Talat Masood, a retired lieutenant general in the Pakistani Army wrote an op-ed piece in Monday’s New York Times titled, “Patience, Not Punishment, for Pakistan.” I decided to opine on Mr. Masood’s piece with some alliteration of my own:
Passive/Aggressive: Mr. Masood wants us to know that he “feels our pain” and then he lets us know that it could get worse:
“The volatile situation in Pakistan is matched by the understandable outrage of Americans that the world’s most notorious terrorist lived unmolested for five years in a city teeming with Pakistani military officers. But any overreaction by Washington could endanger Pakistani democracy and further empower the military — or even lead to an outright military takeover. For the United States, support for Pakistan’s civilian, democratic government is the only way to assure regional peace, stability and prosperity.”
I am glad to hear that Mr. Masood understands that Americans are outraged that Osama bin Laden was living right under the Pakistani military’s noses. And, yes it is better for Pakistan to be run by a democracy rather than the military, but his threat that this is the only way to regional peace is absurd. That there will ever be peace in this region is a long shot, and that they want peace is questionable at best. Pakistan seems perfectly happy to keep the Taliban stirred-up, as well as comfortable in their role as safe haven for al-Qaeda. There is no reason for Pakistan to solve the problem of Islamist extremism in their region. The United States pays Pakistan to rid these extremist, why should Pakistan get rid of their “bed and butter?”
Continuing his passive/aggressive diatribe Mr. Masood says:
“For Pakistan, America’s military and economic assistance is vital. Moreover, when Pakistan is facing enormous domestic difficulties, it can ill afford to antagonize America. Leaders in both countries must therefore step back from confrontation and find ways to repair the damage. Pushing Pakistan’s political leadership to the brink is not an option.”
The billions of dollars that America sends to Pakistan is indeed vital to their country. And, it is very likely that withholding money is one of the options that would push Pakistan’s political leadership to the brink — make no mistake: it is very much an option that is on the mind of Americans. In a May 20 Time magazine article David Von Drehle quotes Senator Frank Lautenberg: “Before we send another dime [to Pakistan], we need to know whether Pakistan truly stands with us in the fight against terrorism.”
(the lack of) Perspicuity: Mr. Masood writes that because of the secret American raid that killed bin Laden, there is now a lack of confidence from civil society regarding the military:
“The ability of the armed forces to guard the border with Afghanistan and the civilian government’s control over security matters have also been put into doubt.”
If Mr. Masood and the Pakistani civil society ever thought that their border with Afghanistan was safe they are all delusional. When things get too “hot” in Afghanistan for al-Qaeda they head right across the border into Pakistan for a holiday. Fareed Zakaria questions in a May 11 op-ed piece in the Washington Post: ” How is it that every major al-Qaeda official who has been captured since 2002 has been comfortably ensconced in a Pakistani city?”
It is being reported today that Pakistan has a new nuclear facility. The plant — about 140 miles from Islamabad — was not there two years ago. It is almost certain that the billions of dollars that America has been pumping into Pakistan have, at least in part, gone toward Pakistan’s nuclear program allowing for this rapid buildup. Pakistani officials say that the buildup is in response to the threat from India. Herein lies the problem: Pakistan feels their existential threat is India, not radical Islam. If nuclear material falls into the wrong hands (and there are a lot of them in Pakistan) then ironically, the money that we have spent to fight terrorism may come back to haunt/explode us.
America does not intend to punish Pakistan, but we are out of patience.
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