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Patrick Cockburn: Pakistan is the root of the problem
The West can’t now lecture the Indian government about over-reacting
Saturday, 29 November 2008
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I used to look out from the balcony of a first floor room in the al-Hamra hotel in Baghdad thinking that one day the hotel would be attacked and wondering from which direction the attack would come.
The general consensus among the correspondents and security men in the Hamra, which boasted 65 armed guards, was that the weak point in our defences was the single blast wall about 30 yards from the back of the hotel. On the other side of it was a public car park which anybody could enter.
The consensus view turned out to be all too correct. I was out of the hotel on 18 November 2005 when two vehicles driven by suicide bombers entered the car park. The first rammed the concrete wall and detonated his explosives, the idea being that the blast would open a breach enabling the second vehicle, packed with 1,000kg of explosives to reach the hotel.
It almost worked, but the crater created by the first bomb was so deep that the second bomber could not get through. He blew himself up just short of his target, killing half a dozen people and badly damaging this part of the hotel which has never been reoccupied.
We never knew the identity of the two men who had died trying to kill us, but at that time most of the suicide bombers were Saudis, Yemenis, Egyptians and Libyans. I had been emphasising for several years that the Iraqi insurgency against the US occupation was essentially home grown.
Aside from the suicide bombers themselves, almost all the guerrilla fighters who were launching attacks on American troops and fledgling Iraqi government forces were Iraqi. Most of them had been trained militarily in Saddam Hussein's army or security forces.
At that time the White House and the Pentagon were still ludicrously pretending that the Sunni Arab uprising which spread so fast after the summer of 2003 was a mixture of foreign fighters and "remnants" or "dead enders" of the old regime. It was easy enough for me and other correspondents to pour scorn on this idea. Iraq was full of weapons and every household owned one. No foreign suppliers were needed. Whenever there was a successful ambush of US troops in a Sunni area, local people would dance with joy amid the blazing vehicles.
We were essentially right about the rebellion being home grown, but perhaps we should have emphasised more the significance of foreign support for the rebels. The American neo-cons were openly boasting that after overthrowing Saddam, the Iranian and Syrian regimes were next on the US list. Not surprisingly, both governments had an incentive to make sure US rule in Iraq never stabilised.
Nor were they alone. All the conservative Sunni Arab regimes of the Middle East were alarmed by an American land army in Iraq in support of a Shia-Kurdish government. The anti-American guerrillas found they had many friends.
In the immediate aftermath of the murderous attacks in Mumbai much of the analysis has a familiar ring, but now it is the West which is downplaying foreign involvement. Indian allegations about "external linkages" of the terrorists is wearily reported as an unfortunate resumption of Pakistani-Indian finger pointing.
Television and newspaper commentary on terrorist outrages is frequently provided by self-appointed "terrorist experts" whose credentials remain mysterious. These supposed experts now emphasise the alienation of Indian Muslims and suggesting that the origin of the terrorist assault on Mumbai is home grown, the fruit of the radicalisation of Indian Muslims by systematic discrimination against them by the Indian state. Exactly who was behind the bloody mayhem in Mumbai is still unclear. The Hindu newspaper was yesterday reporting that three of the suspects captured by the police were members of Lashkar-i-Taiba (the Army of the Pious), which has several thousand members in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, and the gunmen had arrived In Mumbai by ship from Karachi in Pakistan. The group is one of the three largest fighting against India in Kashmir.
The origins and motives of the men who slaughtered so many people in Mumbai will emerge in the coming days. But already the butchery should be underlining one of the greatest of the many failings of the Bush administration post-9/11. Pakistan was always the real base for al-Qa'ida. It was the Pakistani ISI military intelligence which fostered and partly directed the Taliban before 2001 and revived it afterwards.
It is Pakistan which has sustained the Islamic jihadi fighters in Kashmir where half the Indian army is tied down. Yet the Bush administration in its folly allied itself to General Pervez Musharaf and the Pakistani army post-9/11, ensuring that jihadi groups always had a base.
