US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s reported remark that Pakistan was not aware of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s presence in the country before he was gunned down by American SEALs is a shocking clean chit to a terror-sponsoring state which is also the crucible of jihad. Just what prompted Ms Clinton to make that remark apart from the fact that she was on a trip to Islamabad, is unclear. There is certainly no evidence at hand for her to come to such an amazing conclusion. The CIA is still analysing the huge amount of material it collected during the Abbottabad raid in which Osama bin Laden was killed to determine Pakistan’s complicity in harbouring the wanted terrorist. There are other inquiries going on to find out who protected Osama bin Laden for years while he lived in Pakistan, that too in close proximity to Islamabad and in a high security Army garrison town to boot. It would be absurd to deny that he survived for so many years only because he had the support of certain well-placed individuals in the Pakistani establishment, if not organisations like the ISI or even the Army. Ironically, even as Ms Clinton issued her stunning certificate of good conduct to Pakistan came reports that documents seized by the US forces indicated Osama bin Laden and his associates had discussed the possibility of striking a deal with the Pakistani Government. The fact that the terrorist had toyed with the idea of signing a truce with Pakistan shows there were people in the Islamabad-Rawalpindi establishment who had access to him and were favourably placed to consider his suggestion. Ms Clinton has chosen to ignore these hard realities. There are other facts that she has conveniently glossed over in her enthusiasm to please Pakistan. For instance, the fact that her own Government had kept authorities in Pakistan in the dark about Operation Geronimo because it could not trust the latter. She also forgets that her President, Mr Barack Obama, has warned Pakistan that he will not hesitate to order more such raids.
The prevalent view across America, and certainly among law-makers and investigators, these days is that successive the US Administration has pampered Pakistan long enough without succeeding in forcing Islamabad to mend its ways; they now want a tough, no-nonsense approach, as reflected in the demand on the Hill to cut aid to Pakistan. Yet Ms Clinton has chosen to speak in a different language, thus demonstrating the duplicity and hypocrisy of the US Administration. The State Department is now tying itself up in knots while trying to clarify that her statement should not be seen as absolving the ISI; that she was referring to higher authorities in the civilian Government in Islamabad; and, that Pakistan does not stand exonerated. But that’s so much balderdash. Ms Clinton, more than anyone else, knows that the real power in Pakistan lies with the Pakistani Army and its spy agency, the ISI. If they were involved in providing succour to Osama bin Laden, it is as good as the Government of Pakistan being complicit. In any case, Pakistan’s sponsorship of terror is not merely a Washington-Islamabad issue that can be resolved through placatory statements; it affects the entire world and hits India directly. The US Administration is welcome to peddle fiction and mollycoddle a terror-sponsoring Pakistan, but let that not become a burden for others.
The prevalent view across America, and certainly among law-makers and investigators, these days is that successive the US Administration has pampered Pakistan long enough without succeeding in forcing Islamabad to mend its ways; they now want a tough, no-nonsense approach, as reflected in the demand on the Hill to cut aid to Pakistan. Yet Ms Clinton has chosen to speak in a different language, thus demonstrating the duplicity and hypocrisy of the US Administration. The State Department is now tying itself up in knots while trying to clarify that her statement should not be seen as absolving the ISI; that she was referring to higher authorities in the civilian Government in Islamabad; and, that Pakistan does not stand exonerated. But that’s so much balderdash. Ms Clinton, more than anyone else, knows that the real power in Pakistan lies with the Pakistani Army and its spy agency, the ISI. If they were involved in providing succour to Osama bin Laden, it is as good as the Government of Pakistan being complicit. In any case, Pakistan’s sponsorship of terror is not merely a Washington-Islamabad issue that can be resolved through placatory statements; it affects the entire world and hits India directly. The US Administration is welcome to peddle fiction and mollycoddle a terror-sponsoring Pakistan, but let that not become a burden for others.
