Pakistan: Hillary's Road to Nowhere

This week Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and head of the Joint Chiefs Mike Mullen were whisked off to Pakistan to smooth over our relations with them. The nation of Pakistan plays a pivotal role in our master strategy to take out the leaders of Al Queda and the Taliban. Without Pakistan’s wholehearted support to root out the leaders and dedicated troopers of these terrorist organizations, we might as well pull up stakes and get the heck out of there and Afghanistan. If Pakistan is not going to watch the backdoor to Kandahar, our troops are at great risk as this allows the Taliban and their Al Queda cohorts to cross the Pakistan/Aghani border with impunity. This is akin to chasing the Viet Cong across the Vietnamese Highlands to have them cross borders into their sanctuaries in Laos and Cambodia.

Hillary is over there with Mullen to persuade the Pakistani leadership to continue their partnership with us in the battle against the Taliban. The President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, has put out some drivel about working with us towards peace in Afghanistan and cooperating in actions against “high value targets.” But at the same time he wants us to reduce the number of U.S. intelligence staffers/troops we have there. Currently that number is around 200.

Look at it from Asif Ali Zardari’s point of view, he has thousands of voters in the streets from Karachi to Abbotabad calling for the end of the relationship with the U.S. Well, actually they like to say “Death to America” and “Death to the Great Satan” when they protest the U.S. presence on their soil. Generally, the people of Pakistan have very little say in the management of their country as their country has been on a war footing for decades! Their military really runs the show there. If a president does not please the military, that president can rely on a short leash that will be pulled by a general.

Ever hear of Kashmir? I mean outside of the Led Zepplin song? It is a territory under Indian rule that Pakistan insists belongs to them and, of course, India believes they own it. Kashmir, the land of contention! Instead of placing a large troop presence in North Waziristan where they can root out the Taliban on their side of the border and force them like a hammer into the anvil of American fire power, the Pakistani military maintains the majority of their armed forces on the border with India fearing an invasion or at least another ramped up border conflict.

By the way, how tough is their military? This week, six terrorists took over a Pakistani Naval Air Station. They destroyed two surveillance aircraft, Lockheed Orions, and killed several Pakistani Naval guards. In the end, when the Pakistani security forces retook the base, 4 of the terrorists were killed and two got away. Yeah, they got away.

Is the Pakistani Army tough? Are they well trained? Can they even defend their own country from assholes within? No, they are a bunch of pussies. Looking back at the border wars they have fought with India, the Indian armed forces has kicked some ass.

Pakistan is a bad situation that is not getting better. Americans are coming out of the woodwork calling for an end to the foreign aid we give to them. You can’t blame them. Bin Laden lived in Abbotabad for several years and there is not a doubt in our intelligence community that Pakistani intelligence agents in their ISI, Inter-Service Intelligence Agency, knew precisely where Bin Laden was. Now it is a question of trust. How do you trust a partner who has harbored your most dangerous and evil foe?

Trust goes both ways. They no longer trust us to be upfront with them as we would not tell them we were going in after Bin Laden at his mansion. Why should we? They would have tipped him off and then Seal Team 6 would have looked like fools charging into an empty villa.

We provide Pakistan with $2 billion annually in foreign and military aid. Why? They have nukes, that’s why. We are trying to work with them to contain and maintain their nukes so they don’t fall into the hands of a terrorist organization. There is a radical islamist element in the ISI and there has been for years. The ISI has recruited and trained terrorists like the Lakosh to disrupt Indian control in Kashmir. The Lakosh was the group involved in the attack in Mumbai a few years ago. How do we know that a radical terrorist does not already have a nuke intended for us or maybe Mumbai or New Delhi?

The geopolitical situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan is not getting any better. The Pakistani government has started playing footsie with China and China is now providing aid to the Pakistani government. What kind of strings come with that aid?

Quick Thoughts for the Present Time

Energy

In a few months, Americans will be protesting and raising hell about energy. They won't be protesting and demanding Green Jobs. Everyone knows that was a pipedream boondoggle. Our "Green Economy" is a future reality. It is not necessarily mythological, it is simply a ways off from being a driving force in our economy.

No, the protests I am predicting are for oil. There will be demands for our government to do something about the price of gasoline. The closer our price of gas approaches $5 per gallon, the sooner you can expect the consumer protests. I have a fourteen gallon tank in my "economy" car. At $5 per gallon it will cost me $70 to fill my tank! Some economy!

Instead of doing something useful, like ending the moratorium on drilling and pumping from the Gulf of Mexico or drilling in ANWAR, he will do a temporary fix like releasing some oil from our strategic reserve. The President will speak honestly and sternly with our overseas oil suppliers. None of it will matter as by the time President Obama starts his second term, we will be at six dollars a gallon. At that point, it will cost $84 to fill my tank.

By the way, Cuba and Russia are drilling in the Gulf. Why can't we?

Libya

The President and Secretary Gates have promised us that there will be no boots on the ground during the Civil War in Libya. That's good. Now, can they make the same promises about the U.N. Peacekeepers that will have to be there to maintain the peace after the Civil War is over?
Those American Troops will be Peacekeepers, not warriors. Their reasoning will be along the lines of "NATO does not have the resources and we wish to prevent atrocities and other types of war crimes. Thus, it is critical to the maintenance of peace in Libya that American troops take a role with the U.N. Peacekeepers."

Iraq

When American troops leave, a security vacuum will be created. Entering that vacuum will be Iran. Iranian revolutionary influence has been evident in Iraq since the fall of Saddam's regime. Shiites are the dominant sect of Islam in Iraq and after the Americans leave, watch how fast the balance of power there goes to hell and the security situation degrades. Then, Iran will decide they must occupy the eastern half of Iraq to maintain their own security. That will create a rather nervous situation for our friends in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

China

Despite great success in managing limited capitalism in a communist country, China is a time bomb looking for the right time to economically implode. The PLAPF, People's Liberation Army Police Force, is the iron bars that maintain order in the country. There are a number of religious movements and political ideals and activists the Chinese government is working hard to keep under wraps. China is working hard behind the scenes to suppress any thought that is not government approved. Consider the great efforts they went through to stop the Jasmine Protests.

The stress between the "Haves," people living in the Eastern industrialized part of the country, and the "have nots," those living in the more agrarian West China, will continue to be an internal pry bar, stressing the social and political order. The new leadership that is expected to take charge of the country in 2012 will have its hands full.

California

I appreciate the hard work Jerry Brown has put in to tally the budget cuts he needs to balance the state budget. He only needs about $14 billion more to balance it. He will not get the tax increase or tax increase continuation he wants. California does not have an income or revenue problem. It has a spending problem.

Governor Brown says the Republicans, who represent small regions of the state, are holding up the ability of the State to tax its people. Oh my, the tyrrany of the minority! Those few Republicans in the State Senate and Assembly represent every Republican in the State of California at this time. I can't believe the Democratic leadership honestly believes the people of this State will vote to increase their taxes. They need to meet with their constituents who are not on CalWorks (welfare) or taking money from the state in retirement or as payroll. It is amazing that those on the Government dole seem to have the largest lobbies and the loudest voices.

North Korea

Thankfully, Kim Jong Il is a non factor at this time.