later, we are having to deal with it with money and might. Are we getting anywhere fast?

Had we known ABC of what Afghanistan is all about we would have started the negotiations with anybody and everybody right after a legitimate government was formed in Kabul. Until most recently it was legitimate. These are people of Afghanistan. It's their homeland. They must have rights, they must be given a voice in the government, they must be shown some respect as citizens. Isn't that what democracy is all about. The alternative: carpet bomb them, get rid of them and start over again. For that we needed to bring in a ruthless dictator and not democracy. Unfortunately US had nothing but revenge on their mind.

We have come to realization now that diplomacy and negotiations is the only way forward. Was there a single voice of dissent in the lead up to where we are now? If there was one it was muffled so well that nobody could hear it. Being stubborn and stupid, being in the clutches of the war machine that controls Washington, being power drunk for so many years, and being lame duck for last two years of his presidency was no help for Bush to not come up with diplomacy. There is no surprise there.

Although the negotiations are going on, not enough legitimacy is being given to these negotiations. A lower level operative from state department is assigned to look after this issue. The operative is at such a low level that we don't know his/her name. In the meantime we are preparing for an offensive with hundreds of thousands of more Afghan citizens displaced from their homes, pushed out to Pakistan and other places, exacerbating an already acute problem to and emergency.

Americans need to realize that there is no military solution to this problem. Forty thousand, fifty thousand or hundred thousand troops are not going to matter. The victory, if they get any, will be temporary and short lived, a la Iraq. They need to realize that negotiations is the only way to resolve this issue. Pashtun, shias, the Tajiks, the Pathans, and the rest of the ethnicities that make up Afghanistan must be given their rights and representations. Without doing that there will never be a solution and Afghanistan will be the failed state that it is for last 50 or so years.

The Indian power play for the supremacy over Pakistan from both sides needs to be mitigated. This has been an issue that has never been addressed and never been brought to the fore for any discussion. India's hand in the continued destabilization of Afghanistan is something that has been kept muffled and under the cover for last several years. The foothold that Indians want in Afghanistan to be able to checkmate Pakistan is something that is promoted and discussed behind closed doors only at the highest levels within Washington and Delhi. Anybody denying that have absolutely no clue about the reality on the ground. One clue for the uninitiated: look up the number of Indian consulates across Afghanistan. They are not there for no reason.

Once there is negotiated settlement with various ethnicities within Afghanistan the Pakistani Taliban will disappear overnight. Pakistani people are tired of murder and bloodshed. They are tired of uncertainty. They are tired of being blamed for every problem in the sub-continent. They are tired of their politicians raking in money given to them from both sides, the Taliban and Washington. They are tired of seeing the future of their kids blown away by drones and the mercenaries of Blackwater. Pakistani people want the progress they have seen after the opening up of media during the Musharraf years. They want the same luxuries the rest of the world have. They want to do an honest day's work, and spend time with their families. Will America allow that to happen?