Is Pakistan Being Cast as the Next Plausible Evil Doer?
Posted on 11. May, 2011 by Jeff in Opinion
By Jeff Gates
Conspiracy theorists assure us that Osama bin Laden was killed in December 2001 and his body put on ice in—of course—an undisclosed location. If the recent killing of bin Laden was a lie, who were the liars? All 79 members of SEAL Team 6, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the U.S. State Department, the White House and 16 U.S. intelligence agencies. All conspired to have us believe that he was killed in Pakistan.
“Who you gonna believe,” the theorists ask, “me or your lyin’ eyes?”
The killing or capture of Osama bin Laden was a strategic imperative of the Obama presidency. His death on Pakistani soil now presents a challenge to the strategic depth required for security and stability in the region. How, under these circumstances, does the U.S. collaborate with a nation given $20 billion since 911?
To date, the clash between the U.S. and Pakistan has been the focus of mainstream news. Little has been said about the loss of 30,000 Pakistani lives to the war on terrorism. That human toll includes a sharp upswing in deadly attacks since the November 2008 assault in India where Islamic extremists, trained in Pakistan, left 174 dead in Mumbai. Pakistan was portrayed as guilty—by association.
Savvy national security analysts are monitoring who uses bin Laden’s death to tout The Clash of Civilizations. The continued plausibility of this narrative requires a series of plausible Evil Doers, a role that bin Laden played to perfection.
With his death in Abbottobad, home to Pakistan’s elite military academy, Islamabad looks guilty—by association. Mainstream media immediately proposed a no-win proposition for Pakistan: it was either complicit or incompetent. No other option was offered.
When deploying agenda-advancing narratives to induce wars, the power of association is critical. Should a nuclear device be used in the U.S., the U.K. or the E.U., here is the plausible storyline: “How could Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal be secure if their military could not locate bin Laden’s lair in a military town in Pakistan?”
Is Pakistan Next for Regime Change?
Is the power of association again being deployed to start a war by inducing an internalized narrative that displaces facts with false beliefs? Is Islamabad a new cast in a new movie featuring the same old plot?
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
Americans know they were induced to invade Iraq on false intelligence. That deceit could not have succeeded absent pre-staging that changed our perception of Iraq from ally to Evil Doer. Is a similar shift in perspective being promoted to rebrand Pakistan?
Plausibility is key. Yet Tom Donilon, Obama’s National Security Adviser, was quick to concede there is no evidence of foreknowledge by Pakistan of bin Laden’s whereabouts.
He also concedes that Pakistan suffered greatly at the hands of those who used its remote lawless regions to train fanatics and launch attacks that killed Pakistanis while Islamabad provided intelligence that enabled Washington to kill or capture extremists.
Obama chose not to share operational intelligence with anyone, including Pakistanis and senior White House staff. Silence is the essence of operational security.
Despite sovereignty issues, the U.S. and Pakistan must make this six-decade relationship work. Progress is best sustained when cooperation is based on mutual interests.
Why Not Try a Prescription That Matches the Malady?
Women in the Pashtun region bordering Afghanistan report that their lives would be vastly improved if they had the electricity to run four light bulbs, charge their cell phones and power their TVs. This is 2011 after all.
Equipping an off-the-grid home with just two high efficiency thin film solar panels would do the job. Another four panels would allow them to refrigerate their food. Imagine raising and educating your children without access to affordable electricity.
Approximately 70% of Pakistani tax revenues are used to service external debt. Much of the balance funds their 1.5 million-strong military, leaving few resources for education or other services for Pakistan’s 185 million citizens.
It’s no wonder that Pakistani children educated in 40,000 Islamic seminaries (madrassas) fail to learn useful job skills. Or that the average Pakistani is skeptical of Islamabad.
The missing component is not trust but a shared vision of what both nations require to restore and sustain their national security. As the largest contributor of personnel to U.N. peacekeeping missions, Pakistan is well positioned to become a global force for positive change.
At this key juncture in an essential relationship, should Americans kill more Muslims, further advancing The Clash storyline? Or should Pakistan and the U.S. join forces to create a new narrative founded on peace through human dignity and solar-powered prosperity?
The tools are known, available and affordable. The missing ingredients are leadership, imagination and the confidence that success is possible.
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4 Responses to “Is Pakistan Being Cast as the Next Plausible Evil Doer?”
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Dr.Arshad Afzal
11. May, 2011
Good article! Pakistani society and state still has time to salvage but it's running out fast. The day will come when time too will desert them unless they build their society and state on modern ,objective and realistic lines. Say good bye to Arab culture that ignorant masses hold sacrosanct. Review your foreign,technology/science and eduucation policies.Bury the legacy that Arab's lapdog Zia-ul-Haq had bequeathed to this state.Discover yourselves and your potential stop taking inspiration from beduin , desert dwellers' violent culture /way of life. Send their agents to HELL.
Amit-Atlanta-USA
12. May, 2011
I have come up with my own theories on why I believe that:
a) We May NOT have killed Osama Bin Laden at all, but captured him alive, and just in case we have indeed killed him, then
b) WE HAVE NOT DUMPED HIS BODY INTO THE SEA, BUT HAVE PRESERVED IT!!!.
Firstly, being a patriotic American, I would not like to call my theories as conspiracy theories, for the simple reason that had I been President Obama, or Leon Panetta, or Robert Gates, or Robert Muller I would not do just that to unravel the entire mystery and keep America safe.
