Grab the Reigns of Power
by SHAHID on MAY 4, 2011
in MILITARY,POLITICS
Please ignore the dramatic tone of this rant. I did not know any other way to write this down.
Here we are, at the lowest point in our recent history. Found not in a cave of Tora Bora or the ragged mountains of Waziristan but in the serenity of Abbottabad, living within a mile of the famous parade ground of PMA Kakul, next door neighbour to an Army Major and in the city that hosts three regimental centres, Osama Bin Ladin, in our country.
By this time, I can assume with a high confidence that opinions and columns in the hundreds, if not thousands, have been written on what was Pakistans role, how Pakistan could have missed the most wanted man on Earth, what it means for Pakistan and how to move on. But, in the midst of all, we are losing a battle that we bloody civilians have been eager to fight for too long.
Imagine this. The hurriedly called morning meeting at the roundtable in GHQ on May 2. Major and Lieutenant Generals tense and nervous, not knowing what to say. The General, K, possibly broke the ice by asking everyone about their last evenings score on the 9-holes. It was a birdie on the difficult 6th, he said. Oh, and he allegedly met the Chief Minister of Punjab too for some unknown reason.
What goes on in the corridors of military power is a mystery to us. What guides their actions remains a complex web of calculations, strategic they say, often immoral and disgusting in our eyes. They value their assets, they hedge their bets and they play both sides of the game and try to bluff the single most powerful country in the world, to which they have played as a mercenary force for a fair time (Our Army can be Your Army said Field Marshal Ayub Khan, the darling of the khaki-apologist).
What we know today is that this is possibly the biggest embarrassment the military has faced in a long, long time. Forget 1971, I am sure it was far more morally disastrous, but even in the eyes of the khaki-apologist, today they are naked and worthy of criticism. The khaki apologist who becomes a constitutionalist when it comes to the failings of the army (The politicians are the constitutional power holders, they guided the actions not the Army is the usual defence) and are cognizant of the militarys powers only when it is on the good side of things, is angry today too. There are too many questions.
Did we protect him? Did we give him refuge? Why would we do that? If not, did we ignore his presence? Are we this incompetent? Did the FIU never ask a question about a mysterious 7 kanal house with a three story building, built by settlers known from being Waziristan? Is the holy mother of all agencies so inept and useless that in the sweeps done around areas visited regularly by the Army Chief and the upper hierarchy, they never got suspicious of the house and its residents? How did he come to Abbottabad in the first place? Did he take a Rs. 70, 13-seater Hiace from Mansehra and stop off at the Baloch Regimental Center?
If not, then why did they allow a foreign power to come in and hunt him down? Did our forces coordinate and collaborate with the US on the raid? Why are they not speaking? Its not as if they do not want to take credit for it. The logic of avoiding local terrorists wrath is just too pathetic, they already target us. Mullah Omars, Hekmatyars and Haqqanis anger be damned, this is their protector we are talking about.
And then the ultimate nightmare. If they did not know about the operation, then really, like the FO says, we failed to respond in time to nothing less than an invasion? At cruise speed, terrain hugging and avoiding radars, a UH-60 Blackhawk would have easily spent 30 minutes inside Pakistani territory before the soldiers roped down into the compound. A 40 minute operation and then the return ride. In all, the US team spent at least an hour and a half inside Pakistan and we failed to respond? Were our radars jammed completely? Did we even fail to respond to visual sighting of a bunch of helicopters? Is our response time so slow? Are our defenses so inept and weak? Did we scramble jets? When did we, if, realize that it was a friendly country conducting an anti-terrorism raid and not the enemy? What is the purpose of keeping the armed forces if they consume more than Rs. 800 Billion annually and fail to respond to nothing less than an invasion that lasted for 90 full minutes?
I am, for not a single moment, arguing we should have shot down the Americans. I, for one, believe they did the right thing. For all we know, it was the nightmare we have, that our own forces protected the most wanted man on Earth. The questions I pose are the multitude that people from various facets of life and inclinations ask. They ask what would happen if India would carry out the surgical strike that their jingoists threaten of? They ask, yes India is not the United States, but how could our Air Defence systems be so easily jammed and fooled and tricked. They ask, what is the response time to an invasion? What is the purpose of an Army that lets others not just operate in its territory, but come in, operate and go back.
