ever confused americans

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Ever Confused AmericansThe lack of conviction in US policies for Pakistan and

Afghanistan continue

10/13/2011

Saifs Den

www.saifsden.blogspot.com | www.facebook.com/saifsden


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Page 1 of3 A publication of Saifs Den | October 2011

Ever Confused Americans

So now we have the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton saying that the US is not shuttingthe door on trying to determine whether there is some path forward. These were her

words when she was questioned on whether she believed the most-talked and much-

sensationalised group, the Haqqanis would look to reconcile with the Afghan government.

It can be clearly construed from her statement that even the US is looking to get the

Haqqani network on the table and negotiate a peace deal with them.

Does an imminent defeat that glares the US have such disastrous repercussions over their

thinking ability?

One wonders then why on earth Pakistan was asked, even ordered, by various US officials

to wage a war against the Haqqanis? In fact it looks so ridiculous that on one side they arelooking to reconcile with the Haqqanis as well as Taliban in Afghanistan, while on the other

side they are ordering Pakistan to do more. It is a valid question to ask the Americans that

how do they expect Pakistan to start an operation in North Waziristan when Pakistan can

see for itself that the US has buckled their knees into negotiations and peace deals. Looks

like the US is utterly out of their wits these days.

The recent past few months have seen a surge in accusations and allegations on Pakistan

from different quarters, mainly from the US that the powerful Pakistani intelligence, the

Inter-Services Intelligence (also known as ISI) has a control over the Haqqani network

which is allegedly responsible for numerous attacks in Afghanistan. More so in September,

Pakistan was found desperately ducking and refuting allegations flying at them from alldirections. The officials of Pakistan seem to have taken the words of now retired, Admiral

Michael Mullen and US Secretary of Defence, Leon Panetta too seriously. Both of these two

gentlemen actually launched an unprecedented attack on Pakistan, accusing of the same

old theory of Pakistan being an accomplice in this latest surge of attacks on the US and

allied forces in Afghanistan, but without much evidences to back up their claims. On 19th

September it was this same Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton while meeting Foreign

Minister of Pakistan, Hina Rabbani Khar, who was pressing Pakistan to take military action

against the Haqqani network. Cameron Munter, US Ambassador in Islamabad, even cited

evidences linking Pakistani government to the Haqqanis, blaming the group for the US

embassy attack in Kabul, on 13th September. Furthermore, the tension between Pakistan

and US had risen to such heights, during the month of September that there were even talksof a possible direct military operation on Pakistani soil by the US.

However, things were a little different when US had to deal with Afghanistan, the Afghan

insurgency and its political future.


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Last month there was a report by London-based The Times that claimed that the US backed

the plan to let the Taliban open a political headquarters in the Middle East probably in

Doha, capital of Qatar. This headquarter in Doha is to be opened before the year end, to

facilitate peace talks which could lead to truce with the Taliban. Interestingly this is also

the first time that the US is treating Taliban as a proper political party in Afghanistan sincetheir ouster in 2001 and wanted to establish the headquarter outside the spheres of

Pakistan's influence. On 3rd October, there was another BBC report having quoted Afghan

insurgent leader Siraj Haqqani as saying that he was approached by the United States to

join the Afghan government. He further states that right from the first day of American

arrival till this day not only Pakistani but other Islamic and non-Islamic countries including

America, contacted us and they are still doing so. It is also worth noticing, no matter how

much the Haqqani network, as US alleges, posed a threat to America, its forces and its

national security, the US hasn't until now designated the Haqqani network as a terrorist

organisation. Then comes this latest statement from Hillary Clinton that the US is looking

for political solutions and negotiations to end the conflict - now the main objective of

Obama administration after 10 years of Afghan war.

If all of these puzzle pieces are to be put together then it means that US are in negotiations

with the Taliban, and with Hillary Clinton keeping US's options open by expecting the

Haqqani network to also sit down on a peace deal then it effectively means that the Qatar

headquarters of the Taliban would in one way or the other represent the Haqqani faction as

well. It also means that US expects this so-called most dangerous Taliban-faction to be not

categorised as a terrorist organisation because they seem to have understood that the

Haqqani network have a say in the future of Afghanistan.

Some might point out the double-standards in US treatment when it comes to Pakistan and

Afghanistan, but look how confused this US administration has been lately.

By the start of this month, things started to cool down drastically between Pakistan and

United States, for reasons that we are yet to fathom. There was such a massive shift that the

US was grappling to ease the tensions with Pakistan. On the 30th of September itself, the

White House and Obama administration looked to back away from the strong-worded

assertions of Admiral Mullen against Pakistan and its intelligence, and was even told to

tone down Mullen's claims. The result of it was that on 1st October, after leaving the office,

Admiral Mullen was quoted as saying that there is no solution without Pakistan, and no

stable future in the region without a partnership, calling himself Pakistan's best friend in

US Military. Later on we had President Obama saying this on Pakistan in a press

conference:

We could not have been as successful as we have been with the cooperation of the

Pakistan government. And so, on a whole range of issues they have been an effective

partner with us.


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Furthermore, on 8th October Jay Carney, President Obama's spokesperson, was quoted to

be saying that 'Pakistan is extremely important in terms of our national security objectives,

in terms of protecting Americans'. All of a sudden Pakistan has become extremely

important in protecting American lives.

The trouble is that the US hasn't come to terms to admit that they have lost this 10 year old

war against, not the Taliban, but the Afghanis and they seem to have lost their thinking

caps somewhere. It is daft to put a label on any one fighting against the foreign invaders in

Afghanistan as a Taliban fighter because in essence, there was no Taliban when Genghis

Khan looked to capture the present Afghanistan, and there was no Taliban when the British

and the Soviets looked to take control of Afghanistan. None have succeeded in the past and

even today, this super-power like the other super-powers in the past, haven't succeeded.

They may kill many, but let's be honest, killing doesn't guarantee victory.

The US looks for scapegoats to be held in front of the American people, and Pakistan

becomes an easy choice of circumstances. With US, there are days when Pakistan is praisedand acknowledged for its efforts in the War and then we have those gloomy days when

anything and everything is because of Pakistan. The US hasn't been able to answer the

questions being asked by its own people about whether 9/11 was really an act of terror

carried out by 19 terrorists or an inside job. Similarly, they seem to be extremely confused

with respect to Pakistan as an entity, whether it is a strategic ally of such propensity that it

is saving American lives or a dangerous friend of such magnitude that the US doesn't need

enemies. Lets leave it to the Americans to decide, but one thing is for sure that the uproar

Pakistan experienced last month was not the first time and definitely won't be the last time.

The Americans are confused souls due to their own follies, but there is a piece of advice for

Pakistan pull up your socks and look to take advantage of your ally's cluelessness.

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