War Next Door Creates Havoc in Pakistan
By Eric Margolis
October 17, 2009 "Toronto Sun" -- Pakistan, increasingly destabilized
by the U.S.-led war in neighbouring Afghanistan, is getting closer to
blowing apart.
Bombings and shootings have rocked this nation of 167 million,
including a brazen attack on army HQ in Rawalpindi and a massive bombing of
Peshawar's exotic Khyber Bazaar.
Pakistan's army is readying a major offensive against rebellious
Pashtun tribes in South Waziristan. Meanwhile, the feeble, deeply unpopular
U.S.-installed government in Islamabad faces an increasingly rancorous
confrontation with the military.
Like the proverbial bull in the china shop, the Obama administration
and U.S. Congress chose this explosive time to try to impose yet another
layer of American control over Pakistan as Nobel Peace Prize winner Obama
appears about to send thousands more U.S. troops to Afghanistan.
Tragically, U.S. policy in the Muslim world continues to be driven by
imperial arrogance, profound ignorance, and special interest groups.
The current Kerry-Lugar-Berman bill, advanced with President Barack
Obama's blessing, is ham-handed dollar diplomacy at its worst. Pakistan,
bankrupted by corruption and feudal landlords, is being offered $7.5 billion
US over five years -- but with outrageous strings attached.
The U.S. wants to build a mammoth new embassy for 1,000 personnel in
Islamabad, the second largest after its Baghdad fortress-embassy. New
personnel are needed, claims Washington, to monitor the $7.5 billion in aid.
So U.S. mercenaries are being brought in to protect U.S. "interests." New
U.S. bases will open. Most of this new aid will go right into the pockets of
the pro-western ruling establishment, about 1% of the population.
Washington is also demanding veto power over promotions in Pakistan's
armed forces and intelligence agency, ISI. This crude attempt to take
control of Pakistan's proud, 617,000-man military has enraged the armed
forces.
It's all part of Washington's "AfPak" strategy to clamp tighter
control over restive Pakistan and make use of its armed forces and spies in
Afghanistan. Seizing control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, the key to its
national defence against much more powerful India, is the other key U.S.
objective.
However, 90% of Pakistanis oppose the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, and
see Taliban and its allies as national resistance to western occupation.
Violence
Alarmingly, violent attacks on Pakistan's government are coming not
only from once-autonomous Pashtun tribes (wrongly called "Taliban") in
Northwest Frontier Province, but, increasingly, in the biggest province,
Punjab. Recently, the U.S. Ambassador in Islamabad, in a fit of imperial
hubris, actually called for air attacks on Pashtun leaders in Quetta,
capital of Pakistan's restive Baluchistan province.
Washington does not even bother to ask the impotent Islamabad
government's permission to launch air attacks inside Pakistan.
Along comes the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Big Bribe as most irate Pakistanis
accuse President Asif Ali Zardari's government of being American hirelings.
Zardari, widower of Benazir Bhutto, has been dogged for decades by charges
of corruption. His senior aides in Pakistan and Washington are being
denounced by what's left of Pakistan's media not yet under government
control.
Washington seems unaware of the fury its crude, counter-productive
policies have whipped up in Pakistan. The Obama administration keeps
listening to Washington-based neoconservatives, military hawks, and
"experts" who tell it just what it wants to hear, not the facts. Ottawa does
the same.
Revolt
As a result, Pakistan's military, the nation's premier institution, is
being pushed to the point of revolt. Against the backdrop of bombings and
shootings come rumours the heads of Pakistan's armed forces and intelligence
may be replaced.
Pakistanis are calling for the removal of the Zardari regime's
strongman, Interior Minister Rehman Malik. Many clamour for the head of
Pakistan's ambassador in Washington, my old friend Hussain Haqqani, who is
seen as too close to the Americans. One suspects the wily Haqqani is also
angling to get the U.S. to help him become Pakistan's next leader.
The possibility of a military coup against the discredited Zardari
regime grows. But Pakistan is dependent on U.S. money, and fears India. Can
its generals afford to break with patron Washington?
© 2009 Toronto Sun
***
http://afghanwomensmission.org/index.php
An Afghan Woman (Zoya) Speaks Out Against the U.S. War
There Will Also be a Screening of "Rethink Afghanistan"
A Short Film by Robert Greenwald
Hosted by Sonali Kolhatkar of KPFK
Plus Tom Hayden & Rick Reyes
Wednesday, October 21st, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Center for the Arts in Eagle Rock
2225 Colorado Blvd. Los Angeles 90041
For more information call: 626-676-7884
As part of her major national speaking tour of the United States, Zoya, a
member of RAWA (Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan), will
address two important events in Southern California this October. Coming to
California after an extensive tour of the East Coast, Zoya will share the
experiences of ordinary and struggling Afghans, how they are responding to
the US war, and whether or not the war should continue.
In addition to Zoya, acclaimed activist and writer Tom Hayden, and Afghan
war veteran Rick Reyes will speak. There will be a screening of a short
film, Rethink Afghanistan, and Afghan crafts for sale. This special event
will be hosted by Sonali Kolhatkar of KPFK.
Sponsored by Afghan Women's Mission, Center for the Arts in Eagle Rock, Cafe
Intifada, and KPFK Radio. This event is wheelchair accessible.
Hi All,
Hope you can make it to this event in Los Angeles with Zoya, one of
the most incredible young women I have ever met. I will be hosting.
Please pass on the announcement
Thanks!
Sonali Kolhatkar
Host of Uprising on KPFK 90.7 FM Radio
www.uprisingradio.org
***
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iEGQ6R5h5yVJrXTmITIMvmJkvqtA
AFP October 19, 2009
Karzai vote cut to 48%: US monitor
KABUL - Investigations into fraud in Afghanistan's elections have cut
President Hamid Karzai's share of the vote to 48 percent, below the
threshold for outright victory, a US election monitor said on Monday.
Democracy International said figures released by Afghanistan's Electoral
Complaints Commission (ECC) showed that almost 1.3 million votes cast in the
August 20 poll were invalid, cutting Karzai's share of the vote from about
55 percent in the preliminary result.
Following investigations into alleged fraud, the vote for Karzai's main
rival Abdullah Abdullah rose to almost 32 percent, from the 28 percent he
won according to official preliminary results, Democracy International said.
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