So, today, we are at a point where the Armys defences are weak. It is being criticized by the international community and ever so slightly, by locals too. But the criticism is weak and non-existent in comparison to what it should be. This is the team when the Army is rightfully exposed to the most criticism. If you ever held any views on civil-military balance that did not hold civilians in contempt, right now is the time to shout and be heard.
If theres anything that can be guaranteed, it is that the military will remain the most dominant player in the echelons of power for the time to come. And because that will happen, we will continue to fight for strategic depth in Afghanistan, we will continue to hold India as the mortal enemy, we will continue to amass even more nuclear weapons, procure even more fighter jets, buy another air refueler here or there. We will remain an impoverished, militarized, third world country. And as long as we remain militarized, and existing only to fight against the mythical enemy, the schools will remain dysfunctional, the hospitals non-existent and the people, poor, hungry and malnutritioned.
The political process is an evolutionary one. Slowly, and slowly, we are moving towards a functional democracy. A Public Accounts Committee functions well today, maybe another thing will improve slowly. The politics of urbanization is here. But amongst all this evolutionary change, unless the fish with the small legs comes out of the water, the process of evolution will face the ultimate barrier, the military.
For all their failings, the politicians we have our ones we elected. Incompetent, greedy and often despicable as they are (supporting rapists and honour killers), they represent the collective will of the people in a system marred by inefficiencies and problems. Today, is the time for them to come into action. It is not the time to be busy installing gas pipes in UC-84 of Muzaffargarh or to be making sure that their brothers and cousins got the 10km road construction contract. Today is the time to hold the military accountable for their failures and their actions.
If there was a time for all facets of society to collectively bargain for change and demand action, this is the time. Come what may, a rag tag group of non-elected, unelectable, civil society activists cannot bring change. Change has to come from the political class. It is directly affected by the media and the perceived voice of the public. The fire breathing demagogues of television ape each other. Kharbooz ko dekh kar kharbooz rang pakarta hai. One of them rips apart a sovereignty line, others feel the need to do so. Imagine that if we can collectively raise hue and cry, how can the politicians not grow the balls necessary for taking action and holding the military accountable.
The Subrahmanyam Report was just a small step in the evolution of Indias civil-military balance. The politicians held their military accountable for the failures of Kargil. We never did that. Today is the most opportune time to do that. Constitute a Parliamentary Commission, for we do not have a Subrahmanyam, nor should we rely on ex-bureaucrats to do that. Select a few hawks, a Tehmina Daultana and a Khawaja Asif. Put in a few mild, calculated and efficient politicians, a Raza Rabbani and Sherry Rehman. Do not put Chaudhry Nisar or Jehangir Ashraf Qazi on it. Summon the DG ISI, DG MI, DG IB. Summon the Army Chief. Summon the bureaucrats. Summon the former ones. Summon everybody. Make them testify. Make the report, if not the proceedings, public.
What should they ask them? I cannot imagine that anybody would even want to ask the unimaginable (did we protect him). It can only be an intelligence failure inquiry. The good that can come out of this exercise is enormous. A reform in the intelligence community, a reform in the civil-military balance and a reform in the culture that defines the rules of Islamabad. For once, we could even bring the ISI under civilian control. For once, we could, just maybe, begin to redress the civilian-military balance in the favour of the civilians. Define the policy, make the policy and own it. Do not let the Generals do it for you anymore.
The oped writers, the TV anchors and the pundits are busy answering the questions that either the west has or the old savraynayeteee. They are missing the point. There is good that holds for us in this. Beat the line of military accountability and civilian led reform.
In the wake of 1971, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto passed gagging orders to prevent the media from criticizing the military. The soldiers who returned later were protected by the state and no one was allowed to criticize their actions. Their honour was literally restored by Bhutto. And they sent him to the gallows. We must not put a cover on the failures of the military ourselves anymore. It is a monster of an institution. It must face music for its actions and failures. Civilian power must be recognized. Today is the time do it. Do it now.
http://www.shahid-saeed.com/2011/05/grab-the-reigns-of-power/
by SHAHID on MAY 4, 2011
in MILITARY,POLITICS
Please ignore the dramatic tone of this rant. I did not know any other way to write this down.