It is self-defeating hypocrisy for the West to lecture the Indian government now about not over-reacting and not automatically blaming the Pakistani government or some part of its security apparatus for Mumbai. The way in which the Pakistani military has allowed Kashmiri and Pakistani militants free range in Pakistan created the milieu from which the attacks this week came. It may be that the monster the ISI created is no long under its control, but it is ultimately responsible for what has happened.
The real political background to Mumbai is succinctly summed up by Ahmed Rashid in his excellent book Descent into Chaos: How the War against Islamic Extremism Is Being Lost in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia. In Pakistan, he writes, "a nuclear-armed military and an intelligence service that have sponsored Islamic extremism as an intrinsic part of their foreign policy for nearly four decades have found it extremely difficult to give up their self-destructive and double-dealing policies". Unless Barack Obama can persuade them to do so he will achieve no more as president than Mr Bush.
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24 Comments
This is time for Pakistan to adopt a firm, dignified and “enough is enough” approach. We need not extend any pre-emptive cooperation unless the Indians are prepared to accept a joint investigation with us in which we have access to all the information, materials and people (including the dead terrorists for our own examination).
Pakistan is already fighting two kinds of terrorism: extremist militancy by non-state actors and state terrorism from the neighbourhood and beyond. Perhaps the one statement our leaders should learn and repeat over and over again to the Indians is Sonia Gandhi’s declaration: “friendship should not be taken for weakness”. Clearly the Indians are confusing one with the other in the case of Pakistan.
Source: The News Daily, Pakistan
concluded.
Posted by dr.akbar | 08.12.08, 13:11 GMT
Fifth: Was the intelligence and security forces’ failure deliberate, given the growing revelations of Indian Army officers being linked to Hindu extremists? Given that the Mumbai terrorism was extremely well-rehearsed and professional, could renegades from the Indian Army have been involved?
Sixth: The haste — in fact a pre-emptive campaign of smear, begun by the state government officials, even while the action was still ongoing — with which the Indian state and the media are targeting Muslims and Pakistan makes one wonder whether there is something lethal internally within India that needs to be hidden?
Seventh: This is not the first time acts of terror attributed by India to Muslim “extremists” have turned out to have been carried out by either state forces or Hindu extremists. Remember Chattisinghpura, Malegaon and Samjhota Express?
Cont'd
Posted by dr.akbar | 08.12.08, 13:10 GMT
What is the reality regarding Mumbai? Let us look at some disturbing facts that are being deliberately downplayed by India and the US.
First: There is the killing of the ATC Chief, Hemant Karkare, who was responsible for exposing Hindu militants and the Indian Army officers in the Samjhota Express and Malegaon acts of terrorism. His widow has refused to accept the state government’s compensation.
Second: The orange thread wristbands on one of the terrorists — a sign of belonging to the Hindu extremists of the RSS.
Third: No Lashkar-e-Taiba member would ever be clean shaven. Also, they have always admitted to their actions.
Fourth: The Mumbai area has seen acts of terrorism by Hindu extremists before.
cont'd
Posted by dr.akbar | 08.12.08, 13:07 GMT
This has reference to recent terrorist attack on Mumbai.We have seen many faces of terrorism in India . We have experienced
Naxalite terrorism. Then, we saw terrorism in Punjab in India which ultimately took the life of our best Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. Next ULFA activists who are terrorising by their violent acts in Assam in the North Eastern part of India and sporadic
viiolent activities by the Maoists in mostly eastern and central
India. Incidentally, terrorism is the offspring of social, economic and religious intolerance and injustice besides other geo-political
reasons. We have to think whether the problem of terrorism could
be solved by the police action only. The revenge and
counter-revenge will create only bloodshed. We have to make people aware that progress is not possible without peace and any
Government any where must listen to everyone's voice.
Posted by Sudarsan Sen Gupta | 04.12.08, 14:25 GMT
This has reference to recent terrorist attack on Mumbai.We have seen many faces of terrorism in India . We have experienced
Naxalite terrorism. Then, we saw terrorism in Punjab in India which ultimately took the life of our best Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. Next ULFA activists who are terrorising by their violent acts in Assam in the North Eastern part of India and sporadic
viiolent activities by the Maoists in mostly eastern and central
India. Incidentally, terrorism is the offspring of social, economic and religious intolerance and injustice besides other geo-political
reasons. We have to think whether the problem of terrorism could
be solved by the police action only. The revenge and
counter-revenge will create only bloodshed. We have to make people aware that progress is not possible without peace and any
Government any where must listen to everyone's voice.
