Saturday, May 02, 2009

Pakistan Is Where The Fight Is, The Fight Is Not Military

Genocide in the Middle EastImage by azrainman via Flickr


Pakistan is where the fight is. It is not in Iraq, it is not in Afghanistan. The gradual withdrawal from Iraq seems to be bringing in relative normalcy, the democratic state is gaining strength. Afghanistan is a relatively small country. But Pakistan is huge. It is a nuclear power. It is, officially speaking, a democracy. It has a rabid, Islamist, vocal right wing in the parliament and in the streets, and in the wastelands.

Pakistan is a tough nut to crack. America is already inside Iraq. America is already inside Afghanistan. Should America think of going into Pakistan? That is a very tough nut to crack. My instinct says no, a big no. If you have to go in, you have already failed. You could argue should not everything be done to prevent the Islamists from taking over in Pakistan, up to and including going in? To that my reply is going to be, why did you not exercise all options that would have made it unnecessary to go in? But going into Pakistan is not unimaginable, just like a dirty bomb going off in some city is not unimaginable. You just hope it does not happen, you do everything possible to make sure it does not happen.

Pakistan is a challenge for the democratic ideal. How do you build a state? How do you bring a big, strong army completely under the domain of a popularly elected parliament? How do you bring forth grassroots democracy and genuine reform? Why do the Islamists represent the idea of land reform in the Swat valley? Why not the democrats?

Why was it so easy to kill Benazir? It should not have been. The Al Qaeda managing to kill Benazir is like if the democratic forces had managed to kill Bin Laden. That was a big prize for them. That helped them grow.

Nobody Quite Like Benazir
Benazir, One Whose Looks Have No Parallel
Benazir, Last Month
Benazir, Benazir
Benazir Bhutto: No American Stooge
Benazir Should Address Many Mass Rallies, Hold No Street Events, Keep Tight Security Around Her House, Office
Benazir And Islamofascism

How do you strengthen democracy in Pakistan? How do you strengthen the democratic state? America has singularly poured tens of billions into the Pakistani army. The paranoia can be partly understood. But the solution is primarily political, not military. How many billions has America poured into Pakistan's primary education sector? Can America compete for the hearts and minds of Pakistan's young and vulnerable?

I am not naive. I appreciate that there is a military angle to the fight, but if that is the only angle you see, you are doomed to fail. Even with that military angle, the fights end up being nontraditional and asymmetrical.

The world has to help build Pakistan's political parties, and its democracy, and its reform efforts. The Islamists can't be seen as the vanguard of reform. The democrats have to eat their lunch.

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Barack's 100 Days: Cool In The Face Of Big Challenges

"They said if a black man becomes president, pigs would fly. 100 days into Obama's presidency, swine flu!"




Right-to-left: Barack Obama and Maya Soetoro w...Image via Wikipedia

Barack Obama has faced huge problems.

First the bottom fell out and that was before he was even elected. The bad news ran through his transition and runs today. This was not what he was expecting last summer.

He inherited an America that was fighting two wars, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The climate change crisis emerged as big as ever.

Just the banking crisis, or just one war, or just one epochal climate crisis might have been a full plate, but the Gods had other designs.

What has been amazing is that he has stayed cool and steady at the helm. He has performed fabulously in the global arena.

The question is not if he can win reelection, the question is can he turn America into a greater country than it was before the crisis hit? Can he turn this into a more optimistic country by the time the economy sees an upswing? Can he turn this into a healthy, growing economy? Can he transform the energy consumption patterns in this country?

Can he be a great president, one that went on to define an era? That is the question. I think he has had a great start.

In The News

Swine Flu Widens; Symptoms No Worse Than Seasonal Bug Bloomberg
Agencies Caution Against Alarm as Flu Spreads
New York Times
Teens acquitted of murder in immigrant's fatal beating CNN
Op-Ed Columnist Out of Touch New York Times
GOP aims to rally ranks with new policy effort Boston Globe
Her Rival Now Her Boss, Clinton Settles Into New Role New York Times
Immigrants push for reforms at rallies across US USA Today
UN racism event highlights divisions
BBC News
Heavy Fighting Continues As Pakistan Army Battles Taliban Voice of America
India fully geared, says WHO Hindu
Targeted by Taliban, Sikhs flee Pak region; India concerned Hindustan Times
Sri Lanka admits bombing safe haven guardian.co.uk
President Obama Marks 100 Days in Office Voice of America
Clinton concerned about Beijing and Tehran success in Latin America Ennahar
Gmail Labs Adds Google Web Search, Never Leave Gmail Again Özel Web Tasarım
Bloggers are like my extended family: Amitabh Bachchan Thaindian.com
Amitabh visits ailing filmmaker who gave him his first hit SamayLive
Report: Citigroup may need $10B in extra capital Forbes
Soccer record smashed AsiaOne
Dell Should Buy Acer, Bernstein Says Barron's Blogs
China suspends Mexico flights over flu Reuters
Is Mobile Next For Hulu? ChannelWeb
Down To Business: Are Execs Twittering Their Time Away? InformationWeek
'Ghosts of Girlfriends Past' Los Angeles Times
Could Adam Lambert become the first gay or bisexual 'American Idol'?
New York Daily News
Will the people pay for quality iPhone games? msnbc.com





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