Here we are, at the lowest point in our recent history. Found not in a cave of Tora Bora or the ragged mountains of Waziristan but in the serenity of Abbottabad, living within a mile of the famous parade ground of PMA Kakul, next door neighbour to an Army Major and in the city that hosts three regimental centres, Osama Bin Ladin, in our country.
By this time, I can assume with a high confidence that opinions and columns in the hundreds, if not thousands, have been written on what was Pakistans role, how Pakistan could have missed the most wanted man on Earth, what it means for Pakistan and how to move on. But, in the midst of all, we are losing a battle that we bloody civilians have been eager to fight for too long.
Imagine this. The hurriedly called morning meeting at the roundtable in GHQ on May 2. Major and Lieutenant Generals tense and nervous, not knowing what to say. The General, K, possibly broke the ice by asking everyone about their last evenings score on the 9-holes. It was a birdie on the difficult 6th, he said. Oh, and he allegedly met the Chief Minister of Punjab too for some unknown reason.
What goes on in the corridors of military power is a mystery to us. What guides their actions remains a complex web of calculations, strategic they say, often immoral and disgusting in our eyes. They value their assets, they hedge their bets and they play both sides of the game and try to bluff the single most powerful country in the world, to which they have played as a mercenary force for a fair time (Our Army can be Your Army said Field Marshal Ayub Khan, the darling of the khaki-apologist).
What we know today is that this is possibly the biggest embarrassment the military has faced in a long, long time. Forget 1971, I am sure it was far more morally disastrous, but even in the eyes of the khaki-apologist, today they are naked and worthy of criticism. The khaki apologist who becomes a constitutionalist when it comes to the failings of the army (The politicians are the constitutional power holders, they guided the actions not the Army is the usual defence) and are cognizant of the militarys powers only when it is on the good side of things, is angry today too. There are too many questions.
Did we protect him? Did we give him refuge? Why would we do that? If not, did we ignore his presence? Are we this incompetent? Did the FIU never ask a question about a mysterious 7 kanal house with a three story building, built by settlers known from being Waziristan? Is the holy mother of all agencies so inept and useless that in the sweeps done around areas visited regularly by the Army Chief and the upper hierarchy, they never got suspicious of the house and its residents? How did he come to Abbottabad in the first place? Did he take a Rs. 70, 13-seater Hiace from Mansehra and stop off at the Baloch Regimental Center?
If not, then why did they allow a foreign power to come in and hunt him down? Did our forces coordinate and collaborate with the US on the raid? Why are they not speaking? Its not as if they do not want to take credit for it. The logic of avoiding local terrorists wrath is just too pathetic, they already target us. Mullah Omars, Hekmatyars and Haqqanis anger be damned, this is their protector we are talking about.
And then the ultimate nightmare. If they did not know about the operation, then really, like the FO says, we failed to respond in time to nothing less than an invasion? At cruise speed, terrain hugging and avoiding radars, a UH-60 Blackhawk would have easily spent 30 minutes inside Pakistani territory before the soldiers roped down into the compound. A 40 minute operation and then the return ride. In all, the US team spent at least an hour and a half inside Pakistan and we failed to respond? Were our radars jammed completely? Did we even fail to respond to visual sighting of a bunch of helicopters? Is our response time so slow? Are our defenses so inept and weak? Did we scramble jets? When did we, if, realize that it was a friendly country conducting an anti-terrorism raid and not the enemy? What is the purpose of keeping the armed forces if they consume more than Rs. 800 Billion annually and fail to respond to nothing less than an invasion that lasted for 90 full minutes?
I am, for not a single moment, arguing we should have shot down the Americans. I, for one, believe they did the right thing. For all we know, it was the nightmare we have, that our own forces protected the most wanted man on Earth. The questions I pose are the multitude that people from various facets of life and inclinations ask. They ask what would happen if India would carry out the surgical strike that their jingoists threaten of? They ask, yes India is not the United States, but how could our Air Defence systems be so easily jammed and fooled and tricked. They ask, what is the response time to an invasion? What is the purpose of an Army that lets others not just operate in its territory, but come in, operate and go back.
