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As far as Pakistan is concerned, David Sanger's book provides a detailed account of what was pr5eviously restricted to the drawing discussions and conspiracy theories discussed over cocktail by the elite in the know how of the state of affairs. With his access to power corridors in pakistan and the U.S, Mr Sanger highlights the dilemma for the Obama administration in dealing with Pakistan. And the dilemma which needs to be addressed is to tackle the iodeological frontiers of the battle against militancy. In addition to manpower and equipment needed to fight terrorism, what is equally important is the need for the government authorities to clearly define the contours of the ideological frontiers of its battle against militancy. The biggest problem for the field commanders of Pakistan's military is to convince their soldiers that they are fighting an infidel enemy, which in this case surprisingly belongs to the same religion and uses the same ideological motivational techniques, but for perverted reasons of preparing suicide bombers and militants.
As the regular Pakistani army soldiers continue to do their duties and even lay down their lives in the harshest of conditions and terrains, many watchers of the military actions in Swat and tribal areas are now questioning why the main local militant leaders like Baitullah Mehsud, Mullah Fazlullah, Maulvi Umer, Qari Zia-ur-Rehman have managed to avoid arrest for such a long time? Is it failure of human intelligence on the ground? Or a failure of the same agencies which claimed many a success in toppling democratic governments but when it comes to neutralizing militant leadership they fail to deliver against their old proxies who have now become Frankenstein monsters?
Senior Pakistan army officers say that during the days of General Musharraf, when the incumbent Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani was the DG ISI and now under Lt General Shuja Pasha, the military spy agency has been purged of officers who were sympathetic to a jihadi ideology. But still, how effectively the ISI can come to the rescue of regular army troops fighting militancy in Pakistan's own backyard is yet to be effectively seen. With every single Pakistani soldier dying in the tribal areas, Swat or every bombing or suicide bombing, the government has to make the intelligence agencies accountable. Unless heads start to roll in the intelligence set-up for each failure and each precious live lost due to militant activity anywhere in Pakistan, state of affairs is unlikely to improve as quickly as required. David Sanger's book in its Chapter 8 provides an account of how the double game has been played. A must read for anyone wanting to know what is happening in the troubled hotspots of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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The Inheritance: The World Obama Confronts and the Challenges to American Power by David E. Sanger
arsched, February 16, 2009
As far as Pakistan is concerned, David Sanger's book provides a detailed account of what was pr5eviously restricted to the drawing discussions and conspiracy theories discussed over cocktail by the elite in the know how of the state of affairs. With his access to power corridors in pakistan and the U.S, Mr Sanger highlights the dilemma for the Obama administration in dealing with Pakistan. And the dilemma which needs to be addressed is to tackle the iodeological frontiers of the battle against militancy. In addition to manpower and equipment needed to fight terrorism, what is equally important is the need for the government authorities to clearly define the contours of the ideological frontiers of its battle against militancy. The biggest problem for the field commanders of Pakistan's military is to convince their soldiers that they are fighting an infidel enemy, which in this case surprisingly belongs to the same religion and uses the same ideological motivational techniques, but for perverted reasons of preparing suicide bombers and militants.As the regular Pakistani army soldiers continue to do their duties and even lay down their lives in the harshest of conditions and terrains, many watchers of the military actions in Swat and tribal areas are now questioning why the main local militant leaders like Baitullah Mehsud, Mullah Fazlullah, Maulvi Umer, Qari Zia-ur-Rehman have managed to avoid arrest for such a long time? Is it failure of human intelligence on the ground? Or a failure of the same agencies which claimed many a success in toppling democratic governments but when it comes to neutralizing militant leadership they fail to deliver against their old proxies who have now become Frankenstein monsters?
Senior Pakistan army officers say that during the days of General Musharraf, when the incumbent Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani was the DG ISI and now under Lt General Shuja Pasha, the military spy agency has been purged of officers who were sympathetic to a jihadi ideology. But still, how effectively the ISI can come to the rescue of regular army troops fighting militancy in Pakistan's own backyard is yet to be effectively seen. With every single Pakistani soldier dying in the tribal areas, Swat or every bombing or suicide bombing, the government has to make the intelligence agencies accountable. Unless heads start to roll in the intelligence set-up for each failure and each precious live lost due to militant activity anywhere in Pakistan, state of affairs is unlikely to improve as quickly as required. David Sanger's book in its Chapter 8 provides an account of how the double game has been played. A must read for anyone wanting to know what is happening in the troubled hotspots of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
(4 of 5 readers found this comment helpful)