Are the Americans Sincere?

Is the American leadership really sincere in its efforts against terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan? Are they sincere with the people of Pakistan, Afghanistan and America itself? We may never know the real answers to these questions but the present situation certainly raises a lot of questions and doubts regarding the sincerity of the American leadership, both civil and military.

On September 11, a terrorist act of the worst kind took place in the United States of America. More than 3000 innocent humans were mercilessly killed. There can be no justification for such an act, no matter what. The Americans went into Afghanistan with the NATO troops. Their aims were to eliminate the Al Qaeda leadership or bring them in a court of law for murdering 3000 innocent people, eliminating the Taliban leadership fro harbouring these terrorists and especially, capturing or killing Osama bin LadenOsama bin Laden. More than 8 years have passed since the American invasion but things in the region have gone from bad to worse. The Taliban are resurgent, better organised than before and controlling more parts of Afghanistan. But the shocking aspect of the whole episode is that even after the passage of 8 years, the NATO and American troops have not been able to nab or kill any of the senior leadership of the Taliban or Al Qaeda which was accused of masterminding and executing the terrorist attacks of 9/11. There is no clue to the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri while Mullah Omar continues to be the Supreme Commander of the Taliban. They have not been seen for years now. We were told to believe that the American military combined with the NATO forces were the strongest militaries in the world having the latest technology weapons and gadgets which would prove extremely helpful against the terrorist networks. Yet, the Al Qaeda leadership continues to roam scot free. Because of their own failures, the NATO and American Generals found a convenient punching bag in the from of Pakistan. Now, they say, the cause of all the terrorism and the problems in the region are because of the terrorists hiding in the tribal areas of Pakistan. On this pretext, they have carried out more than a hundred drone strikes inside Pakistan. If their claims regarding the Al Qaeda and Taliban leadership presence in Pakistan''s tribal areas were correct and if they had accurate intelligence, how come that 700 innocent civilians have lost their lives in these predator strikes while only 14 Al Qaeda and Taliban members have been killed. If Baitullah Mehsud, the head of the Pakistani Taliban accused of carrying out attacks on American forces in Afghanistan, can contact all media outlets in Pakistan through a satellite phone and if he can communicate with all his commanders from Swat to North Wazisirstan, cant our American friends trace his voice print and send a drone to eliminate him. It is ironic that with such advanced technology, they cant trace a telephone call and continue to kill civilians including women and children. These attacks have been the cause of a lot of resentment against the Americans and NATO forces amongst Pakistanis and sympathy for the Taliban. Pakistan has time and again asked the USA for the drone technology to be given to Pakistan but the American leadership has always looked towards their Pakistani counterparts with suspicion .They believe Pakistan is amassing this arsenal for a war against India which may never happen because both the nations have nuclear bombs. Moreover, Pakistan already has deployed 7 of its 9 Corps along the eastern border with India. If the drones were given to Pakistan, the Pakistani military would be able to target the Al Qaeda and Taliban leadership much better than the American military as definitely, Pakistan has a much better intelligence network in these conflict areas. But regrettably, these drones are just being used against the people of Pakistan, not for their security as claimed by the American leadership.

The American CIA and other intelligence agencies have completely turned a blind eye towards the joint collaboration between KHAD and RAW, the Afghani and Indian Intelligence Agencies in planning, funding and executing terrorist activities inside Pakistan. India has opened up more the 22 consulates in Afghanistan, mostly in cities which are near to the Pak Afghan border. One wonders what are these consulates there for, they are definitely not providing visas to Afghanis. They are actually the operational bases for the RAW which in collaboration with the KHAD is involved in providing all sorts of weapons, money, and to the militants in Pakistan's tribal areas and Swat. They are also actively involved in fueling the insurgency in Balochistan in Pakistan. The leader of the insurgency, Brahamdagh Bugti, is being given refuge by the Afghan Government along with his army of 5000. He frequently comes to Balochistan from Afghanistan to carry out attacks on the Pakistani security forces and would then flee to Afghanistan. The Afghani President Hamid KarzaiHamid Karzai was caught off guard when the Pakistani Interior Minister on a recent visit to Kabul asked him if he could arrange a meeting between him and Brahamadagh Bugti. Hamid Karzai was visibly surprised too see that Pakistan's Interior Minister knew about this. At first, Hamid Karzai expressed his ignorance about the presence of Bugti but later arranged a meeting between the Pakistani Interior Minster and Brahamdagh Bugti somewhere near Kabul. The whole episode was narrated by Pakistan' interior Minister in the Senate. Furthermore, Pakistan's National Assembly Committee on National Security was recently informed by the Director General Inter Services Intelligence Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha that the Pakistan Army had captured several Afghan Army officers from Kurram Agency in the tribal areas where they were physically fighting against the Pakistan Army. Moreover, Pakistan has killed many Indians in the tribal areas who were in the garb of militants and had grown long hair and beards, Their pictures can be seen at http://pakalert.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/alert-indians-fighting-in-swat/ (Warning: Graphic Content) . They are Indian Gurkhas sent into Pakistan by RAW through Afghanistan to spread terror. They also attack the containers carrying supplies for the NATO and American forces stationed in Afghanistan. This is the level of involvement of the Indian and Afghan Governments in the terrorist activities inside Pakistan. The attack on the Sri Lankan Cricket team in Pakistan was also a plan of the RAW. Despite all of this being an open secret and a known fact, the American CIA has not even once checked the Government of Hamid Karzai and Manmohan SinghManmohan Singh for sponsoring Al Qaeda and the Taliban. This is happening right under their nose as the KHAD has been completely funded, trained and armed by the Americans. But hey have ignored this sensitive matter throughout their stay in Afghanistan. If the American leadership is so sincere, why don't they ask Hamid Karzai to stop playing a double game and why dont they ask of the Indian Government to stop sponsoring terrorism in the region. What they do is only ask Pakistan to 'do more' which is useless as Pakistan already has done the most in this war against terror.

If the American and NATO forces are to succeed in Afghanistan, they must check and put an end to the activities of hostile agencies in Afghanistan. They should because if they don't, they will never be able to achieve their goals in Afghanistan. If they succeed, that would be in the interest of the Pakistani, Afghani and the American nation. At his point and time, they dont look sincere at all in dealing with this problem. Instead of forging forced friendships between Asif Ali ZardariAsif Ali Zardari and Hamid Karzai, President Obama shoul address these key issues of paramount importance.