Thus far, the US, a few unguarded moments of intemperance aside, has kept private its growing anger and disappointment at the unravelling relations with Pakistan, preferring instead to go the indirect route to make plain its position. All that might be about to change. At a press conference in Washington DC, the US Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, made plain his, and by extension his government’s, anger at Pakistan in the wake of the Nato attack that killed 26 Pakistani soldiers. Leaving aside the chutzpah of Dempsey for using an incident where the US attacked Pakistani soldiers to launch verbal volleys in our direction, we have to pay close attention to his words and try to stem the growing anger on both sides. One of the first things both countries can do is keep plain-speaking military men far away from microphones. Dempsey’s angry and defensive press conference, where he asserted that the US did not need Pakistan as a route for Nato supplies and that they didn’t care about burned Nato trucks since they didn’t pay for the fuel until it reached them, has only matched in tone and rhetoric what Major-General Ishfaq Nadeem, the director general of military operations, told journalists in a briefing soon after the Nato attack. Nadeem’s insistence that the attack was a deliberate one, before an investigation into the incident even had time to start, publicly provoked the US at a time when quiet diplomacy was needed.
As the junior partner in this alliance, it is unfortunately incumbent on Pakistan to take most of the steps required to bring things back on track. It should start by agreeing to be a part of the joint investigation into the Nato attack. If the findings of that investigation show, as the US claims, that the attack was accidental, it will then be time to reopen supply routes for Nato trucks. The only other alternative is to go it alone. That wouldn’t mean an end to US military incursions in our territory and drone attacks on suspected militants based in the tribal areas since the US has never needed anyone’s acquiescence to guard its interests. It would simply mean that we wouldn’t be given the aid that keeps our treasury afloat. Once we are ready to do that, we can feel free to engage in an escalating war of words with the Americans.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th, 2011.
COMMENTS (13)
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Pakistan should keep in mind this one fact..USA has no "friends", only client states kept in the selfish interests of the US. Any friend of the US has always been stabbed in the back, invaded and made to suffer as a puppet state. The CIA's job is to create civil conflict and terrorism to serve its governments' agenda..the "war on terror" is a false falg propaganda excuse for a long established plan which Cheney publicly mapped out before 911..to invade and subjugate Afghanistan and use it as a transit point for the oceans of Central Asian gas and oil to seaports. In this plan, Pakistan with a puppet government was to serve as the last leg of this pipeline. That plan has now backfired since Pakistan has unraveled the american plan, that is by the first step of stopping all NATO transports. To guarantee its future, Pakistan must end its suicidal "alliance" with the US and refuse all bribes in their fake "war on terror". Pakistan has an air force that it can and should use against illegal child killing drones violating its sovereignty and is entirely within its rights to shoot those down as well. If Pakistan wants to survive as a nation,enjoy peace and prosperity and not suffer the fate of Libya or other NATO/US victims it should enter into military and trade pacts with friendly nations such as Russia, and Turkey and rid the region of every last occupying US/NATO mercenary or contractor.
@Farrukh: You should learn without US aid. Are you starving due to the lack that 0$ aid?
I simply cannot understand why Entertainment Tonight, an American propaganda rag, is allowed to publish in Pakistan.
Pakistan treasury only keeps the corrupt afloat. So your argument is to maintain the corruption and incompetence. Kindly change the laws so all Pakistanis can benefit.
Just FYI - this year US $ aid is zero and damage to economy is over $10 bil.
While I condemn the loss of lives of soldiers at the check post the kind of double standards at play simply shock me. For years the Pakistani military has used the services of so called non state actors to violate international boundaries and cause violence in neighboring countries. This never ever shocked the conscience of any citizen nor has the loss of 30000 lives to groups wanting to impose views on all citizens at the point of Gun. Earlier the World was only laughing at the hypocrisy but now is very worried since diagnosis shows patient to be both very violent and mentally very ill.
If what the Major says is true ie US does not pay till the trucks reach their destination even for fuels, then Pakistan is poking its own eyes with their childrens' hands ie Talibans. Does not sound good at all. I originally thought US must have insured those materials. Pak deals look foolish enough.
Juvenile, immature and amateure Pakistani establishment both civil and military, is like a deer in the headlights; doesn't know what hits it. Must admire for it's perseverance though, stays put for the next hit!
Any investigation can be done in 24 hrs if you really want to do it. MG Nadeem is correct when he says it was calibrated and planned. 26/11 date is of significance( Mumbai). They were expecting escalation by PAF thus a dog fight in the air thus more losses and Pak arm forces taking another black eye. That would have led public and junior ranks to go after Kayani. In this mess AJ would have stood up and slapped tough action on US thus taking care of everything as per the terms of MeMOgate document. Only thing is that US would have settled quickey. Now AJ out of picture and NATO routes still blocked is not something US would have predicted. A force( US) which can track a motor cycle in remote region via sattelite knows full well what is where on Pak side. All this suggest US plans went wrong since Pak army did not bite bait. Now they have to show frustation since they really cannot live without supplies. And if Russia slows the traffic then both Karzai and US have to rethink their game plan of making Indian masters in the region. Options then 1) subdue Pak by force or 2) get Pak a seat at the table. These are high stakes gambit and outcome will pretty much define Pakistan as a nation for the future.
Sabrina, this is par for the course for Entertainment Tonight. Blowing air in editorials. Asking for a pragmatism and realism in matters of national interest is futile, they'll continue with their emotional pandering. But they're new to this and should be given slack at their amateurish approach. They're more interested in presenting a "liberal" (read leftist) face and will jot down garbage to reflect their ideology. Each Thankfully, no one really listens to their inanity.
As for the investigation, like an impartial 'investigation' is even possible. Pak needs to launch an investigation and call for cooperation from the US. Either way, supply routes need to be ended as it is in Pak's best interest not to interfere in the affairs of Afghanistan by it acting as an enabler to its occupation.
my apologies, i totally disagree to this editorial, i mean every word of it..........
@Sabrina Khan:
You start from a position that PAK is correct in its assestment therefore the answer is clear to you. More closer to the truth is the position that NATO is taking from receiving fire to coordination with PAK before the strike.........
And what if the enquiry shows that the NATO Attacks were not a mistake? could an Enquiry that has such high stakes actually show that? this is a strange Editorial for it is giving legitimacy to Gen. Dempseys' weak arguements; so far they have not even apologzied, there is always a process through which such ambiguous issues and conflicts are settled; we have blamed governments to be weak and masters in caving in, but this Editorial shows that a section of our media is very eager to please Washington and is unable to think, reflect and act in the best national interest...this is 'surprising' indeed..