Sometimes I wonder which is more dangerous, the Middle East or South Asia. I am going to start searching for a website that has the total amount of carnage in both areas - I think South Asia would win the battle for most carnage. Bear in mind that it is a dubious record though. The newest and definitely one of the most prized possession of South Asia that is causing a strife within the region is Waziristan. Of course, as we all know, Kashmir takes the forefront. Waziristan is very interesting though, poised right on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Not long ago their was quite a strife in the North Western Frontier Province just north of Waziristan. The Waziristanis (if that is technically the right term) are neither Pakistani nor Afghani. They are a part of an ethnically Pashtun tribe that has strong allegiance with the Taleban and Al-Qaeda. The Government of Pakistan, in the past has offered several peace deals with the Pashtuns in the north and for a brief period, during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s, a truce was also in place. Things have changed quite diametrically now - Pakistani troops suffering low morale in the North West, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto for which Baitullah Meshud has been pointed out - his strong leaning toward the Taleban and Al-Qaeda, the Karachi Stock Markets suffering another lull and the growing concern within Pakistan with Parvez Musharaff. Things are not rozy in Pakistan at this juncture and to win the war against terror essentially requires winning not only the hearts and minds of the Pashtuns from Waziristan but also the trust of the Pakistani populous as a whole. Waziristan is the new frontier, and the United States along with the coalition forces in Afghanistan must strike a deal with the Pakistani government to initiate operations on this mountainous frontier.
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whats up with the call for further imperialist invasion and war? you don’t seem to understand the ground realities of Waziristan or for that matter Pakistan’s northwestern or western regions (NWFP, Baluchistan). There are serious issues of autonomy and self-determination which are being exploited no doubt by the likes of the Taliban, but your view is too simplistic. The people there have always asserted themselves against the Urdu-Punjabi dominated elites of Pakistan, and take great pride in their tribal ethos and culture. All that is not reducible to “fundamentalism” as you assume. As for your enthusiasm for US involvement lets not overlook the fact that such interventions are but an excuses to make up for their monumental failures to rebuild Afghanistan as they loudly proclaimed, and to even establish a semblance of control over the audaciously independent Iraqi people.
Put down those silly “security” booklets and magazines and those lecture notes of some delirious statist, imperialist professor who thinks Vietnam was a mistake coz they didnt exterminate the Vietnamese, and get to understanding history and politics as they are borne out in the real world, from the point of view of those that usually get left out of history books dude!
peace n luv,
commiecuz
Dear Commiecuz,
Thanks for your comment.
The primary reason for me advocating a presence of Coalition Forces in conjunction with the Pakistani Troops is based on the reality on the ground. As it stands, the focus has shifted from Afghanistan to Iraq - which in turn has left the border areas (which are under the sovereign rule of Pakistan) into areas of stronghold for the Taleban and in turn Al-Qaeda. What do the Tribal areas in the North West have going fo rthem right now - no education, no economic development, below par medical facilities when compared to the other areas on Pakistan. I advocate for Pakistan with the assistance of an outside force to reclaim the land and establish its sovereignty over it. This is not a call for any imperialistic invasions - whatsoever. This is a remedy to the existing situation, which unfortunately is rather grim.
Again, thank you for the comment.
Sameer
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