The biggest attraction, of course, is that the size of the military presence can be kept small, and casualties among contractors do not attract the same attention that dead and wounded soldiers do. As P.W. Singer of the Brookings Institution wryly put it: ‘What we created was not a coalition of the willing. We’re relying on the coalitions of the billing.’
Pakistan should also begin fencing its border with Afghanistan despite its difficult terrain and length. India has fenced both the LoC and the international border with Pakistan as Iran has commenced doing. This we should have begun long ago.
Our enlightened leadership has opined that the real threat to Pakistan was from within rather than from any external enemy. While closing one's eyes to the glaring external interference and threat would be myopic, the internal challenge that Pakistan faces is for different reasons and from sources other than those the government wishes to harp on.
The Obama administration’s new surge-and-exit strategy reflects the exasperation of the western alliance as it struggles to balance the politically feasible with the militarily necessary. At least as far the exit part of the strategy is concerned the US and its allies are condemned to succeed. When it comes to leaving behind a stable, legitimate and semi-functional Afghan state, the alliance is almost certain to fail.
The US would prefer an unhealthy Pakistan, dependent upon oxygen provided by USA and subservient to India. Like Bush, Obama too is pursuing imperialist agenda.
