Occupation of Afghanistan and formulation of new rules on terrorism gave a godsend opportunity to India to punish its arch rival Pakistan on account of its venture in Kargil and its overall policy of defying Indian hegemony in South Asia. While the US military and NATO got busy in mopping up operation in Afghanistan, India had its own set of priorities. It was desperate to regain its influence in Afghanistan and to bash Pakistan. While the US had politely declined India’s advice that Indian military would attack Pakistan from the west in concert with US-NATO attack on Afghanistan from the north, it agreed to its suggestion to deceive Pakistan by pretending to be its close ally and then forcing it to become frontline state, severing ties with Taliban, sharing intelligence, making available its airbases, airspace, Karachi Port and land routes via Chaman and Torkham for logistic support.
Behind the ruse of helping Pakistan in fighting terrorism nabbing runaway terrorists, CIA and FBI opened outposts in selected regions of FATA and Balochistan and also gained control over immigration department on all major airports. In short time, CIA started dominating ISI in matters of intelligence acquisition since it had superior means at its disposal.
Resultantly, Pakistan today is a scene of violence, death and destruction. Whereas Pakistan has suffered the most in US dictated war on terror and is the biggest victim of terrorism, the sponsor of the war instead of sympathizing has declared that Pakistanis the most dangerous country in the world and nursery of terrorism. According to Adm. Mike Mullen, Pakistanis exporter of terrorism and aligned with Haqqani network based in Miranshah, a bustling town of North Waziristan(NW) and epicenter of economic activity. ISI has been directly accused that it had a hand in recent attacks in Kabul. A case has been cleverly built up on the pattern of endgame of Vietnam War in which story of safe havens was played up and Cambodia made a scapegoat to cover up US military’s failure.
The US leaders embarrassed from series of debacles in recent weeks are trying to make Pakistan a sacrificial lamb in order to hide US military’s failures. They are trying to enact 9/11 like situation and have given an ultimatum to Pakistan that it is either with the US or with the Haqqani network. Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Mike Mullen, Petraeus and Panetta who are firing threatening salvos should be realistic and try to understand that the American public as well as the world today is no more ignorant and will not get duped by psychological war again and again. They should know that neither the military and economic situation of USA is as strong as was in 2001, nor Pakistanis under a military dictator who could take decisions on behalf of the nation unilaterally. Rather, the US has become economically impoverished because of global economic meltdown and US excessive defence spending, and militarily weak and timid owing to the beatings it is receiving at the hands of Taliban in Afghanistan. Moreover, after the US lies about WMDs in Iraq were exposed, who would believe its Haqqani network story?
