Pakistan, At War With Itself
If ever a country was dangerously afflicted by its own, it is the now-conflicted Pakistan. A country so involved in a mass neurosis of hatred, distrust and vengeance-complex against its neighbours that it actively conspired to encourage a warped mindset of fanaticism leading to armed groups of terrorists constantly attacking its neighbours. India and Indian-Kashmir; Afghanistan as an ally of India, both representing geographies that Pakistan covets.Pakistan, through the administration of the Pakistan Peoples Party under Benazir Bhutto's father sought, despite its fervent election promise to provide basic necessities to its indigent population, to achieve nuclearization. And this it did, challenging India. Happily sacrificing the needs of its population to the prize of achieving nuclear armaments. The first Muslim nation to do so. Proudly claiming its place in the pantheon of nuclear achievers.
And in a spirit of prideful generosity and personal greed its principal nuclear architect sold nuclear plans and assistance to Libya, to North Korea, to Iran and to Syria. A nightmare scenario in blazing real time. Pakistan is proud of its nuclear achievement, and considers A.Q. Khan the hero of its nuclear revolution. The country's administration, one after the other, helped formulate an unbeatable agenda.
Recruiting and training and funding and providing the weapons to empower fedayeen, to battle the Russian army in Afghanistan. The country's Inter-Services Intelligence agency as well as its army was well infiltrated by fanatical jihadists, encouraging additional links to violence - against India identified as its principal enemy. Now Pakistan is faced with its own monster, as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan grows ever bolder.
The death of Baitullah Mehsud is a temporary setback for the Taliban; they have recruits and leadership material aplenty. The Afghan Taliban have amply demonstrated just how resilient and resolute and dedicated they are - in tandem with their colleagues in al-Qaeda - able to recruit widely and mount successful new insurgencies as time goes on.
Pakistan claims confidence in its sophisticated sensors guarding against intruders within its nuclear weapons establishments; the screening of its employees by the Strategic Plans Division allied with the Inter-Services Intelligence agency. The country's warheads, detonators and launch vehicles are cautiously stored in separate areas.
Unfortunately, those areas are situated in extremely vulnerable positions. Not that very far geographically, from where the Pakistani Taliban and their al-Qaeda confederates are ensconced, in fact. And recent events, when the Taliban took over several towns close to the nuclear weapons installations (until they were routed by the military) presented as an example of what could go wrong.
As it is, there are experts on Pakistan security located in Britain and in the United States who claim they have firm knowledge of prior attacks on the country's nuclear establishments; no fewer than three. One attack that killed 63 people, was claimed by the Pakistan government to have been merely a conventional weapons factory. Analysis claims otherwise, that it was an assembly plant for nuclear warheads.
There are never any fool-safe guarantees for anything in this world. And given that the country is at war with itself, against a well armed and trained and dedicated religious force of fanatics intent on establishing themselves as the country's successful alternate to the current government, and the current government is reliant on its army and its intelligence division, there is an obvious problem.
Those two protective elements, the military and the intelligence services host Islamist sympathizers deeply embedded who are virulently anti-Western, anti-democratic, and dedicated to religious fundamentalism. How reliable, under such circumstances are they in ensuring that future attacks on nuclear weapons facilities are not successful?
Grim, is it not?
Labels: Political Realities, Religion, Technology, Traditions
posted by Pieface @ Wednesday, August 12, 2009
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