That's the title of a good piece
in the new edition in the New York Review of Books by Ahmed Rashid, one
of my proven providers.
Like anything Rashid writes, it is worth reading. But
two things especially struck me. First, I've been more optimistic about
Afghanistan than about Pakistan, but haven't really been able to articulate
why. Rashid does it well. Afghanistan, he notes, has a weak and unpopular
state, but is backed by the U.S. and NATO. Also, Afghans have a national identity
and don't want to see the country broken up. Most importantly, they've tasted
Taliban rule, and many hated it. In Pakistan, by contrast, he says, "there is
no such broad national identity or unity." Among Pakistani officials, he says,
"The sense of unrealism is widespread."
Second, the next time a Pakistani official assures us
that his army can carry out a counterinsurgency campaign, he should be asked
about this observation of Rashid's:
.
. . the army and the government never protected the Pushtun tribal chiefs and
leaders who were pro-government-some three hundred have had their throats slit
by the Taliban in the FATA, and the rest have fled."
TARIQ MAHMOOD/AFP/Getty Images
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