The other enemy

[Administrator]

Can we win in Afghanistan? It’s an odd question, considering that we’ve already won, by historical standards. Yet unrealistic metrics of success continue to pile up, fabricated in ignorance — often willful and even spiteful — of Afghan reality. Political partisans intent on scoring points and media figures desperate for headlines demand the impossible (and not only in Afghanistan.) Increasingly, the greatest obstacle to success in trouble spots where our troops are engaged is our own unwillingness to accept that wars never yield perfect results and rarely yield permanent change.

http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2008/05/3461903

[Khokar]

Before this that we come to any conclusion about Iran; we need to know the back ground that why Iran who has never carried out any offensive operation against any one in the region, is a contentious issue for the west and why Iran must not be allowed to arm itself with nuclear weapons?

Well, it was early forties that in the wake of Adolph Hitler's adventurism and fanciful conceit to create a Nazis realm in Europe; he started grabbing his neighbouring countries one after another. Threat of loosing their home lands at home; this compelled the Western colonial powers in occupation of many other countries around the world, to abandon their colonial adventures and revert back home to safe guard their own well sought nests… in Europe. In order to dislodge the Nazis forces and check their onslaught, this withdrawal from foreign lands in turn resulted in freeing some 40 countries serving as western colonies and they were able to shed subjugation and take a breath of relief and freedom. From there on; although Europe and American forces were on continuous retreat but major colonial powers were able to do at least one thing; to draw new border lines before they leave. Although they did give the freedom to the subject colonies but in order to create blood barriers and rifts among the local tribes and regions, they were able to demarcate the colonies with new border lines. They installed scores of dictators, monarch and kings to police and rule the new states with intent to act as remote controlled western proxies. Thus, leaving ample chances for the colonial forces to revisit or avail a come back later, in future to act as reconciliatory.

It had just passed few years that a large scale discovery of oil especially in Middle East in early Fifties changed the entire scenario of affairs in newly freed countries. This also motivated the old colonial powers to come back and take the lucrative emerging resources in control to run their oil based economies at home. Since then there has been lot of ‘oil exploration’ carried out by the west in the areas but the local indigenous masses remained totally aloof and unconcerned, being ignorant and as un-lettered old subjugated lot trekking their nomadic lives. Ever since many moves are seen taking place by the west in order to secure a good foot hold and control as well as to avail a continuous and secured flow of extracted oil from the area. It also included the arrangements to lay the massive oil pipe lines and its transportations to suck the oil out and reach safely to the west.

The flow in of oil revenue for kings and monarchs created a natural resentment among the local unlettered masses and it tended them to stop check the exploitation and resist their re-shackling into subjugation and deceitful policies of deprivation and adversity.

Where as the previously installed kings, the monarchs and dictators were made use of to exploit the situation and establish business enterprises to secure foot holds; agents like Israel were also created to ‘spin-cum-escalate’ the war like situations in the area so that west can move in freely with the frightful forces in the name of maintenance of peace and security. In this process where the western savagery so exerted has learnt to parcel out its violence neatly, the local resistance is seen as obvious, blatant and brutal.

Iraq war lead by US is the latest episode on the line of western onslaught; the obvious retaliation of locals against the war and deprivation of their sovereignty has been termed as ‘war against terror’. The US hegemonic adventurism to keep the lands and routes of oil in their folds has brought the turmoil, chaos and anarchy in the lives of people in affected regions. Millions of innocent people have been displaced or killed and their civic amenities as well a infrastructure destroyed.

In order to avail a cake walk for the US lead forces and to exert the power of the Allies in the extended battle fields extending from the Red Sea in Middle East in the south to the High lands in the North in Afghanistan, the entire region is deprived of any defensive arsenals to put up any resistance; may it be the purchase, procurement from abroad or any local manufacturing.

In Iraq, after the consolidations of US mega bases in Green Zone and establishment of many other ‘Command and controls anchorages’ in the Gulf States; Iran the odd one out is putting up a sufficient potent resistance and thus has been declared as the ‘priority enemy target’ of the western Allies. The production of any deterring weapon like nuclear weapons or any potent arsenal by Iran is seen as threat to the plans of US hegemonic adventurism.

Iran is the hurdle in the way of victory; it must be eliminated or cut to size and be subjugated at all costs.

So it may not be long that we see the fly past of waves after waves of Allied air sorties with the state of the art, target homing Missiles carrying out their precision strikes and taking out the possible Iranian potent arsenal producing sites and other military targets!

[A Khokar]

Pakistani nation is in awful mess. There is utter chaos and anarchy which prevails in all the spheres of society. An atmosphere of extremism in the wake of vicious Talibanisation is found all over in the length and breadth of the country—- but matter of the fact is that we let these—- extremist breed among us— unquestionably. It was very much visible that they were cooking up some big broil but we all the ignorant lot kept on sleeping on the wheels naively and took it granted like an ostriches, by burying our head in the sand that probably this storm will die down or pass. But it has not.

The people placed at the helms of affairs stand there as criminals that they let all this happen in their domains, right under their noses; rather it is seen that they are the abetters who let the Taliban breed and let it grow into monsters. Their crime is loathsome that today we find that our—- very existence is at stake and that we have to perforce move our Armed Forces in to cleanse this evil and evict the monster out of our streets. In turn millions of people have to be moved out of their homes; displaced them in temporary camps in order to avail a planned cleansing of our streets of this evil.

It is not only Swaat or FATA areas or the NWFP province which can be said as affected; every hamlet, village and street of Pakistan is today found overcastted and in the reach of this atrocious movement. A sense of fear, helplessness and uncertainty prevails every where. It seems that Peace, enlightenment or the serenity of the society has left us up some where in the Pleiades for good.

We did not speak then and we are keeping mum even now. But why can’t we speak out and name and Shame the culprits –the traitors that we know them well?

If we do not speak out now, there will be no one left to speak for those who cannot, whether they are from the mainstream, the ethnic minorities, the disadvantaged or the persecuted.

I remember the story of a German theologian; Mr Martin Niem”ller. In his youth he was an anti-Semite and an admirer of Hitler. As Nazism took hold in Germany he was able to see the true face of Nazism for what it was: it was not just the Jews Hitler sought to stamp them out and exterminate; it was just about anyone with an alternate point of view.

Niem”ller spoke out, and for his trouble, he was incarcerated in the ‘Sachsenhausen’ and ‘Dachau’ concentration camps from 1937 to 1945, and very nearly executed. While incarcerated, Niem”ller wrote a poem that, from the first time I read, it stuck hauntingly in my mind:

He says:

First they came for the Jews

and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Communists

and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists

and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for me

and there was no one left to speak out for me.

——————-

Links: http://www.adab-arz.co.uk/ , http://www.pakspectator.com/ .
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