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Some sobering lessons
If Islamism was meant to suffer a defeat in the quasi-ideological battle, then the West should be worried.
The writer is consulting editor, The Friday Times
Adecade after the ghastly attacks on the Twin Towers, the world has not changed. It is business as usual: imperial projects, ‘dangerous’ foes and millions of hapless, voiceless people. 9/11 was a reprehensible act perpetrated by a desperate and rogue network whose ideologues had hijacked a faith and its symbolism long before they started to assert their worldview by force.
While most 9/11 perpetrators belonged to the Middle East and its infamous Holy Kingdom, Pakistan emerged as the epicentre of terror in the global imagination and continues to occupy that exalted position. Its neighbourhood has been ransacked and occupied by the liberators and now the war on terror has turned into a contested, essential Pakistani experience. Nearly a million people in Iraq are dead or missing but never mind. It is time for the West to take stock of what happened due to a relentless pursuit of ambition and greed of an unaccountable, omnipotent war industry.
The case of Pakistan remains unique. From the highpoint of General Musharraf’s tactical acquiescence to the US diktat, the relationship with its frenemy has now reached a nadir. For many in the world, Pakistan is a headache: a nuclear armed state with a mighty military machine, it cannot be invaded. On the other hand, the institutional interests of the military in protecting the Taliban and local militant networks are now at a huge variance with those of the US as it plans to scale down its military presence in Afghanistan.
The lesson that US policymakers — especially the neo-con variant — ought to have drawn from its misadventures in the fictional landscape of ‘AfPak’ is that bolstering authoritarian rule may be convenient for a war bureaucracy, working yet again with a dictator exacerbated Pakistan’s historical fault lines. First, most Pakistanis to date consider 9/11 as an ‘inside job’ or at the worst, a crime perpetrated by the Jewish lobby to pave the way for war against the ‘Muslim’ world. Second, the media element of the alleged ‘double game’ has twisted public discourse for good. It is not ‘our’ war, say the pundits of media and politics; and the US is responsible for all our problems.
Third, 9/11 is also an imagined marker for many in Pakistan. The simplistic narrative argues that prior to the US led war on terror, there were no incidents of terrorism in Pakistan. Most importantly, this has led to a Machiavellian renunciation of responsibility of Pakistani elites — military-intelligence apparatus and its junior partner, the civilians — for all that ails Pakistan. The 9/11 conspiracy game has gone out of control. Terror outfits are patriotic and US contractors are busy killing Pakistani civilians, attacking mosques, shrines and schools and even the military installations.
At the same time, US tactics — repeated use of drone strikes, unclear and ineffective civilian aid management and unwillingness to deal with Pakistan’s paranoia of India — have made matters worse. Stuck in this duel of the intelligence agencies and military machines are the disempowered Pakistanis, who have only recently been allowed a controlled form of democratic rule. Ironically, security and foreign policies remain outside the ambit of the elected representatives. And this is not speculation but an established pattern of how Pakistan must be governed.
If the purpose of post-9/11 wars, conflict and diplomacy was to rein in al Qaeda, there have been some successes on that front. Its leadership has been undermined and its network is endangered and on a retreat. The Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan, however, are strong, with the former directly pitted against the Pakistani state. The Pakistani Taliban are now in alliance with sectarian groups and criminal gangs and are determined to claim their booty. This does not augur well for Pakistan’s democracy and progress in the short to medium term. Similarly, the prospect of the Afghan Taliban sharing power is problematic at multiple levels.
If Islamism was meant to suffer a defeat in the quasi-ideological battle, then the West should be worried. Within Europe and across the spectrum of Muslim countries, radicalisation has only increased. There are some sobering lessons indeed from the lost decade. Hopefully, they will not be ignored by the global corporate media.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 11th, 2011.
Reader Comments (19)
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Good summary of the past decade and current situation.
While most 9/11 perpetrators belonged to the Middle East
Please add the words “as reported in the media”, because one has only media reports and vague statements to base his comments on; no independent investigation report or court trial / verdict of the so-called 9/11 perpetrators (and if they were, they might be like the trial of Afiya Siddiqui). It is another matter how much free/neutral the media actually is!
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Good article. But, we have to admit, there is quite alot of substance regarding the theories about what ACTUALLY happened at 9/11. And the US’s imperialistic attitude has further aggravated the situation.
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Actually these are not sobering lessons, but alarming episodes.
The fact that the elites and the civil society continue to live in denial as to the real perpetrators of terror is only causing more exasperation in the western world. With reg to the OBL fiasco, not only we have maintained that he was not present in our midst, we also had the gumption to promote a popular discourse in our friendly media ‘Osama was never killed and if he was really killed, where is the photo of the body?’
We don’t seem to have realised that our continued denialism is an affront to the memory of those killed in terror attacks.
When 26/11 happened in Mumbai, all Pak needed was to say this: “Hey, we are sorry that this had happened. We will go after whoever did this to you.” Pak till date has tried to obfuscate the role of Pakistani citizens in this terrorist incident. Not only that, they have also actively promoted the theory that 26/11 could be an inside job to destablize Pak. It is this insensitive attitude that angers the world community.
