Original article, by Keith Jones, via World Socialist Web Site:
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari will undoubtedly come under renewed pressure to allow US military forces to wage war within Pakistan when he visits Washington this week for a trilateral summit meeting with President Obama and Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai.
Ah...the good war. Well, actually, the war that threatens to get out of hand and lead to a nuclear confrontation. Perhaps that is part of the calculations of our stalwart military. After all, if Pakistan or India are the first to use nukes in the area, we'd be 'free' to do so, wouldn't we?
For weeks, the US political and military establishment and the American media have been mounting an increasingly shrill campaign to bully Islamabad into fully complying with US diktats in what Washington has redefined as the AfPak (Afghanistan-Pakistan) war theater.
Rather than treat an ally as an equal, we of course put our interests in front of the interests of Pakistan. If I'm a Pakistani (and I'm not), I'm not sure I'd like such an arrangement. After all, the US does have a history of playing whatever games it likes in the region and in the country itself.
At the US’s behest, the Pakistani military has for the past 10 days been mounting a bloody offensive—including strafing by warplanes and heavy artillery—against Pakistani Taliban militia in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The offensive has caused large numbers of civilian casualties and forced tens of thousands of poor villagers to flee.
You would think that would please Washington...
At an April 29th press conference, Obama described Pakistan’s civilian government as "very fragile" and not having "the capacity to deliver basic services" to its people, or to gain their "support and loyalty." But he praised the Pakistani military and the "strong" US-Pakistani "military consultation and cooperation."
I'll let you read the rest of the article. What we're looking at is an explosive situation, needless to say. If the Pakistani government doesn't please it's masters in Washington, it's out of business and the military takes back over. We know this song and dance, it's part of the US's toolbox. The question then would be how would the 140 million Pakistanis react. Also, does an unstable Pakistan make us any safer (not that our safety is any real concern of the military these days). And what happens should any future Pakistani government be overthrown by a popular revolt? Do we move in to occupy the country? Jones finishes with what seems to be an obvious point:
The Obama administration and the Pentagon are clearly weighing their options in respect to Pakistan and its role in the US thrust for geo-political advantage in oil-rich Central Asia. One thing is certain: What they are preparing will lead to greater violence and suffering for the people of the region and will further subvert the democratic will and aspirations of the Pakistani people.