American Asian Agenda

Senator Kerry’s Letter on U.S. Aid to Pakistan: Five Highlights for Ambassador Holbrooke | Molly Kinder | Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Blog

2010-06-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

Senator Kerry’s Letter on U.S. Aid to Pakistan: Five Highlights for Ambassador Holbrooke Molly Kinder Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Blog

U.S. Development Strategy in Pakistan : Center for Global Development : Initiatives: Active

2010-06-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

U.S. Development Strategy in Pakistan : Center for Global Development : Initiatives: Active

The U.S. image in Pakistan - TheHill.com

2010-06-10T09:34:00.000-07:00

The U.S. image in Pakistan - TheHill.com

Beginning of Afghan-America Jihad?

2009-12-04T23:28:00.000-08:00

It may seem to be odd or premature at the moment, but I am convinced in my heart and mind that the US is now hastily heading towards the beginning of Afghan-America Jihad which is going to be worst than the Afghan-USSR Jihad for multiple reasons.

1--Afghan Taliban are well-entrenched in most part of Afghanistan. They have the will of the people, the weapons and the warfare training.

2. Afghan Taliban are expected to be backed by all and sundry, tacitly or explicitly, for the people of no country in the region wants America to be based in Afghanistan.

3. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran are the main stakeholders. There is first and foremost commonality of religion, followed by a common hatred of the USA. These countries would not let the US and the NATO massacre the people in Afghanistan for too long.

4. There is every reason to believe that the Muslims in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran as well as those in India will stand united against the US and the NATO forces and will help their Muslim brothers in Afghanistan with money, material and manpower.

5. Russia, Central Asian Republics and China will have genuine concerns about the foreign occupation of Afghan land. They will not hesitate to back up resistance against the US and the NATO in every possible manner.

6. India will be isolated if it tries to back up the US and the NATO in Afghanistan. It can also be in serious trouble with its 15 million Muslims in the country.

7. Pakistan will be on the receiving end from the supporters of Afghan Taliban within its own house. Firstly, Pakistan does not have the civilian capacity to face the internal turmoil and its people will rise against the pro-America political government. Secondly, the military cannot remain aloof from the internal security concerns for too long. Besides, the military will be fighting the Pakistani Taliban and their comrades-in-arms on the one hand and guarding the borders against India on the other. Thirdly, the clergy in Pakistan comprising the Ulema, deeni madaris and mosques will create an unmanageable uproar and mobilize the public sentiment against the government, the US and the West.

Ultimately, the Afghan-America War will become a multinational Jihad as it happened in the earlier Afghan-USSR Jihad. Will the US and the NATO be able to withstand the onslaught from 57 Muslim countries and their 1.5 billion people around the world?

Mumtaz A. Piracha
Chairman
Good Governance Forum
www.goodgovernanceforum.com

NATO allies offer 7,000 extra troops for Afghan war

2009-12-04T23:02:00.000-08:00

By Luke Baker and Andrew Quinn Luke Baker And Andrew Quinn Fri Dec 4, 7:56 pm ET

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Twenty-five NATO allies promised on Friday to send about 7,000 more troops to Afghanistan, backing U.S. President Barack Obama's new war strategy and reinforcing efforts to defeat the Taliban.

The extra commitment fell short of the 10,000 troops Pentagon officials had originally hoped for and did not account for some 4,900 Dutch and Canadian troops already due to leave the field in 2010 and 2011.

After a day of meetings to sell Obama's new strategy, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was pleased with "significant contributions" of both combat troops and trainers, which Washington hopes will allow Afghan forces to begin taking over security responsibility by mid-2011.

"This is a crucial test for NATO which has been the greatest and most successful military alliance in history," Clinton told a news conference, thanking NATO members for their contribution.

The White House welcomed NATO's announcement, saying in a statement, "These new commitments demonstrate strong support for President Obama's decision on Afghanistan and Pakistan and the firm resolve of NATO allies and ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) partners to succeed in our shared mission."

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said more countries could join the 25 promising to contribute new troops in the next few months.

On a visit to Washington, Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai said Budapest would add 200 soldiers to the 340 troops it already had in Afghanistan working in reconstruction and training.

