The United States and Pakistan have reached an agreement to reopen the U.S. military’s supply line into Afghanistan. The lengthy standoff, which began after the accidental U.S. killing of a twenty-four Pakistani military personnel last fall, was finally resolved by an expression of regret.
Despite this official breakthrough, Washington is hated more than ever by the Pakistani people. And it is not clear that Islamabad can forever ignore popular sentiments in working with the U.S. government.
America’s relationship with Pakistan long has been based on crass realpolitik. During the Cold War, Washington worked with Islamic dictators in Pakistan to counterbalance democratic India, which was friendly with the Soviet Union. Even during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, the Nixon administration tilted toward Pakistan despite Islamabad’s atrocities against its own people in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
Washington later viewed as a friend general-turned-president Mohammad Zia ul-Haq. He did more than anyone else to radicalize Afghan militants—U.S. aid to the mujahideen was funneled through his government to radicals like Osama Bin Laden. He also promoted intolerant Islamic fundamentalism within Pakistan to strengthen his position. Today we are living with the consequences of ul-Haq’s misrule.
Another military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, played the Bush administration after 9/11, mixing concessions to Washington with support for the Afghan Taliban. Musharraf simultaneously aided and impeded U.S. operations. We will never know how many American and Western military personnel died as a result of Islamabad’s double-dealing.
The problem continues. On a recent trip to Kabul, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta opined that Washington was “reaching the limits” of its patience with the Pakistan government’s failure to stop attacks on U.S. military personnel from Pakistan by the so-called Haqqani network. Last month, Obama administration officials admitted that they were so frustrated that they were considering launching secret raids into Pakistan by U.S. and Afghan forces.
Yet Pakistan has grievances against the United States. Washington refuses to acknowledge, let alone respect, Islamabad’s perceived interests in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s geopolitical focus is India, against which it has fought three wars and by which it was dismembered after its most disastrous defeat forty years ago. For Islamabad, Afghanistan is but another proxy battleground with its large neighbor. Washington might not like that, but the Pakistani government will act as it believes it must, not as the United States wishes.
The American drone campaign also is generating popular anger. Indeed, the Obama administration has increased the use of drones greatly, expanding the target list to opponents of the Islamabad government as well as terrorists focused on America. The number of civilians killed is a matter of dispute, but the Obama administration essentially counts anyone in the vicinity of a terrorist as a terrorist. It’s inconceivable that the United States is not killing innocent civilians simply living in areas where terrorists have found sanctuary. Moreover, even perfect accuracy would not eliminate the perceived affront to Pakistani sovereignty. The American people would never accept another nation engaging in similar actions on U.S territory.
No comments:
Post a Comment