Submitted by Mustafa Qadri, Jan 3, 2008 07:47

I'm afraid this article is a classic example of racism and ideology wrapped up in a thin veil of cool headed rationalism. The reference to babies being trained for future suicide activities is particularly detestable.

A familiar excuse for maintaining the status quo with respect to US relations with Pakistan is that the latter is a complex country with no easy solution. Your reference to Winston Churchill is apt. The US's relationship with Pakistan is a colonial one, which is to say it is a asymmetrical relationship resulting in the subordination of Pakistan in favour of US interests. Like the British before, the US claims it seeks to civilise a lawless region. Yet the reality speaks volume towards the opposite assertion.

Any sustainable solution to the lawlessness in Waziristan or the tribal areas of Pakistan generally will have to, first, confront a fundamental reality. That reality is that the Pakistan Government has no interest in these tribal areas, other than hegemonic ones. Much the same may be said for the US. The US had no problem funding and training the same type of militants during the Soviet war. Even as recently ast the mid-90s the US was flying these type of militants in Bosnia to fight the Serbs. Need I mention Iraq's American trained Wolf brigades or their South American forebears? The US has a long history of providing such support. So I'd suggest respectfully that, in finding a solution, commentators from the US look, first, to their own country. And, in so doing, consider their own country's institutional and ideological predispositions and how these shape and influence Pakistan's policies in Waziristan and other tribal areas. A good place to start would be reforming the US system of military aid. Interestingly, the US already has many of the laws in place to ensure aid is not delivered to oppressive regimes. But these laws have not prevented many billions flowing to Israel, to Pakistan, and many other nations.

If Waziristan is a hotbed for 'jihadist' activities it is because of centuries of neglect and marginalisation. None of the outside forces (Britain, Pakistan, US) who have arrived at the Waziri doorstep with the ostensible aim of creating order and stability have had an honest intent. Their intent has been, with the British as with your government now, to subjugate the area. So long as this is the true aim of foreign intervention in Waziristan, it will have limited success.

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.