Pakistan heading towards anarchy, cautions author

By: Reuters

Excerpts;

…. Pakistan’s escalating problems are rooted in its reliance on US aid, its complex politics, the government’s lack of control over both its military and intelligence service and its failure to protect minorities and secure regions controlled by the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups, the book maintains. That spells more trouble for Washington if such groups gain further control in a nuclear-armed country where the military now largely controls foreign and security policies and has taken the lead in relations with the United States, he said. “Pakistan has all the potential of becoming a failing state,” Rashid, 63, said in an interview, explaining the title of the book that follows bestsellers including “Taliban” and “Descent Into Chaos” that were translated into dozens of languages. “I feel very much that the lack of state control, the lack of state authority is going to mean there is going to be increasing anarchy in many different parts of the country,” said Rashid, who has received numerous death threats and was named by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the top 100 global thinkers. ….

Read more » DAWN.COM

Pakistan after Osama

By Omar

The taliban struck in Peshawar today [– Twin bomb blasts kill 32 in Peshawar –], but the massacre in Peshawar will not be blamed on the Jihadists. Instead, Pakistan’s security establishment will use its multiple websites and paid agents to spread vague rumors about Blackwater and the Hindu-Jewish taliban. They will NOT change their orientation until at least 5 or 6 three star generals are directly targeted. Probably not even then (after all, general Aslam lost his son but that did not lead GHQ to change its double game).

Its not that they are seriously jihadist at heart (most are just trying to get through another day without letting anyone find out how dumb they are), but there is such superbly effective negative selection in the army’s promotion process that by the time they become 3 star generals their combined IQ does not exceed 20. They will not learn because they cannot learn. When their choice is between giving up their most fundamental beliefs or giving up reality, they will give up on reality. Given their fragile and limited intellect, this choice may even be rational.

I just happened to meet a foreign office retiree at a lunch today and he said: “Iran could have an extremely disruptive Islamic revolution and still come out intact because it is a deeply rooted country. We are not a deeply rooted country. A hard shaking may cause a breakup. So we have to be very careful. Change must be very carefully managed..”. I asked him if ten years was not long enough to manage a change in direction. He just smiled. I guess that is why he has retired to the US and not to Islamabad. Many more like him are making sure their green cards remain current…..

Courtesy: Brown Pundits