The respected US strategic think tank, RAND Corp, estimated that a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan would initially kill two million people, wound 100 million, and send clouds of radioactive dust around the globe.
The US and India were delighted. India always claimed the Kashmir uprising was due to `cross-border terrorism’ from Pakistan, though the revolt was a genuine national uprising against Indian misrule.
Pakistanis were outraged by this double betrayal, calling Musharraf an American stooge. Now, President Asif Zardari’s feeble new government is continuing the same policy under US pressure, to the anger and contempt of many Pakistanis. He is seen as being even more subservient to Washington than his hated predecessor, Pervez Musharraf.
Pakistan has two governments: civilian and military. The generals and ISI have never abandoned their goal of a Pakistani-dominated Afghanistan, or continuing the Kashmir jihad. Both are seen as vital national interests. Pakistan’s generals look with derision and distaste on Zardari, who is dogged by accusations of gross corruption and malfeasance.
Washington has rented 130,000 Pakistani soldiers to wage war against Pashtun tribesmen allied to Taliban on Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier. The US pays their salaries and provides them with food and transport. These rented soldiers, or `sepoys,’ as the British Raj used to call its native troops, detest their mission. The once proud Pakistani army has become a mercenary force.
Now, in response to the deteriorating military situation in Afghanistan, the Pentagon is putting together a plan to send more divisions of its rented Pakistani Army to fight Taliban and other resistance forces in Afghanistan.
Few Americans understand the growing radicalization of Pakistan caused by Washington forcing its rulers and soldiers to go against the sentiments and interests of the nation.
Instead, the US keeps listening to the westernized Pakistani elite, less than 1% of the population, and left-leaning `experts,’ like Ahmad Rashid, who keep telling Washington what it wants to hear, rather than hard truths.
The festering Kashmir conflict that pits nuclear armed India and Pakistan against each other lies behind the Mumbai massacre. Solving this dangerous business must be as high a priority for the great powers as ending murderous attacks on civilians.
Endlessly repeating the mantra about `fighting terrorism’ will not solve the dangerous conflicts in South Asia or the Mideast.
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copyright Eric S. Margolis 2008
