June 11, 2008
Pakistan Takes FUBAR & SNAFU to a Whole New Level
If you have the time, read this report by Jeffrey Imm at the CT Blog. It's long and depressing, but important.
The crux of Imm's article is that a majority of Pakistanis support Taliban-like Islamic law and that a significant minority already live under the control of the Taliban.
This is a problem because unlike the Islamic Republic of Iran which only seeks to develop nukes the Islamic Republic of Pakistan already has them.
Imm's calls for a Grand Strategy based on a more thorough understanding of how the jihad ideology is deeply rooted within traditional Islamic thought itself is interesting. I'm not sure how one operationalizes a strategy based on ideology, but it would be helpful if we could at least be honest about the relationship between Islam, Islamism, sharia, and jihad. Yet we are told that criticizing Islam is a form of bigotry, thus cutting off all debate as to the roots of the present conflict between Islamists and the world.
I can't imagine a counter factual history in which the U.S. wins the Cold War yet no one within the Beltway was willing to admit that the ideology of Marx was somehow related to the actions of Lenin, Stalin, Mao, or Ho Chi Minh.
In any event Pakistan is a screwed up country. One in which a solid majority agrees with the Taliban on the key issues.
Go read it. Prepare to be depressed.
