Posted on 06/26/2008 3:02:48 PM PDT by forkinsocket
Ahmed Rashid, a Pakistani journalist of the highest narrative and analytical gifts, is baffled by the West’s almost demented indifference and folly towards Afghanistan and his own country. The stakes are huge. If either state fails, as is highly plausible, global stability will be rocked. The United Nations, Nato, the European Union and, of course, America will see their purposes and credibility set at naught.
Yet, as Rashid writes: “The international community’s lukewarm commitment to Afghanistan after 9/11 has been matched only by its incompetence, incoherence and conflicting strategies — all led by the United States.” Meanwhile, in Pakistan, Washington’s commitment, since 2001, to support President Pervez Musharraf’s military dictatorship rather than to promote the interests of the Pakistani people, “has created immense hatred for the US army and America, hatred that penetrates all classes of society”.
These are strong words, yet Rashid is no foaming leftist, still less an enthusiast for Islamic militance. He merely tells a story from the viewpoint of a highly informed Pakistani who knows intimately almost all the leading players, including Afghanistan’s president, Hamid Karzai, many of the Afghan warlords, and, of course, key figures in his own country.
The severest criticism that can be made of his tale is that we know some of it already. A group of ignorant, immensely powerful and thus dangerous men in Washington, of whom Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, was probably the worst, sought to exploit America’s shock after 9/11 to pursue their own global agenda, on which taking out Saddam Hussein was tops.
(Excerpt) Read more at entertainment.timesonline.co.uk ...
Politically Correctness gone mad is the reason.
Does Afghanistan have any natural beauty anywhere? It looks like a miserable existence.
This is what passes for reporting and or analysis?
Exactly!
I am opposed to the wars both in Afghanistan and in Iraq, but for reasons as foreign to the "Progressives" as it is possible to hold.
I think the wars are criminal to our own young countrymen.
What is the highest-profile news coverage concern? Trying our own soldiers, in battle, for "war crimes"; or alleged war crimes (no distinction whatsoever).
Under those circumstances I would never fight any war, nor advise any son daughter or other member of the family to fight.
A war is the last resort and, specially against enemies for whom all rules mean nothing, it is either a commitment to win, or no commitment at all.
The first wars in history where the primary concern is not to hurt an animalistic, primitive enemy culture's feelings.
Spare us.
Okay. So this guy is not an Islamist. And he is not a leftist...supposedly. And he is one of the "educated" ones.
That nails it down. He is a journalist. This is the worst. This guy has an inflated opinion of himself.
He is buddies with and writes for the Times of London, the Washington Post, NPR, and so on. You get the drift.
He thinks the worst thing we did was to get "bogged down in Iraq".
He laments the fact that the USA is not willing to use its military forces to eradicate poppy fields in Afghanistan.
He moans that the world has not done enough to curb drug use.
This spineless POS can kiss my ass. Typical journalist, he wants to whine about everything, but I am sure he jet sets around to wine and cheese parties with the influential crowd.
He is probably just pissed that Rumsfeld, a real man, saw him for the impotent gasbag of a journalistic pussy that he really is.
He is another one of those who thinks the rest of the world should do the heavy lifting for him and his country, instead of getting his fat butt out from behind his keyboard and actually doing something instead of contributing to global warming.
Max Hastings, you idiot. The Pakistanis have a 2% schizophrenia rate - I wouldn’t take their advice.
Well said, Publius. The next four years will be terrible, either under McCain (Heaven help us!) or Obama (May Allah forfend!)
You're welcome, dickhead.
Is that true? Is that a high rate (we have a lot of nuts in prison and on the street)?
Meanwhile, in Pakistan, Washington’s commitment, since 2001, to support President Pervez Musharraf’s military dictatorship rather than to promote the interests of the Pakistani people, “has created immense hatred for the US army and America, hatred that penetrates all classes of society”.
The notion of a monolithic "Pakistani people" is a myth: there are many Western-leaning, well-educated, reasonable Pakistanis, but there are many more Pakistanis who are ill-educated and under the control of radical islamists whose contact with reason is tangential even on a good day.
Ahmed should breath deeply into a brown paper bag.
His so-called country with its nuclear weapons aimed at India, its populaton cheering on Osama Bin Laden as a hero, and its military officers knocking their heads on the carpet 5 times a day- is not worth the spit our troops use to polish the boots they wear into combat to try and give dysfunctional islamo societies a chance at reform.
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