By Eric Margolis
The US is now risking a military confrontation with old ally Pakistan that is both highly dangerous and unpredictable in the extreme.
It’s awfully hard for the world’s greatest power to admit its high-tech military forces are being beaten in Afghanistan by a bunch of lightly-armed mountain tribesmen that we dismiss as "terrorists."
But that’s what’s happening in the "Graveyard of Empires." Washington can’t and won’t admit it has blundered into a bloody, trillion dollar fiasco in Afghanistan.
Right now, Pakistan is the chief whipping boy for US imperial fury.
Last week, outgoing US chief of staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, accused Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ISI, of being behind recent high profile attacks against US targets in Afghanistan that were allegedly staged by the Haqqani network, one of Taliban’s coalition members fighting foreign occupation. A recent assault by Taliban mujahidin on the US Embassy in Kabul revived very bad dreams of the Viet Cong’s war-winning 1968 Tet Offensive.
Admiral Mullen accused the Haqqani network of being "a virtual arm" of ISI. Pakistan strongly denied US charges. In fact, both CIA and Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ISI, have long maintained covert links with the Haqqani group.
Much of CIA’s intelligence on Afghanistan comes from two sources: electronic intercepts, and the Afghan government’s intelligence service.
Most anti-US fighters are far too experienced to use electronic communications they know are easily picked up by US satellites, aircraft, drones, airships, and ground stations.
The Afghan government intelligence service is dominated by Tajik Communists from the old Soviet-created KHAD intelligence agency who are blood enemies of Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Pashtun majority.
Afghan spooks have become a primary source of disinformation to US military and civilian intelligence outfits, and likely the source of claims that Pakistan’s ISI was behind recent attacks on US targets in Afghanistan. US intelligence was similarly misled in 2003 over Iraq by a "friendly," self-serving intelligence service.
Official Washington is reacting with free-form rage rather than careful thought. No doubt, the example of the Soviet 1989 defeat in Afghanistan increasingly haunts Washington.
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The US has no need for war with Pakistan. Like Rome, the US only has to cut a little aid here, stir a little there - and let its proxies do the work. The main lever the US has is India and nothing gets the Paks more stirred up than having India looking over at them.
ReplyDeleteIraq and Afghanistan are already end games to be quietly finished up and forgotten about.
Big war is not an option or even on the horizon for the next 5-6 years at least. Its not even the preferred strategy. Save your ammo for Iran in 8-10 years time or a good old fashioned naval battle with China. Or maybe an intervention with Palestine, or .....
The American people have accepted the President as an executioner of our own citizens, they will accept an other war to eradicate the towel heads. The empire is sinking like a rock and the people show no remorse and care less. A sickening spectacle of human depravity as we spire into the evil abyss. I fear for what our country is turning into.
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