In a New York Times op-ed today largely in support of Obama's Afghanistan plan, Nate Fick of the Center for a New American Security writes:
Progress depends on two political developments: inducing the administration of President Hamid Karzai to govern effectively, and persuading Pakistan that militant groups within its borders pose as great a threat to Islamabad as they do to Kabul.
The latter proposition--bolded by me--is an oft-repeated one. But there's something odd about it. Why wouldn't Pakistan have at least as clear an idea of who poses a real threat to Islamabad as we do? Indeed, chances are they have a better grasp of this question than do policymakers in Washington.
Don't get me wrong, I understand that the militants in Pakistan are extremely nasty and dangerous, and I hope they're wiped out quickly. But even in light of their recent advances, the risk of the radicals taking over the government seem slim. I sometimes wonder whether we're trying to convince Pakistan of something we want them to believe is true --but which in fact is not true enough to make them pursue the policies we're advocating in our own interests.
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COMMENTS (1)
The extent to which we still after all these years and all these mistakes imagine that we know better than the people who live in places like Pakistan what's good for them is astonishing. These terrorist groups may look plenty nasty to us, but to lots of people in Pakistan they clearly don't. This is unlikely to change in the short-to-medium term no matter what we do.
We're either conducting a brutal neo-colonialist power grab, or we're about to jump ship and abandon them. And it seems that both opinions can reside in the same heads simultaneously. Damned if we do, damned if we don't.
The extent to which we still after all these years and all these mistakes imagine that we know better than the people who live in places like Pakistan what's good for them is astonishing. These terrorist groups may look plenty nasty to us, but to lots of people in Pakistan they clearly don't. This is unlikely to change in the short-to-medium term no matter what we do.
We're either conducting a brutal neo-colonialist power grab, or we're about to jump ship and abandon them. And it seems that both opinions can reside in the same heads simultaneously. Damned if we do, damned if we don't.