So Gen. Musharraf, are you with us or against us?
The question of George Bush's black and white statement, "with us or against us" is now once again in the open as it seems that Gen. Musharraf and Pakistan have been playing a dual role in Islamic terrorism once again.
On the one hand, Musharraf is shouting from rooftops in Washington about how much his nation is fighting the war on terror. On the other hand, he has recently reached a peace deal with the conservative Islamic tribes in the lawless Waziristan region of Pakistan that are harboring and abetting the activities of the Taliban and Osama bin Laden. Musharraf's refusal to take concrete action in that region, despite the pleas of Afghan President Hamid Karzai whose country is slipping back into chaos speaks volumes about Pakistan's "war on terror".
Now the latest, Mumbai's police have said that they have evidence implicating Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI in aiding Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba in the deadly July 11 train bombings in Mumbai, which killed 188 people in 7 coordinated blasts on the city's trains.
7/11 handiwork of seven teams
India's police say Pakistan helped plot July bombings
So now the question is, what next? Over the past few months, I've come to this conclusion. The current UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is impotent and ineffective in security. While they've done great in internal matters of the country, their foreign policy has been racked with indecision.
In the wake of this new revelation, they really need to take a hard stance. Otherwise, it is inevitable that the conservative BJP will catapult into power. Once again, Musharraf shook hands with Manmohan Singh at the Non-aligned Movement summit in Havana just a few weeks ago, and since then has proceeded to stab India in the back.
We cannot sit back and let Pakistan shelter and aid terrorists that seek to carry out terrorist activities within India. The sovereignty of India must be protected. Bush's short-sighted foreign policy is to give a free leash to Musharraf, lest a "bearded general" replaces him.
Well, from India's point of view, Musharraf is no better than a "bearded general", at least a bearded general would be forthcoming about his nation's activities. The terrorist problem in Pakistan must be dealt with quickly and severely. It is time India shed its cowardly attitude and followed the Israel method of dealing with terror.
The actions to be followed should be now:
1) Release all evidence of the Mumbai attacks to both the United States and the Pakistani governments. Demand that all who are implicated in the 7/11 bombings are extradited to India by Pakistan.
2) If Pakistan fails to meet this demand, India needs to mount troops on the Pakistani border to prepare for an invasion, like was done after the 12/13/2001 attacks on the Indian Parliament.
3) Unless all of India's conditions are met, unlike after 12/13/2001, India should carry through on its threat and invade Pakistan, simultaneously "bombing it back to the Stone Age" like how the U.S. threatened to do after 9/11.
Unless the Indian government thinks the lives of innocent civilians are expendable, strong measures need to be taken. It's time Pakistan ended its double game and decided. Are they with us or against us?
On the one hand, Musharraf is shouting from rooftops in Washington about how much his nation is fighting the war on terror. On the other hand, he has recently reached a peace deal with the conservative Islamic tribes in the lawless Waziristan region of Pakistan that are harboring and abetting the activities of the Taliban and Osama bin Laden. Musharraf's refusal to take concrete action in that region, despite the pleas of Afghan President Hamid Karzai whose country is slipping back into chaos speaks volumes about Pakistan's "war on terror".
Now the latest, Mumbai's police have said that they have evidence implicating Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI in aiding Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba in the deadly July 11 train bombings in Mumbai, which killed 188 people in 7 coordinated blasts on the city's trains.
7/11 handiwork of seven teams
India's police say Pakistan helped plot July bombings
So now the question is, what next? Over the past few months, I've come to this conclusion. The current UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is impotent and ineffective in security. While they've done great in internal matters of the country, their foreign policy has been racked with indecision.
In the wake of this new revelation, they really need to take a hard stance. Otherwise, it is inevitable that the conservative BJP will catapult into power. Once again, Musharraf shook hands with Manmohan Singh at the Non-aligned Movement summit in Havana just a few weeks ago, and since then has proceeded to stab India in the back.
We cannot sit back and let Pakistan shelter and aid terrorists that seek to carry out terrorist activities within India. The sovereignty of India must be protected. Bush's short-sighted foreign policy is to give a free leash to Musharraf, lest a "bearded general" replaces him.
Well, from India's point of view, Musharraf is no better than a "bearded general", at least a bearded general would be forthcoming about his nation's activities. The terrorist problem in Pakistan must be dealt with quickly and severely. It is time India shed its cowardly attitude and followed the Israel method of dealing with terror.
The actions to be followed should be now:
1) Release all evidence of the Mumbai attacks to both the United States and the Pakistani governments. Demand that all who are implicated in the 7/11 bombings are extradited to India by Pakistan.
2) If Pakistan fails to meet this demand, India needs to mount troops on the Pakistani border to prepare for an invasion, like was done after the 12/13/2001 attacks on the Indian Parliament.
3) Unless all of India's conditions are met, unlike after 12/13/2001, India should carry through on its threat and invade Pakistan, simultaneously "bombing it back to the Stone Age" like how the U.S. threatened to do after 9/11.
Unless the Indian government thinks the lives of innocent civilians are expendable, strong measures need to be taken. It's time Pakistan ended its double game and decided. Are they with us or against us?
posted by Vivek at 12:02 AM
2 Comments:
Nice and informative story. I just read today that Musharraf issued a stern warning to the US/UK of pulling out of its war on terror! Audacity, eh?
India needs to take a strong stand. (Are u staking claim to the Foreign Affairs minister post, with that 3-step plan of yours?!) However, I do have a hunch that something dramatic will happen in the next few months.. and these things don't come with a pre-warning!
Nicely written, but have you thought about what you are proposing? So lets see what Israel has accomplished in the past "invasions" (or for that matter what US has in its war against terror in Afghanistan and Iraq). Not only have they killed hundreds (Lebanon), (thousands in Afghanistan, Iraq) they have destroyed billions of dollars worth of infrastructure, brought the US economy on its knees (on the edge of recession, albeit the reasons may be internal, but the war doesnt help anyone except for companies like Halliburton), it has destabilized entire countries.
So am I against killing Pakistani civilians? No I believe something needs to be paid for something to be gained. But what I question is the fact that will we really gain anything by acting like Israel? In 1982 they occupied Lebanon (same reason, same story) and wanted to get rid of the militant government. But what happened? It did not flush terrorists, since there are no born terrorists, they are made from the fuel of the common man and the fire fed to them if often the tales of a war which the opposing country fought against their holy Land
What will a war against Pakistan accomplish? Are you willing to spend more that anyone would care to imagine occupying Pakistan? Are you willing to commit genocide and take out half of Pakistan? And lets not even discuss the damage they can inflict on our cities. Albeit borrowed nuclear and conventional technology, it can take out almost all of our cities. Its just the kind of mistake that Israel did, when they went into this war against Lebanon without a goal in mind that we shouldnt. Will any country come in with hundreds of thousands of peace keeping troops? (we know how effective they are in Iraq ;)).
Terrorism is that parasite, which is eating the world from its inside, but taking out ones intestine and smashing it to pieces isnt the answer. I wish I had a better answer, but I dont. All I know is that attacking Pakistan will achieve nothing.
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