Asif Jehangir Raja
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The Vietnam War lasted for 20 long years from November 1, 1955 to the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. The involvement of USA in Vietnam began in the early 1960s, with troop’s level tripling in 1961 and tripling again in 1962 where as her role in the war peaked in 1968. Later on, US ground forces were gradually withdrawn which completed in 1973.
The flash point of defeated US Army’s withdrawal plan from Vietnam was to portray, a neutral neighbouring country, Cambodia, as villain which was blamed for harbouring anti-American forces in Vietnam-Cambodia border area, and who, according to them, were responsible for attacks on US forces across the border. These cross border incursions were described as the major reason for their defeat. This blame game laid the foundation of ‘Operation Menu’ which was the code name of a covert United States Strategic Air Command (SAC) bombing campaign conducted in Eastern Cambodia and Laos from March 18,1969 until May 26, 1970.The campaign failed in its objective of preventing North Vietnamese offensives, which also continued during this un-justified bombing. The reasons of US failure were, later, known to the United States Congress and the public, leading to dire consequences for the Nixon administration.
The recipe of USA to blame some other nation for their own failures, failed, and left many lessons for Chefs to follow.
The US and allied offensive on Afghanistan began in 2001 and is aimed to terminate by 2014 with projected withdrawal of US forces during the same year. History is repeating it’s self with expected defeat of US forces in mountains of Afghanistan. History is also re-telecasting the drama of hero & villain with Pakistan replacing Cambodia as Villain and neighbouring Pakistani belt of Afghan-Pakistan replacing Cambodia-Vietnam as area harbouring enemies of USA. Pakistan Army that has many successes to her credit in this decade long war on terror and has lost thousands of its brave soldiers in this war alone is being blamed by USA for patronizing anti-US and anti-coalition elements in tribal belt of Pakistan. The bombing of Pakistan border post by NATO forces on Nov 26, 2011, killing 26 Pakistani soldiers, may also be an action on the lines of ‘Operation Menu’ that had brought worst results for USA four decades ago.
The ignorant Chef appears to be trapped again and is trying to cook same old rotten recipe which had let him to loose against much weaker nations like Cambodia and Vietnam.
Who emerges as a winner and who loose in this confused US offensive approach against Pakistan at twilight of War on Terror, may be left at the mercy of time to decide but certain facts are obvious. Pakistan is not Cambodia, and has one of the best Armies in the globe that possess nuclear weapons and enjoys support of its people, who love and respect Armed Forces from their hearts. Economic weaknesses and poor political situation of the country may provoke US think tanks to plan an easy roll over Pakistan, which if they try to execute some day, shall lead them to a mega miscalculation of ground realities and a big mistake.
In a briefing on the subject of strikes on Pakistani posts by Coalition and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Director General Military Operations of Pak Army, Maj Gen Ishfaq Nadeem said that attacks were not unintended in which all coordination procedures were violated. He further said that the positions of the posts were already conveyed to the ISAF through map references and it was impossible that they did not know these to be our posts. In an article published in The Guardian, November 27, 2011 edition, Simon Tisdall wrote that ‘The assumption that it (Pakistan) has no choice but to obey America may turn out to be a dire strategic error’. He further went on to write that ‘Their pronouncements are worthless, transparently so—-the belief that weak, impoverished, divided Pakistan has no alternative but to slavishly obey its master’s voice could turn out to be one of the seminal strategic miscalculations of the 21st century’. The trust deficit between Pakistan on one side and America and Afghanistan on the other may not conclude this situation on favourable note for either party. Pakistan, despite, having sacrificed over 30,000 casualties in this War on Terror and despite hosting hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees at the cost of peace and economy, is still taken as a problem. On the other hand, India, with not even having hosted a single Afghan refugee and without sacrificing a single soldier in this war, is being viewed as Mentor for Karzai’s Kabul.
Washington’s double policy of talking to and trouncing the Taliban simultaneously is preventing substantive operational level military cooperation. Hence, while on paper, 20 hours before the attack, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISAF commander General John Allen met and agreed on “measures concerning coordination, communication and procedures for enhancing border control on both sides”, on the ground, the policy and conclusions from some miscalculated assessment by minds in Afghanistan and Pentagon tarnished everything. Are Kabul and the Pentagon also planning to carry out more raids in Pakistan even if the Haqqani network again launches its attacks on US forces from within Afghan territory as usual? If so, this sixth attack by ISAF forces inside Pakistan’s territory since 2008 may not be the last one. But if repeated again, shall be asking for too much patience from Pakistan Army which is or already has, run out of it and shall pay back in same coins. Pakistan Army has always got through tough tests in the past and is fully capable of bouncing back, if tested again by any aggressor from any direction. Much will depend on how the US and NATO decide to proceed in this back drop.
This is a dangerous game that international players are handling with. Poorly cooked food is still better than the poisoned one. Coalition need to understand the value of Pakistan Army and should realize the important help that Pakistan may provide in bringing long term peace in Afghanistan. By making Afghanistan, a safe haven for RAW to cultivate hate against Pakistan, can never bring fruitful results and shall definitely put coalition in difficulties.
Indeed, USA needs to get rid of rotten and tried out recipes and require another chef, with fresh spices to add. Treating a nuclear nation of 20 million people as a helpless slice of chocolate to swallow amounts to under estimate a nation that stands united in every trouble is classical example of being ignorant. Yet it shall be a strategic blunder for USA to repeat such actions again and this way of handling Afghan issue may never work under any environments.
The article is contributed to pkarticleshub.com
It ain’t nothing but the truth… This article should be part of daily security brief of Mr O BA MA so at least he knows first hand that being trigger happy ain’t gonna work..