Despite the headline figure of 7,000 extra forces announced by Rasmussen, a breakdown of the numbers provided by NATO sources showed pledges for only 5,500 troops, with 1,500 more to be confirmed later.

Of the 5,500, at least 1,500 are already in the country and will not now be withdrawn as planned, NATO sources said.

The Canadian and Dutch withdrawals, which will see some of the most battle-hardened forces leave, will also dent the non-U.S. contribution, U.S. officials conceded.

The move follows Obama's decision on Tuesday to send 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, an attempt to turn the tide in the eight-year war.

Rasmussen said the extra troops, which would raise the total number of foreign forces in Afghanistan to around 140,000, would help to tackle the insurgency, but would not be enough to defeat it alone. "There are no silver bullets, no magic solutions."

"It will still take more time, more commitment and more patience to reach our shared goal," he said.

MORE TRAINERS NEEDED

Rasmussen laid out what he called a new road map for NATO operations, involving more soldiers, more aid and more training for Afghan security forces, as well as efforts to reintegrate Taliban fighters who agree to lay down their arms.

Even with the extra manpower, the NATO alliance faces a struggle to coordinate its efforts and regain the upper hand against an insurgency that has expanded into previously stable regions of Afghanistan and built strongholds inside Pakistan.

France and Germany appear more willing to send trainers than combat troops but have said they will only take a decision on any further commitment after a conference on Afghanistan to be held in London on January 28.

NATO still needs more than 200 extra police and military training teams to boost Afghan forces so they can eventually take over security and allow foreign forces to withdraw.

Clinton suggested the United States believed at least some of those trainers could also help fight on the ground.

"Training is not only about the beginning of military preparation," she said. "It also includes partnering those troops, mentoring those troops, and going into combat with those troops."

But she reassured allies their commitment would not need to be open-ended.

"The need for additional forces is urgent, but their presence will not be indefinite," she said, noting Obama's timeline called for Afghans to begin taking over in July 2011.

"At that time, we will begin to transfer authority and responsibility to Afghan security forces, removing combat forces from Afghanistan over time with the assurance that Afghanistan's future, and ours, is secure," Clinton said.

U.S. officials have been scrambling to back away from suggestions that mid-2011 has been set as a firm date for the start of a troop withdrawal, even if some of the extra U.S. troops being sent could start to pull out by then.

Rasmussen said any withdrawal should not be seen as the international coalition abandoning the country.

"Transition doesn't mean exit," he said. "There should be no misunderstanding: we are not going to leave Afghanistan to fall back into the hands of terrorists and the extremists who host them. It will not happen."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091205/wl_nm/us_afghanistan_nato_rasmussen

Hillary Clinton's Visit to Pakistan

2009-10-31T00:19:00.000-07:00

Every US dignitary that visits Pakistan speaks of extremism, militancy and terrorism. Nobody speaks of improving governance in Pakistan, stopping massive corruption from top to bottom, cutting edges of maladministration at all levels of the bureaucracy in collusion with the parliamentarians, feudal lords and politicians, and removing gross disparities in the economic, social, political, religious and constitutional rights and privileges of the 90% of the population of Pakistan who have no say in the working of the government at any level in the country.

The US can NEVER improve its image and impact amongst the people of Pakistan UNLESS and UNTIL it starts working with the true and dedicated representatives of the people who belong to the civil society, not the so-called deaf and dumb parliamentarians.

Good Governance Forum, the Largest, Most Diversified and Most Globally Searched platform, has been endeavouring to bring together the educated and enlightened class in Pakistan to join hands and work together for improving governance in Pakistan. Our weblog is ranked amongst TOP 3 on both Google and Yahoo! out of millions of listings under the search term good governance forum.

Our greatest hurdle is the lack of support from the government to listen to us and to take recommended measures to address burning public issues of paramount importance. We have to seek remedies from the superior judiciary. Even then, the orders of the superior judiciary have to be implemented through the bureaucracy which is highly politicized, corrupt and incompetent.

There is also no financial support from any non-partisan source in and out of Pakistan to enable us to carry on our mission. We have to largely depend on our meager self-generated resources. As such, a lot many actions cannot be taken for the welfare of the people.

