Thoughts of a US-hater

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By Zafar Masud

uncle_sam_blackwater.jpgAT 67, André de la Roche stands ramrod straight and a full head taller than one’s idea of an averagely tall person.

Hard labour here at his ancestral vineyards by the Loire river in central France has imparted this mild-mannered Parisian intellectual a lean, muscled physique.

The descendant of an old aristocratic family, André now refuses to return to the capital which he says is being taken over by the Americans, as is the rest of the world for that matter. A surprising conclusion, given today’s weak dollar, you’d say!

Can he be described as an America-hater?

Caressing a plant on which shiny, translucent grains are forming already, André turns back to look at the sky, deeply browned fingers shading his eyes and the winegrower’s worry written large across his bronzed forehead. Will the blazing midsummer sun turn his fine white Sauvignon grapes too sweet by harvest time end September? Then he shakes his head and smiles.

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Do they really think the earth is flat?

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By Brendan O’Neill

flat-earth-society1.jpg In the 21st Century, the term “flat-earther” is used to describe someone who is spectacularly - and seemingly wilfully - ignorant. But there is a group of people who claim they believe the planet really is flat. Are they really out there or is it all an elaborate prank?

Nasa is celebrating its 50th birthday with much fanfare and pictures of past glories. But in half a century of extraordinary images of space, one stands out. On 24 December 1968, the crew of the Apollo 8 mission took a photo now known as Earthrise. To many, this beautiful blue sphere viewed from the moon’s orbit is a perfect visual summary of why it is right to strive to go into space.

Not to everybody though. There are people who say they think this image is fake - part of a worldwide conspiracy by space agencies, governments and scientists. Welcome to the world of the flat-earther. Our attitude towards those who once upon a time believed in the flatness of the earth is apparent in a new Microsoft advert. Depicting an olden-days ship sailing on rough seas, presumably heading towards the “edge of the world”, the advert is part of a $300m campaign aimed at rescuing the reputation of Windows Vista by comparing its critics to flat-earthers.

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Commando Calls it a Day

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a1.jpgISLAMABAD: After remaining in power for almost a decade over one of the most turbulent countries in the world, Pervez Musharraf Monday stepped down, but dismissing all allegations leveled against him by the ruling coalition. Like the central character in a Shakespearian tragedy, Musharraf met the filial ingratitude both at the hands of the party - PML (Q) - he nurtured and his friends, who silently began to abandon him as soon as he handed over the command of Pakistan Army to Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani.

A soldier by profession and a commando, supporters believed till the end that he would strike back. An expert in Psy-warfare, Musharraf showed his strong nerves and kept the opponents on toes till his farewell address.

He remained defiant till the end saying, “No charge sheet can stand against me. Not even a single charge can be proven against me as I have full trust in Allah Almighty and I did everything with the belief of Pakistan First.”

Hours before the Parliament was scheduled to meet, Pervez Musharraf bid adieu to his countrymen; to end confrontation between the state institutions with a prayer; “May Allah protect Pakistan.”

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Keep it Real

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While Al Qaeda has a problem with things elongated, where the length is always roughly three times that of the width, Hindus in India trek through the roughest terrain to go to Amarnath to offer prayers before an ice lingam

By Ejaz Haider

TS Note : From the land of the pure, a hilarious piece of hilarity. Read on and enjoy the wit.

cucumbers.jpgMark Twain it was who said “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t”. Bacon quoted a jesting Pontius Pilate as asking “What is truth?” and without staying for an answer ordered Christ to be put on the cross. Even truth, it seems, is nothing absolute, though Bacon must have made up the story like the lazy reporter who doesn’t venture out and writes desk stories that cannot be verified.

Leaving that aside, however, how about substituting truth with life in Twain’s statement? Life too, without fiction’s controlled, select treatment and the writer’s deft handling of the plot, is not obliged to stick to possibilities. But perhaps I am wrong. When infused with the literalism of faith, life can begin to lose its myriad possibilities, even its colour, slithering instead through select grooves.

One report tells me that Al Qaeda in Iraq’s Sunni belt may be losing popularity because of “imposing their way of thought on the most mundane aspects of everyday life”.

And pray, what are those “mundane aspects of everyday life”? Hold your breath, gentle reader, because “They include a ban on women buying suggestively-shaped vegetables, according to one tribal leader in the western province of Anbar”.

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TS Picks

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1. Rhetorical Questions : James Fallows, The Atlantic

2. Eight Strikes and You’re Out : Thomas L. Friedman, The NYT

3. From Stupid to Moronic to Evil : Paul Craig Roberts, The Baltimore Chronicle

4. The Mukasey Doctrine : Scott Horton, Harpers Magazine

5.Journalists, their lying sources, and the anthrax investigation : Glenn Greenwald, Salon



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Pakistan, a Saga of Misrule

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by Anwaar Hussain

Every year for the past about seven years, the following article is run by the TS net with only a date change. Alas, nothing else has changed for Pakistan. It is the same old story of the same old wine in the same old bottle except with a poisonous dash of religious bigotry now added to the brew. Here it is yet again.

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This 14th of August 2008 will mark the 61st year of our existence. For most nation states, the age of innocence would have long passed by now. Having shed their baby fats by the time they reach this age, nations are supposed to have developed strong limbs, a healthy body and a powerful brain to command the body and limbs into efficient and productive actions. Also around this age, most nation states would have firmly established where they stand and where they are going.

