PERIL IN PAKISTAN; AN AMERICAN PHYRRIC
NPR October 17, 2009
Pakistani soldiers attacked militant bases in the main al-Qaida and Taliban stronghold along the Afghan border Saturday as the nuclear-armed country launched its most critical offensive yet against insurgents threatening its stability. Five soldiers and 11 militants were killed as the more than 30,000 troops deployed to the region met stiff resistance in parts of South Waziristan, a possible hide-out of Osama bin Laden and a base for jihadists bent on overthrowing the U.S-backed government, attacking the West and scuttling the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan.
Neither a US military victory in Afghanistan nor a Pakistani Military offensive is likely to to win the hearts and minds of people in the region. Ordinary Afghans and Pakistanis view the US as an occupying power, not an invited savior. General McChrystal is right; the US needs more troops to win the military battle. But will additional troops solve the political crisis? Unlikely, because it will simply reinforce the local sentiment against the foreign occupiers. One can say safely, that every single additional US soldier sent to Afghanistan will help the Taliban recruit ten additional insurgents. So what should be done? The first step in any debate is to get the facts right. The first step for successful strategists is not to confuse facts on the ground with imagination at the talks shows.
The Provocative Qur'an points out that Self-honesty is the corner-stone of every right-minded discussion. We should think like the patriarch Abraham; to promote our security we should go for cold facts not for hot-blooded hype.
The Qur'an 6:82 “It is those who believe (in facts) and do not confuse their beliefs with error (of imagination), who are (truly) in security, for they are on (right) guidance.”
What are the facts on the ground in Afghanistan. What is the estimated number of Taliban fighters? Why can the Aghan government not find enough young men and women to valiantly defend their freedom? How is that the Afghan military, with access to the sophisticated training provided by the US and the most modern weaponry, still cannot hold itself together against the poorly equipped and hopelessly outnumbered Taliban fighters? Why is it that the two nuclear powers, US and Pakistan, remain at the mercy of the Taliban who successfully strike at will?
Truth is painful. It is time we recognize that public opinion does not ask for facts but instead drifts in the imaginative direction of the conservative crusaders. The Obama adminstration is on the defensive against this home-grown rightist terror. Given this harsh reality, it is likely that military adventurism will once again triumph over political strategy and that yet another US victory will be phyrric.
Pakistani soldiers attacked militant bases in the main al-Qaida and Taliban stronghold along the Afghan border Saturday as the nuclear-armed country launched its most critical offensive yet against insurgents threatening its stability. Five soldiers and 11 militants were killed as the more than 30,000 troops deployed to the region met stiff resistance in parts of South Waziristan, a possible hide-out of Osama bin Laden and a base for jihadists bent on overthrowing the U.S-backed government, attacking the West and scuttling the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan.
Neither a US military victory in Afghanistan nor a Pakistani Military offensive is likely to to win the hearts and minds of people in the region. Ordinary Afghans and Pakistanis view the US as an occupying power, not an invited savior. General McChrystal is right; the US needs more troops to win the military battle. But will additional troops solve the political crisis? Unlikely, because it will simply reinforce the local sentiment against the foreign occupiers. One can say safely, that every single additional US soldier sent to Afghanistan will help the Taliban recruit ten additional insurgents. So what should be done? The first step in any debate is to get the facts right. The first step for successful strategists is not to confuse facts on the ground with imagination at the talks shows.
The Provocative Qur'an points out that Self-honesty is the corner-stone of every right-minded discussion. We should think like the patriarch Abraham; to promote our security we should go for cold facts not for hot-blooded hype.
The Qur'an 6:82 “It is those who believe (in facts) and do not confuse their beliefs with error (of imagination), who are (truly) in security, for they are on (right) guidance.”
What are the facts on the ground in Afghanistan. What is the estimated number of Taliban fighters? Why can the Aghan government not find enough young men and women to valiantly defend their freedom? How is that the Afghan military, with access to the sophisticated training provided by the US and the most modern weaponry, still cannot hold itself together against the poorly equipped and hopelessly outnumbered Taliban fighters? Why is it that the two nuclear powers, US and Pakistan, remain at the mercy of the Taliban who successfully strike at will?
Truth is painful. It is time we recognize that public opinion does not ask for facts but instead drifts in the imaginative direction of the conservative crusaders. The Obama adminstration is on the defensive against this home-grown rightist terror. Given this harsh reality, it is likely that military adventurism will once again triumph over political strategy and that yet another US victory will be phyrric.
Posted by Farooq Husayn at 10/17/2009 4:44 PM 
Categories: Pakistan, Taliban fighters, US, War in Afghanistan, Civil War in Pakistan
Tags: strategy Abraham US fighters pakistan war taliban Qur'an
Categories: Pakistan, Taliban fighters, US, War in Afghanistan, Civil War in Pakistan
Tags: strategy Abraham US fighters pakistan war taliban Qur'an
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