OPPS! THERE GOES ANOTHER RUBBER TREE PLANT!
July 16, 2011
http://www.tribulatinperiod.com/
Foreign policy of any country
is directed by what is best for its National Interest, particularly if its basic goal is to continue to exist as a country. Pakistan does not have a border with two oceans on its east and west, nor does it have Mexico and Canada on its southern and northern borders. Pakistan has Afghanistan Taliban to its north and west, Iran to its southwest, India to its east and southeast, China to its northeast, former Soviet Union Satellites to its north, and multiple imbedded terrorist groups across its countryside. So what would its first National Interest priority be labeled? How about SURVIVAL! I don’t care how many generals and diplomats Pakistan sends to the US to mend our badly wounded relations, it must presently maintain a good buddy relationship with those around and in it, because when the US pulls out of Afghanistan, SURVIVAL is their National Interest.
When American troops leave Afghanistan, both Iraq and Afghanistan will quickly hate the US and Israel as much as they did in the past.
Pakistan, along with both Islamic countries, will eventually become a part of a massive caliphate.
The Pakistani President is like any other king, as are the other leaders in charge, when they consider how the current situation will finish. They will be surrounded by the aforementioned countries, and both their immediate
and long range National Interest will be SURVIVAL. Pakistan can see the end of the future scenario, which is a great way off, and their present actions are governed by what will happen when the US pulls out of Afghanistan. Their immediate enemies have long memories.
Luke 14:31,32 – Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? [32] Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.
Begin Excerpt from MEMRI
Middle East Media Review
July 11, 2011
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
Sabotaging American, British Military and Intelligence Efforts
The Pakistani military campaign to control Afghanistan has been accompanied by the expulsion of U.S. and British military
and intelligence officials from Pakistan. According to an April 21 report in the Pakistani media, some 500 CIA personnel were told to leave Pakistan in the beginning of this year. In late June, Pakistani Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar revealed that Pakistan has asked the CIA to leave the Shamsi airbase in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province, from which drones are dispatched to monitor and attack the Taliban safe havens in the Pakistani tribal region. In addition, 18 British military trainers have been told to leave.
The Political/Diplomatic Campaign
Pakistan has also stepped up its diplomatic and political efforts to influence Afghanistan and undercut Western influence there.
Sabotaging U.S.-Taliban Negotiations
In June 2011, Pakistan informed the U.S. that the U.S.-Taliban peace talks could not succeed without involving Pakistan. To reinforce this message of Pakistan, the Pakistan-backed Taliban have been carrying out suicide bombings in Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad and o
ther Afghan cities. Afghan NDS spokesman Lotfullah Mashal said: “Unfortunately, neighboring countries, in particular the Pakistani Army has continued to intervene in different ways ranging from suicide attacks, roadside bombings to commando-style attacks on hotels, mosques and hospitals.”
Pakistan Presents Written Demands to Karzai, Aimed at Subjugating Afghanistan
On April 16, 2011, the entire top Pakistani leadership (except for President Asif Zardari) descended on Kabul for bilateral talks with the Afghan leaders.[16] According to reports in the Afghan media, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani presented Karzai with a set of written demands: Afghanistan must sever its relationship with the U.S. and forge ties with China; keep Pakistan informed on the training and number of the Afghan security forces; appoint Pakistani officials to Afghan government institutions; and clarify Pakistan’s share in Afghan mining and development projects; in addition, future Afghan governments must implement Pakistani strategies, and Pakistan must be made aware of any agreement between Afghanistan and its Western allies, including the U.S. and NATO. The claim that Pakistan has demanded to incorporate Pakistani officials into the Afghan government institutions may appear far-fetched.
However, this would not be an unprecedented move.
In the 1990s, when Afghanistan was under the Taliban, Pakistani nationals indeed served in the Afghan government.
Pakistani Army Seeks to Formally Influence the Future of Afghanistan
During the talks, it was also decided to set up a two-tier Afghan-Pakistani joint commission, composed of both military and government officials, which is to include Pakistani Army Chief General Kayani and ISI Chief Lt.-Gen. Shuja Pasha. The sole purpose of the creation of a two-tier commission was to create a formal role for Pakistani military and its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in Afghanistan, as the two countries previously did have an Afghan-Pakistan joint commission. Thus, for the first time, the Pakistani military has officially embedded itself in an institution that will shape Afghanistan’s future. Speaking after the Kabul talks, President Karzai said: “The Pakistani prime minister, the chief of Army staff, and the intelligence agency chief would now represent the country on the peace commission, charged with finding a way of reaching a peace deal with the Taliban.”
Karzai Instructed to Forge Relations with China
During the April 16 talks, in a bid to weaken the Western influence in the region, Prime Minister Gilani also asked President Karzai to forge relations with China. According to a report in the Pashtu-language Khedmatgar Wrazpanra, the Pakistanis asked the Afghan leaders to establish strategic relations with China instead of the U.S., telling them that the U.S. has been defeated in Afghanistan, and that Ch
ina was therefore a better ally for both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Gilani also advised the Afghanis not to allow the long-term presence of the U.S. forces in their country.
Pakistani Defense Minister Confirms Plan to Involve the Pakistani Taliban in the Afghan Settlement
Pakistan and Afghanistan have conducted a series of bilateral talks with the aim of brokering peace with the Pakistani-backed Taliban in Afghanistan.
Obviously, any settlement will involve give-and-take with the Afghan Taliban.
However, it seems that Pakistan also aims to involve the Pakistani Taliban, backed by the Pakistani army and intelligence, in the negotiations.
This is evident from a June 28 statement by Pakistani Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, who said that both the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban would be involved in the peace process: “The government [of Pakistan] knows where the (Pakistani) Taliban are and where their groups are based, and contacting them is no problem. We will have talks to all Taliban,” Mukhtar said.
Afghan Political Commentator:
“The Pakistani Government regards Afghanistan as a Pakistani Colony”
Afghans saw the Pakistani demands as a case of unabashed interference in Afghanistan’s domestic affairs. Political analyst Noor Ul-Haq Ulomi blamed the Karzai government for accepting the Pakistani hegemony and collaborating with Pakistan’s plan through the bilateral talks.
In an interview with the Afghan television channel TOLO News, he noted that the “close friendship” between Karzai and Pakistani leadership was “hidden” earlier, and added: “Pakistan has never been honest with us.” Other political commentators accused the Pakistani government of violating diplomatic norms by demanding major concessions from Afghanistan. Former Afghan politician Sulaiman Layaq said: “The Pakistani government regards Afghanistan as a
Pakistani colony. If Pakistan really offers the conditions to Afghan government, it is disrespectful to the independence of Afghanistan.”
* Tufail Ahmad is Director of MEMRI’s South Asia Studies Project
(www.memri.org/sasp);
Y. Carmon is President of MEMRI.
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