July 18, 2011

The confusion within

I have been reading up on a lot of polarized material of late. Polarized meaning those who call themselves liberals (who believe the US and the West is everything, and everything it eschews is absolutely correct) and those who call themselves the saviors of the Muslims (who believe killing the US will solve all our problems). In both instances I have found glaring deficits and discrepancies. Neither side has the capability or the willingness to offer solutions. Both sides are so distrustful of each other and so confused in their own right that they find it impossible to find a middle ground. Hence, there are no grey areas. There is only black and white depending on what you believe in.

I know what I am saying has been said many times before. So let me just cut through the crap and talk about myself. I was a firm believer in the theory that nation states do not have friends or foes. They only have strategic interests. I still believe in that theory to be honest. Based on this theory then I concluded and I pleaded with people to understand that the US is only acting on its interests when it goes to war, or attacks innocents, or maims millions of people. After all, it is the world's largest economy. An economy that boasts of individualism and a narcissistic affinity to money. Any kind of money.

However, I always wondered what the US would gain by destabilizing Pakistan, if for instance I were to agree with this notion. You see I believe very strongly in the idea that to understand and win an argument, you must think and act like the devil as well as the angel. In this case, I know why the US would want to go to wars, carry on the wars it is fighting, would want to get out of Afghanistan etc. But I wondered and wondered as to what possible motive the US could have in destabilizing Pakistan.

On the face of it it would seem like that encouraging the destabilization of Pakistan is akin to the US throwing down the axe on its own foot. But that just sounds contrary to what common sense suggests. But I don't have any answers. I don't know why the US is so intent on doing what it is to ensure that Pakistan keeps going on the back foot until it is finally cornered and pushed up against a wall.

Now since no one seems to know the answer to that (no, the US does not want our weapons; it has a much bigger stockpile of immensely advanced nuclear weapons than we can ever produce) I can only go with what is left. Like Sherlock Holmes said: Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever left, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.

By that logic the US is genuinely concerned that the Pakistan government would collapse leading to a free for all frenzy which would be hard to contain. And herein lies the US' folly. Like I mentioned before in one of my earlier posts, the US has refused to engage the biggest shareholder in Pakistan: Its people. When and if it realizes this, it will also realize how easy it actually is to win in Pakistan. We're a very loving, loyal and hospitable people. And we are suckers for kindness. When someone is kind to us, we become their loyal pups forever. Case in point, China and Saudi Arabia. Even though we know how both these countries have used us to no end.

So that's how the confusion within rolls around. Would love to hear your views about this. Feel free to leave your comments and thoughts.