Posted by Sudarsan Sen Gupta | 04.12.08, 14:24 GMT
One reason the Mumbai terrorists sought out Brits and Americans to kill is that they can’t get at them in their own countries. Reason the Indian police appear to be incapacitated by a lack of money and training. Poor working conditions, rudimentary surveillance and communications equipment, inadequate forensic science laboratories and outdated weaponry are making matters worse.
Britain and the United States have learned how to deal effectively with terrorism the hard way. Maybe this time Indians will, as well.
Posted by Navjn | 04.12.08, 04:25 GMT
Oh this is great. So by the Bush Administration siding with Pakistan and Musharraf, Pakistan is the root of the problem? Although I might not be a buff on "causation" but I dont think this makes sense. Mind you, Im not necessarily diagreeing with you in that Pakistan has a real problem with terrorism. I am just saying that the article does a poor job of proving a real link.
Pakistan was never the "real base" for Al Qaida. Afghanistan was. When they had to flee, then they went into Pakistan. Why werent they caught while they were fleeing? Now that is a completely different issue.
Lets get to the point of terrorism in Pakistan. Yes, terrorists are there. But we also need to look at why they are there. Why wont the gov't do anything about it? Well- they dont want this "democratically elected" leader to go down right? At least with Musharraf, we didnt have to worry. I guess absolute power doesnt have to be such a bad thing.
Posted by Causation | 04.12.08, 01:06 GMT
It is unfortunate that the author does not examine one of the roots of the problem. The division of India did not have to take place in 1947. With Britain divesting itself of colonies as quickly as possible after WW II the decision was made to divide India. A united India, including the Pastun areas of the Hindu Kush (ie Pakistan), could have worked out their destiny together, not apart. They had already been living uneasily together for 800 years and if forced to do so would have continued to evolve into a more tolerant nation.
But the "divide and conquer" attitude, so embedded in British policy making has resulted in a "divide and depart" attitude of the latter part of the 20th century. Policies become embedded in a nation's collective psyche and such has been the case in Britain and its disastrous and failed attempts at nation building which has too often resulted in the division of nations and the consequent psychology of geographical fratricide.
Posted by hcurran | 02.12.08, 17:15 GMT
"It may be that the monster the ISI created is no long under its control, but it is ultimately responsible for what has happened."
How illogical of you to make that statement. and moreover how easy to forget that there are many other parties (such as those who funded the Taliban's creation) who are equally "ultimately responsible"
Posted by murti | 01.12.08, 21:24 GMT
well if anyone remembers ISI was the one who moved russia out of afghanistan and taliban are the brain child of CIA,and speaking of the shootings this is nothin new india always blames pakistan,i an sure if there is a natural clamity that will also be blamed on pakistan.there are numerous groups inside india who can do that they dont need anyone from outside,also wondering the picture of the shooter on the railway station why is wearing a RAAKHI.....
Posted by bab | 01.12.08, 01:33 GMT
Patrick Cockburn's article shows a deep & accurate insight.
Why is it that the CIA and the State dept. analysts can not (or will not) see what is crystal clear to observers on the ground? Why can't the strategic analysts see that Pakistan views India NOT as Hindu, but as a NON-MUSLIM area which happens to be NEXT IN LINE for the Muslim conquest of the world?
Kashmir is not the FINAL goal but just a stepping stone. The real anger and frustration of the Muslim brotherhood of nations is that despite all efforts spanning over 600-1000 years the juggernaut of Muslim 'sword' has failed to make India bow down to Islam (only 15% of India is Muslim). And Pakistan bears that responsibility, being on the edge of Muslim empire in that area.
So, why the American strategist can not see that Pakistan ITSELF is the central antagonist, the Darth Vader and not Afghanistan, not NWFP? The real villains live in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore & Karachi. And NWFP is just a minor outpost?