So, today, we are at a point where the Armys defences are weak. It is being criticized by the international community and ever so slightly, by locals too. But the criticism is weak and non-existent in comparison to what it should be. This is the team when the Army is rightfully exposed to the most criticism. If you ever held any views on civil-military balance that did not hold civilians in contempt, right now is the time to shout and be heard.
If theres anything that can be guaranteed, it is that the military will remain the most dominant player in the echelons of power for the time to come. And because that will happen, we will continue to fight for strategic depth in Afghanistan, we will continue to hold India as the mortal enemy, we will continue to amass even more nuclear weapons, procure even more fighter jets, buy another air refueler here or there. We will remain an impoverished, militarized, third world country. And as long as we remain militarized, and existing only to fight against the mythical enemy, the schools will remain dysfunctional, the hospitals non-existent and the people, poor, hungry and malnutritioned.
The political process is an evolutionary one. Slowly, and slowly, we are moving towards a functional democracy. A Public Accounts Committee functions well today, maybe another thing will improve slowly. The politics of urbanization is here. But amongst all this evolutionary change, unless the fish with the small legs comes out of the water, the process of evolution will face the ultimate barrier, the military.
For all their failings, the politicians we have our ones we elected. Incompetent, greedy and often despicable as they are (supporting rapists and honour killers), they represent the collective will of the people in a system marred by inefficiencies and problems. Today, is the time for them to come into action. It is not the time to be busy installing gas pipes in UC-84 of Muzaffargarh or to be making sure that their brothers and cousins got the 10km road construction contract. Today is the time to hold the military accountable for their failures and their actions.
If there was a time for all facets of society to collectively bargain for change and demand action, this is the time. Come what may, a rag tag group of non-elected, unelectable, civil society activists cannot bring change. Change has to come from the political class. It is directly affected by the media and the perceived voice of the public. The fire breathing demagogues of television ape each other. Kharbooz ko dekh kar kharbooz rang pakarta hai. One of them rips apart a sovereignty line, others feel the need to do so. Imagine that if we can collectively raise hue and cry, how can the politicians not grow the balls necessary for taking action and holding the military accountable.
The Subrahmanyam Report was just a small step in the evolution of Indias civil-military balance. The politicians held their military accountable for the failures of Kargil. We never did that. Today is the most opportune time to do that. Constitute a Parliamentary Commission, for we do not have a Subrahmanyam, nor should we rely on ex-bureaucrats to do that. Select a few hawks, a Tehmina Daultana and a Khawaja Asif. Put in a few mild, calculated and efficient politicians, a Raza Rabbani and Sherry Rehman. Do not put Chaudhry Nisar or Jehangir Ashraf Qazi on it. Summon the DG ISI, DG MI, DG IB. Summon the Army Chief. Summon the bureaucrats. Summon the former ones. Summon everybody. Make them testify. Make the report, if not the proceedings, public.
What should they ask them? I cannot imagine that anybody would even want to ask the unimaginable (did we protect him). It can only be an intelligence failure inquiry. The good that can come out of this exercise is enormous. A reform in the intelligence community, a reform in the civil-military balance and a reform in the culture that defines the rules of Islamabad. For once, we could even bring the ISI under civilian control. For once, we could, just maybe, begin to redress the civilian-military balance in the favour of the civilians. Define the policy, make the policy and own it. Do not let the Generals do it for you anymore.
The oped writers, the TV anchors and the pundits are busy answering the questions that either the west has or the old savraynayeteee. They are missing the point. There is good that holds for us in this. Beat the line of military accountability and civilian led reform.
In the wake of 1971, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto passed gagging orders to prevent the media from criticizing the military. The soldiers who returned later were protected by the state and no one was allowed to criticize their actions. Their honour was literally restored by Bhutto. And they sent him to the gallows. We must not put a cover on the failures of the military ourselves anymore. It is a monster of an institution. It must face music for its actions and failures. Civilian power must be recognized. Today is the time do it. Do it now.
http://www.shahid-saeed.com/2011/05/grab-the-reigns-of-power/
