By Philip Smucker, July 23, 2010 Friday, July 23, 2010 - 11:00 AM Share
In this brief
documentary filmed over the last two years, filmmaker and author Philip Smucker
narrates from Pakistan's northwestern frontier where efforts to eradicate Taliban
sanctuaries remain stalled. Schooled by Taliban fighters in remote locations, young
jihadists learn ideology and new fighting techniques
as they prepare for war against the United States.
A Taliban
propaganda machine still churns out anti-American materials as tribal leaders
complain that the fighters are "brainwashing" their children. In
neighboring Afghanistan,
Afghan and British experts warn that Afghan Taliban have long since become part
of a broader "global jihad" advised by al Qaeda and forces within Pakistan. Meanwhile,
U.S. President Barack Obama has staked his success as commander-in-chief on an
ambitious counterinsurgency effort that tries to fight the Taliban stabilizing
a nation.
British
author and development worker Rory Stewart warns Pashtun tribesmen see NATO
forces, despite their good intentions, as "occupiers." The alliance's
effort to project "soft power" while using adequate military might,
he insists, is often a self-defeating proposition.
Philip Smucker is the author of My Brother,
My Enemy: America and the Battle of Ideas across the
Islamic World. For further reading and videos that accompany the same project,
please see, www.philipsmucker.com
While Hillary’s US can keep up all the pressure on Pakistani Intelligence establishment to share all the information about whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and Alman-al-Zawahiri, Pakistani governments have been able to successfully neutralize such US pressure about sharing that information until now while still milking billions of dollars from Uncle Sam. So obviously Pakistani government has been extremely successful in fooling Uncle Sam into believing that Pakistan has sincerely joined US fight against terrorism when in fact Pakistan has also successfully nurtured, supported and protected the very terrorist outfits like Haqqani’s HQN and Mullah Omar’s QST on Pakistani soil who continue Afghan Taliban insurgency quite alive and successful and look US Afghan efforts fail.
Let us NOT forget that Pakistan’s democratic government of Benazir Bhutto chose of its own free will, to facilitate relocation of Osama bin Laden from Sudan to Afghanistan in 1996.
Let us NOT forget that Pakistani Army and ISI created what ex-CIA official Bruce Reidel called 'this jihadist Frankenstein monster' on their own with full financing provided by Pakistan’s democratic governments during 1990s.
Al Qaeda, Taliban, LeT, JeM, JuD, HuJi and countless other terror outfits have been spawned in Pakistan, the official ’terror center’ of the world as per CIA with the help, support and sanctuary provided by the Pakistani State that is owned by Pakistani Army that uses ’terrorism’ as an official tool of state policy to further its own objectives.
Let us NOT forget that Osama bin Laden had publicly congratulated Pakistan in 1998 for exploding world’s first Islamic nuclear bomb.
Let us NOT forget that Pakistani Army used to provide military protection to Osama bin Laden during his umpteen visits to Pakistan. Let us NOT forget that Osama bin Laden has received many dialysis treatments at Pakistan’s military hospitals.
Let us NOT forget that Osama bin Laden had made huge campaign contributions to Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s election campaigns in 1990 and 1996. Let us NOT forget that Nawaz Sharif has personally met Osama bin Laden at least three times in Saudi Arabia at Nawaz Sharif’s own request.
Poor US! With an ally like Pakistan, US Afghan mission has been doomed to fail from day one in 2001.
Though I liked Rory Stewart's take: the US hasn't yet noticed we're an imperial power, so we find people who just want us to stop bombing and dominating them incomprehensible -- after all, we mean so well! Will anything except a busted budget even force us to notice what we are doing?
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