So, let’s look at each of my prophecies!
a) IF WE HAVE CAPTURED HIM ALIVE.
We may have done that as OSAMA ALIVE & UNDER ENHANCED INTERROGATION by our CIA sleuths is way better than OSAMA DEAD. That surely would have allowed us to unravel the entire mystery of Al-Qaeda and their supporters in the Pakistani ISI, Military, Govt. and the general populace. So, I would not rule out if our CIA had staged a fantastic drama to first stun Bin Laden, and may be fire rubber pellets filled with some blood to prove to his wife & kids that he was indeed killed.
b) IF WE HAD INDEED KILLED HIM, THEN I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE NOT DUMPED BIN LADEN's BODY INTO THE COLD DEPTHS OF THE SEA, BUT HAVE PRESERVED IT!.
If that’s indeed true, again, I would not like to call it a conspiracy theory, b’coz our Govt. may have done that NOT with any ill intentions, but NOT to hurt the sensibilities of many Muslims who consider Bin Laden as a HERO & A MARTYR, and secondly NOT to provide a shrine for Muslims to pray and re-energize their Jihadist quest, and finally and most importantly NOT to endanger the lives of our BRAVE MEN & WOMEN in arms serving in those HOSTILE MUSLIM LANDS.
Having said that, I invite rational arguments, if you think I am wrong.
Here are my reasons:
At a time when we are able to unravel the mysteries of Egyptian Kings/Queens (King Tut in particular – who died 1000's of years ago) by examining their mummified bodies, I find it hard to believe that OBL's dead body would be of no use to us.
As a layman I can say that there are several questions that could have been answered by closely examining his body, incl.:
1) The oft repeated need for dialysis which would require examining his kidneys – how often he needed it, the eqpt. required, where it was available in the vicinity, who were rheumatologists in the area/Pakistani military hospitals etc.
2) A rumor that he had suffered a stroke – how that could have physically constrained him, what kind of help was required in his mobility etc.
3) Any evidence of recent surgical procedures and decipher where that could have been performed depending on the complexity.
4) Look for fractures with metal strips attached (Check them for any identification markings) given that OBL was always traversing the mountains.
5) Analyze traces of medicines in his body to see what medications he was on, and may be decipher the source of those medicines.
6) A great opportunity to unravel the N/W of his physicians, their masters, the finances (who paid for the treatment), unravel his support network incl. his inner circle, contacts, confidants, etc.etc.etc.
All these and much much more are within the realms of forensic medicine today. For example in Nuclear forensics the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) can identify the source of Uranium isotopes found in human bodies, dirty bombs or clandestine reactors in Iran, N.Korea etc.
Likewise, after the Pakistanis tested their Nuclear device in 1998, the radioactive air contained only plutonium & NOT Uranium. Given that Pakistan had no Plutonium reprocessing plants, Indian scientists promptly deciphered that it was a ready made bomb gifted to the Pakistanis by their Chinese friends…..a fact that was publicly acknowledged years later even by the US!
Having said that IT WILL BE NO BRAINER if the CIA has indeed kept the body while pretending to have disposed it off. So, even if we indeed see a video/pic. of the body being dumped into the ocean there is less likelihood that it indeed was OBL’s body. There is always the very real possibility that after services by the Muslim Chaplain on OBL’s body, another identically wrapped body was dumped while quietly moving the real OBL body away. Ask the magicians in Vegas and they will tell you how it can be done even with a million onlookers around!
In conclusion I am not blaming the US govt. even if my theories are indeed true, after all we have invested “Trillions of $”, “1,000's of American lives”…………………ONLY to throw this prize catch away?
I invite sensible comments on whether I am right or wrong.
Someday we may get to know the truth……..Thank God we have Wikileaks!
Amit-Atlanta-USA
Amit-Atlanta-USA
12. May, 2011
Dear Opinion Maker Readers/Contributors:
There are lots of very interesting discussions going on at the following CNN-GPS and Time sites, especially as regards to the situation in the ME, and the Muslim world incl. Pakistan.
You may want to contribute! Please note that there are several of my comments under each one of them, and it will be nice to exchange views with Opinion Maker’s distinguished panel/readers there.
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/07/zakaria-unlikely-pakistan-knew-about-u-s-raid/#comment-25170
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/10/zakaria-draw-down-u-s-troops-in-afghanistan/#comment-25142
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/09/the-osama-bin-laden-conspiracy-theories/#comment-24795
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/09/the-osama-bin-laden-conspiracy-theories/#comment-24795
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/06/why-do-we-embrace-conspiracy-theories/#comment-23360
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/04/former-cia-officer-bruce-riedel-on-death-of-bin-laden/#comment-22845
And, here’s the GREATEST DUSCUSSION of all – incl. UNGRATEFUL Indian & American Muslims’ hobnobbing with Pakistanis & worldwide Muslims while stabbing their motherland (India & America) in the back.
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/20/ahmed-rashid-on-negotiating-with-the-taliban/#comment-13120
Amit-Atlanta-USA
Amit-Atlanta-USA
12. May, 2011
MUST WATCH VIDEO
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer REPEATEDLY GRILLS Pak PM Gilani on Osama Bin Laden’s whereabouts. Gilani CATEGORICALLY states that OBL is NOT in Pak as the Pakistan military is on top of things and would have easily found out!
Check out their exchange here:
Amit-Atlanta-USA