What happened to us along the way? Where are we headed? Why do we frequently find ourselves between a rock and a hard place? If a civilian rule is the norm for most other nations, why does the Khaki intervene so regularly in Pakistani governance? If the Khaki does intervene, why doesn’t it continue for good making it the rule rather than the exception? Why is it that people are, in the end, as fed up with the military rule as its civilian predecessor? If democracy is that universal cure-all medicine for all other contemporary nations, why doesn’t it work in Pakistan?

What exactly is the problem?

Pakistan’s problem, exactly, is: “The military intervenes regularly and interrupts the civilian governance with a disturbing frequency.”

Why does the Pakistan Army intervene in civilian governance? The simplest answer to this question is because it can.

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Impeaching a Commando

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If past performance of the players in the game is any indicator of the things to come, the Pakistani nation better tighten up their seat belts; for the umpteenth time that is.

By Anwaar Hussain

mush-d.jpg There is no disputing the fact that the Commando in the President House, General (Retired) Musharraf, is the most out of favor man in the country right now. That is why an overwhelming majority of the peoples’ elected representatives has resolved it is time for him to go.

The love story between the Commando and his own self may be an old one but it burst forth on the national calendar on October 12, 1999, when he overthrew Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s democratically-elected government and abrogated the constitution with a real royal disdain. In this love story between the man and his ego since then, Pakistan was made hostage to his whims and wishes with the overt and covert support of toady generals and a set of most devious politicians of Pakistan.

One can say from experience of personal interaction with the man that he does come across as a forthright, competent and well meaning person. But one is at a loss to explain how come such a person has brought himself to such a sorry turn of events. Today he stands upon the gate of the inglorious hall of shame knocking feverishly to be allowed to enter to quickly earn the dubious distinction of being the first president in Pakistan’s 61 year history to be impeached by the country’s parliament. So awful is the mess that he has created for himself that even if the move doesn’t succeed, the commando will still be the first Pakistani president considered bad enough to be publicly charge-sheeted by a large number of popularly-elected lawmakers. The only reason that comes to mind for his not letting go is his obstinate ego.

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ISI of Pakistan

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james.jpgHistory

After independence in 1947, two new intelligence agencies were created in Pakistan called the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Military Intelligence (MI). However, the weak performance of the MI in sharing intelligence between the Army, Navy and Air Force during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 led to the creation of the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in 1948. The ISI was structured to be manned by officers from the three main military services, and to specialize in the collection, analysis and assessment of external intelligence, either military or non-military. The ISI was the brainchild of Australian-born British Army officer, Major General R. Cawthome, then Deputy Chief of Staff in the Pakistan Army. Initially, the ISI had no role in the collection of internal intelligence, with the exception of the North-West Frontier Province and Azad Kashmir. This however changed in the late 1950s when Ayub Khan became the Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan.

Ayub Khan expanded the role of ISI in safeguarding Pakistan’s interests, monitoring opposition politicians, and sustaining military rule in Pakistan. The ISI was reorganised in 1966 after intelligence failures in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, and expanded in 1969. Ayub Khan suspected the loyalty of the East Pakistan based officers in the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau or the Internal Bureau (IB) branch in Dacca, the capital of then East Pakistan. He entrusted the ISI with the responsibility for the collection of internal political intelligence in East Pakistan. Later on, during the Baloch nationalist revolt in Balochistan in the mid 1970s, the ISI was tasked with performing a similar intelligence gathering operation.

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Allah, the Army and America

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By Anatol Lieven

mush.jpg The survival of Pakistan in its existing form is a vital U.S. security interest, one that trumps all other American interests in the country. A collapse of Pakistan — into internal anarchy or an Islamist revolution — would cripple the global campaign against Islamist terrorism. Strengthening the Pakistani state and cementing its cooperation with the West have thus become immensely important to Washington.

So far, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf appears firmly committed to the U.S.-led coalition, and he seems to have the solid support of his military high command. In the short term, the defeat of the Taliban in Afghanistan will strengthen Musharraf’s domestic position. Most of the causes of Pakistan’s decline over the last few decades, however, remain in place and have not been changed by the war against terrorism. If these serious flaws in Pakistan’s governance remain unaddressed, the country will sooner or later slip into a profound state of crisis. Even in the shorter term, growing unrest as a result of economic crisis could well prompt Musharraf’s military colleagues to shunt him aside in favor of a civilian government less supportive of the United States. Musharraf’s power depends very much on the will of the military, and if faced with its disapproval it is unlikely he would stay in office very long.

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TS Picks

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1. A Growing Trend of Leaving America : Jay Tolson, US News

2. Can This Planet Be Saved? : Paul Krugman, NYT

3. Afghanistan: Shoals Ahead for President Obama : Immanuel Wallerstein, Agence Global

4. Wrong on Afghanistan : Patrick Seale, Agence Global

5. Beware: ‘Machine Zone’ Ahead : Natasha Dow Schüll, Washington Post

6. Ultimatum to the GOP : Robert D. Novak, Washington Post

7. Disaster Capitalism, State of Extortion : Naomi Klein, The Nation



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Anwaar’s articles appear simultaneously here at Truth Spring and at Soul Vibes in The Pakistan Tribune.


US loses its status as economic world power
DAVOS, Switzerland, 2008
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