<I'd like to know your opinion of whether or not the U.S. should lighten up the attack, or cease bombing altogether, during the month of Ramadan?>
US in my opinion will be well advanced until 17th of November and I don’t think that attacks would be required by then. If unfortunately things are bogged down and Taleban are still around I have a feeling that ground actions will continue irrespective. The present hit and run strategy is something Russians or English could not even think. The bases in hinterland of Baluchistan are a very big plus. Kandhar as a crow would fly is within striking distance of US forces. Kandhar is the Mecca of Taleban. Once Kandhar falls and US is able to establish an advance in Afghanistan near Kandhar the march to Kabul is just a formality. Kabul can fall today its not a big deal but in my opinion the whole strategy is to flush the rot to North with South solidly closed for them to escape. I think present attacks going in are very deadly, they are hitting them hard and these bunch of rag tag army much as they are feared will not be able to withstand this kind of consistent resolve.
The US resolve and its partnership with the most pivotal state in the region right now is the anchor of a swift removal of cancerous Taleban. Pakistanis in my opinion have really gone out of their way to accommodate United States and that does not surprise me. What would surprise me and worry me if Pakistan ISI and US Intelligence are unable to flush them out in first two weeks of November. I expect them to fall much earlier. In my opinion the media has played a very negative role in this campaign and present efforts to block the campaign from glaring eyes of media is the best thing that can happen to this campaign. I don’t think Islam is an issue in this campaign, it’s about elimination of people who want to take this world 1400 years backward. Presently US is depending on Pakistan’s ability to break the Taleban, they have some time on their hand but if they are unable to get this thing going Kabul will have to fall within next few weeks.
I have an opinion that Taleban are on the verge of break. It is easy to say that they can retreat into mountains and launch a campaign against the fallen cities of Kandhar, Kabul and Mazar Sharif but the difference here is that unlike the Russians who were propping the government in Kabul in 80’s here in 2000’s the cities under a new broad based coalition will not be an easy take. The satellites will now be able to record their hiding places so the chances that any meaningful war can go on far too long is nil. Who will give them the weapons or the supplies? In the war against Russia these guys became heroes because of US weapons, it was the stinger missiles that changed the balance of terror. Without ammo supplies and food, Taleban have not much of a chance.
<it would give Osama and Omar the opportunity to relax and regroup, perhaps thinking up new and even more vile ways of terrorizing others. >
For Osama and Omar, can only relax and regroup if Government in Pakistan falls.
<affect Pakistan government stability.>
Pakistan government stability is only threatened by a coordinated effort of some of the regional players who are interested in ‘Balkanisation of Pakistan.’
People who think this new posture of Pakistan with US will make it very strong and the Balkanisation of Pakistan may have to eventually be delayed may clean Pakistan present leadership. If this ‘fanatical ideology’ has some ground then very serious threat to our present leadership does exist. I believe that the present leadership in my country is conscious of this threat and as you must have seen despite of all the propaganda against my country that is a beggar state, a failing state, it had strategic and intelligent infrastructure smart enough and competent enough to provide within 15 days the possibilities of US ground attacks, remember it took 6 months before attacks on ground could commence in Iraq Kuwait conflict.
Irresponsible states do not make the kind of decisions that Pakistan made on 11th sept and could not provide things on such a short notice of 48 hours. With a single stroke of genius our government avoided the ‘talibanisation and Saddamisation’ curse. These are curses that are extensively found in high quantity in every nation of Islam. I for one worked hard so did every one of us to write thousands of emails to our president to help him make the right choices, lot of people and pundits never expected that to happen. Saudis in the name of Islam could not still make a choice threatened at first by its indigenous unrest potential and second as custodian of Islam the extremist strains are somewhat overlooked, Mubarek is quite so are others in the entire Islamic world, for us to take on Afghanistan who provided us with their strategic depth is high risk game but worth every bit of it.
Taleban harbour some of these worst terrorist who has blood of 6000 people on his hand his name is ‘Riaz Basra’ he is funded by the same Wahabist lobby that funds some other extremists, Pakistan had asked Taliban to hand him over to Pakistan but he was guest of Omar, for Pakistan to get rid of this expensive baggage is a dream come true. Nations have strategies, a friendly government in our backyard provided us with some anchor in face of our eastern lovely greatest nation on earth neighbour. Over period of time that became a baggage, this dependence of strategic depth become a tool of blackmail for Taliban who would always remind Pakistani that ‘if you press us too much and you loose us you get your arch rivals Northern Alliance in Kabul.’ For Pakistan things could not be better, the basis cause of differences with the world are now over as Taliban will be showed the road and instead of an client state in our backyard a broad based government will be formed.
Almost everything in this war is going through Pakistan, like South Vietnam America has received total support but the comparison ends here as Pakistan has got a good infrastructure, a disciplined army that listens to its CEO and has the ability to take on major jobs with extreme efficiency. The one we are seeing in progress in my opinion will be delivered. And Talebans have no China or Russian to support them like North Vietnam had. No Ho-chi-min trail here, Taliban are dead in water which ever way you look at it, Iran is deadly against them for that 1380 years old Shia-Sunni schism, Pakistan it is now personal between Omar-Osama and Musharraf, it is their head or his, crude but true to its last content. It will be the two who will roll.
On the internal domestic front the disturbances are quietly subsiding and President is quite stable. I think this war will be over soon and I see a possibility of real peace in our region as major players in the world have realised that neither my country is fanatically preoccupied with inspirations of Islam nor have any great ambivalence in siding with US when it matters the most. The propaganda that one day Pakistan will be Talebanised could not have failed more miserably. Today most of us believe that end is in sight and our expectations are very high. It is our necks on line our very existence is at stake on this war outcome, continued talibanisation is sound of death for us. I don’t think it is only your war now, after Dalbandin, Jacobabad, Pasni it is now our war too. |