Mumtaz A. Piracha
Chairman
Good Governance Forum
Pakistan
weblog: http://ggovernance.blogspot.com
email: good.governance@gmail.com

10/28/2009 3:28:12 AM

2008-10-03T03:25:00.000-07:00

Saturday, December 1, 2007

American Asian Agenda revolves around Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Russia, China, Iran and the Arabian Gulf. A strong foothold in the region will help the United States keep a close watch on the emerging super and nuclear powers in the region, oil in the Gulf and nuclear weaponry in Iran and be ready to attack and destroy the opposing nations.

Afghanistan is in turmoil. US and Nato forces stationed in and around Kabul are there to protect the government of Hamid Karzai who is unable to spread the writ of his government beyond Kabul. Minus Kabul, it is the growing Taliban rule encompassing most of Afghanistan. It is not just Taliban who 'compelled' the U.S. to land in Afghanistan. Afghanistan provides land route to the Central Asian Republics rich in oil and gas, electricity, nuclear weapons etc. Afghanistan also has borders with Iran, Pakistan and China. It could be a right place for a permanent U.S. base.

Pakistan is in turmoil. President Musharraf is struggling hard and harsh to survive against the onslaught of lawyers, judges, students, media, intellectuals, civil society organizations and leading opposition coalitions. Yet, the U.S. is not yet ready to take him off the ground until the U.S. has developed alternate reliable, dependable and effective government to support and work for the American Asian Agenda. President Musharraf risked everything to support the U.S. in its 'War on Terror'which no political leader worth his/her mettle can ever afford to do. The U.S. agenda might be supported by a political leader for a limited geographical stretch and for a limited timeframe. President Musharraf did it for several years but he has got his constraints as well.

One of the biggest mistakes the United States often makes is to rely entirely on a single strong man, ignoring all other forces and the people in a country. Such an arrangement may work for some time, but not for ever, especially in the 21st century world.

It may be a valid assumption that King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia moved in Mian Nawaz Sharif not just for his friendship but also to strengthen Pakistan against the onslaught of non-Muslims on Islamic religion, culture, traditions, and the future designs and plans to make inroads into Iran and the Arabian Gulf. Gawadar is a sour-point for the U.S. China has plans to lay a pipeline from Gawadar to China to transport oil safely and economically. Gawadar port will be used for transporting oil from the Arabian Gulf to China by ships in the immediate future. Gawadar has tremendous economic and military strategic significance.

India is fast growing, economically and militarily, to become a super power in the region. It has long-time friendship with Russia and commonality of interests. Why the people in India are opposing nuclear deal between India and the U.S. is something to ponder over?

China is fast growing, economically and militarily, to become a super power in the region. United States has publicly admitted that it is not FULLY aware of the extent and nature of weaponization in China but they do know it is weaponizing at a dramatic pace. China has lent US$ 50 billion to African states to develop their economies and,obviously, to make them buyers of Chinese goods and services. China is on the move around the world to develop economic and political relations with almost every nation on earth.

Russia is fast growing, economically and militarily, to become a super power in the region. Its objective is obvious: to get back into the position of the former Soviet Union. It is helping Iran develop nuclear capabilities for 'peaceful' means.Iran is destined to become another nuclear power in due course of time. It has enormous economic and military strength. One of the reasons why the U.S. is reluctant to attack Iran is reported to be lack of knowledge of the location of ALL the underground nuclear bases in Iran. Another reason is that Iran has missiles with nuclear warheads to reach Tel Aviv, capital of Israel.T

he Arabian Gulf is booming economically though militarily it is nowhere near others in the region. Money can, however, buy nuclear weaponry to serve as a deterrent to keep off other nations eyeing the Gulf's wealth and oil.Coming years are going to witness developments of phenomenal significance in the entire region. Pakistan has to strengthen itself economically, politically and militarily to play its cards with finesse. It has a far greater role ahead than it has so far visualized but it has to be strong to play its role as a powerful nation from within rather than a weaker nation at the mercy of the U.S.

All visitors are welcome to post their comments, objectively, dispassionately and decently on this blog.