As you yourself have mentioned, most Pakistanis don’t believe 9/11 was done by jihadists. And they don’t believe that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda living next door to them are actively plotting destruction of other countries. Naturally, those countries are going to indulge in active pursuit in going after those threats.
Pakistan should realise that the days of hunting with the hound and running with hare are over. Denial as an excuse to condone the acts of terrorists (our strategic assets) will not wash anymore. The onus for preventing the terror attacks on western targets (emanating from our soil) now rests on us, with Pakistan. And this should be drilled into heads of everyone, including army chiefs.
If we fail to rein in the terror groups operating inside our country, thinking that they are our friends, then, we should be prepared for the horrific consequences from the western world. And we also should be willing to live in our country, with borders re-drawn again.Recommend
Conspiracy theories flourish, partly because these help muddying the waters. Conspiracy theories are the secret trick behind the magic of anti-public agenda being carried with the public’s consent. Only conspiracy in a “conspiracy theory” is that its author very cleverly fools the public with his creative imagination.
Yes 9/11 was a conspiracy. But it was conceived and executed by religious lunatics belonging to so called Hamburg cell and their Al-Qaida masters sitting in Afghanistan. Other parts of this conspiracy are still very much alive in the shape of conspiracy theories which suggest that US attacked herself on the morning of 11.09.2001.
Attacked herself? In order to get bogged down in Afghanistan?
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When you have a culture where lying is second nature, where conspiracy theories are accepted as fact when the facts don’t support your world view, where blame is always directed away from the self, where condemnations of western imperialism seemlessy and hypocritically coexist with the overt embrace of Islamist imperialism, where the plight of the Muslims abroad is bemoaned by the same people who joyously, violently and institutionally oppress those they consider infidels at every opportunity, where roughly half the population embraces and wishes to spread murderous, uncivilized brutality in the name of Islam and the other half is too scared to do anything about it, well friends, that’s Pakistan from an American perspective. Time to stop wasting American blood and treasure trying to civilize the masses, as it ain’t gonna happen. The sickness is far too entrenched. Maybe in 50 or 100 years the culture will mature to western standards, but it won’t happen anytime soon. All we can hope to do is contain the disease and eradicate it if and when it spreads.
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An excellent piece, indeed. The ultimate losers are desempowered Pakistani people. The last, rather lost, decade has brought more agonies for the hapless poor Pakistanis.
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Ignore as much as you can but these are policies of Zbigniew Brzezinski the man behind Obama. It is war for resources using Islam to recruit patsies to liberate oil fields from those stone-age Muslims. 9/11 sounds like a broken record now.
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Pakistan is Madian-e-Sani and destined to rule the world. In 5 years (2 and half years already passed since we spoke these words but still), I guarantee you, all the decisions of the world will be made in Pakistan and Pakistanis will be on moon.
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“Most 9/11 perpetrators belonged to the Middle East and its infamous Holy Kingdom.”
Is this statement not a false accusation?
Did the learned author check their passports while the learned author was on those supposedly highjacked planes and saw those accused in an act of slamming those jetliners into the WTC building?
If the learned author did not do as above then he is telling us stories all those other liars tell us.
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@Zaid Hamid:
I hope, with all your connections, you are one of those that gets a one way ticket to the moon.
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@Alsahdiq
So, you the learned reader did check the passports of the accused and you the learned reader was a witness to the whole drama, who himself saw those planes being rammed into the WTC buildings by the Jews/CIA/Raw agents!!!
Come on guys, why don’t you believe our learned reader!!
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@Zaid Hamid: Hope you would not be on the moon after 2.5 years and we’ll talk to you if you do not leave Pakistan. Even if I am not in this world by then, it is my last will for all Pakistanis to get you after your given deadline expires.
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@ Zaid Hamid
Pakistan all ready sitting on Nuker of the moon haha
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In every culture, there is the inherent the trait to focus on a “chosen trauma” to guide future acts of direct (or cultural) violence. 9/11 is the US’s chosen trauma and is not going anywhere for a long time to come, especially considering no other event in American history ever so clearly challenged them as a nation.
The War on Terror may not be considered “our war”, but it has become our chosen national trauma. It wil take years if not decades of sobering lessons for any change in politics in Pakistan, to allow for any change in thinking towards Islamic militancy, zaidhamidesque notions of security and anti-americanism.
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@Zaid Hamid:
sir did u feel pain in ur forehead, my cousin who had gone crazy have that problem…
things are ambiguous in world, but not that much as u suggest all the time…. did u ever thought about that ur will be have to take responsibility of ur views might on this life but certainly in the later one….if don’t then keep giving thought less speeches..enjoy the day…
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@Jawad
We feel the pain of mujahids…we want to lead you to conquer india….and then we will teach the hindus that muslims are good master..
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We surely are a crazy lot!
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@R Khan
I totally agree, specially after reading the comments from likes of ”Zaid Hamid’.
@Zaid Hamid
Which planet you live in?
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@Cynical
We have a planet of our own…
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