Posted by Jacob | 30.11.08, 21:18 GMT
Well done article, but what about the role of Israel. Perhaps things would calm down if Israeli so called "settlers" stopped taking Palestinian land and if the US stopped supporting them. It is clear that these terrible terrorists had revenge against Israel on their mind. No doubt this is why they attacked the Rabbi and his wife at the Jewish center.
Posted by Grace T. | 30.11.08, 20:54 GMT
Dear Akash,
Mr. Cockburn has indeed gone beyond the dribble that is being spouted by such illustrious journalistic organizations as CNN, MSNBC, etc. However, do note also that the Belfast Telegraph itself is trying to "soothe" the feelings of Pakistanis by cherry-picking posts that fall within its views as well. Isn't that condescending as a default?
Pankaj
Posted by Pankaj | 30.11.08, 18:52 GMT
Who knows who this previously unknown group is? The US has seen anthrax attacks by non-Muslims claiming to be Muslims, etc. We can only hope that India doesn't take the USA's example to heart and, say, invade Malaysia.
Posted by Rod | 30.11.08, 17:28 GMT
The mess that was the British Empire continues to wreak havoc on the world. It should have been a lesson to the west. It shocked me to have a conversation with young Brits angry about Bush into Iraq yet they had no clue that it was Britain that divided up the Middle East and randomly threw up these ridiculous borders and named countries that weren't recognized at all by the people. Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Israel...you can just go on and on. What a mess Britain created in India and even Tibet was ruined ultimately by the British because as soon as Britain tried to take over Tibet via India it was only then that China felt it necessary to aggressively make it theirs so nobody else could have it. China let Tibet be Tibet for centuries but the British ruined Tibet's future when it tried to expand its foolish empire thus raising the ire of China. They trashed Africa in a way it may never recover. It is staggering to realize the mess British unleashed for the world to try and fix.
Posted by Keith | 30.11.08, 14:51 GMT
well done for your article. I hope people will understand the main root/cause of terrorism.
Posted by sandy | 30.11.08, 10:28 GMT
Mr.Cockburn has nailed it. It is time for the world to look at this failed, country called Pakistan, which has been acting as a nursery to all the world's islamic terrorists. This failed country hardly had a stable government for more than 5 yrs in its 60 years of existence. It is a shame that even the current "supposedly" democratic govt. of Pak has any control over ISI or the Tribal areas bordering Pak or the Baluchistan area. When this failed country disintegrates, there is danger to the whole world as the nuclear weapons may fall into the hands of Islamic fanatics or the Taliban.
It is amazing that Pakistanis, who have themselves been hardly hit by terrorist attacks carried out by their own country men, are living in a fool's paradise, asserting that there is no problem with their religious fanatics on Afghan border.
Posted by Sam | 30.11.08, 08:58 GMT
Pakistan has been a breeding ground for many militants for a long time now. This has found reflection in not only claims made by India but also President elect Obama’s campaign. What has happened in the eight years since 2000 to facilitate such a paradigm shift in the West’s focus on Pakistan? Obama has made no bones about the fact that his government would rate Afghanistan as a bigger problem than Iraq and it believes that Pakistan has been in fact the training ground for terror mongers.
Post Mumbai attacks it’s obvious that the Pakistan government should be looking at matters in a more global light. After all the initial reaction of the Prime Minister was to assure Indian government that it would dispatch the ISI chief for a meeting. The agencies have since backtracked but that’s a different story. It’d be of paramount importance to see how things unfold for the next few weeks as they are bound to affect Pakistan more than India at a global level.
Posted by gautam chintamani | 30.11.08, 06:37 GMT
They use suicide bombers. This would be way beyond their capabilities. This is clearly an attack backed by someone else.
Posted by Patrick O`Leary | 30.11.08, 04:35 GMT
Thank you.. For once, for bloody once, unbelievably once, a western journalist has not acted in a blind, condescending manner towards the terror threat to India.
Posted by Akash | 29.11.08, 22:44 GMT
24 Comments