Faith & Logic: America & dictators

Would Pakistan in the 21st century be wracked by militancy and terrorism if the US hadn’t supported Gen Zia and pumped millions into the Afghan ‘jihad’?

Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson perpetuated 80's jihad cry

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Cross-post
Source & Credit: Daily Dawn | Pakistan
Dawn Editorial | 06 Jul, 2010

US Congressman Howard Berman’s argument is simple enough. Addressing a meeting of US physicians of Pakistani descent, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee stated the obvious on Sunday when he said that democracy cannot prosper if civilian governments do not enjoy complete administrative control over the armed forces.

He pointed to President Barack Obama’s recent decision to change his top commander in Afghanistan, and seemed to suggest that a similar move would not be viable in Pakistan. Mr Berman may be right on this count, nor can it be denied that the democratic process in Pakistan has been repeatedly derailed by military dictators.
 The Congressman’s comments, incidentally, came a day before the 33rd anniversary of Gen Ziaul Haq’s coup against the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a move that many believe could not have taken place without the tacit support of the US. That was a defining moment in the country’s history and we are suffering from its fallout to this day. Would Pakistan in the 21st century be wracked by militancy and terrorism if the US hadn’t supported Gen Zia and pumped millions into the Afghan ‘jihad’?

The point here is that America has long been hand in glove with military dictators and varied despots, not just in Pakistan but across the globe. In Central and South America it has even engineered coups to oust democratically elected administrations. Bloodbaths followed but that did not deter the US from throwing its full weight behind regimes that were answerable to no one but Washington. US foreign policy inflicted grievous harm on countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Chile and Nicaragua in the Americas and Indonesia and the Philippines in the east. Then there was the generous support for the likes of Saddam Hussein, the Shah of Iran and of course every single Pakistani dictator dating back to Gen Ayub Khan. A lot of this had to do with the exigencies of the Cold War. But the fact remains that the US itself has derailed democracy throughout the world.

In our case America’s response to military coups has followed a strikingly similar pattern: initial condemnation or criticism, then endorsement and finally whole-hearted support for the junta in question. Mr Berman is no doubt sincere when he says that the US wants to strengthen democratic institutions in Pakistan. But what guarantee do Pakistanis have that the self-styled champion of democracy will not play the same old game if the tide somehow turns? Can the US confirm in no uncertain terms that it will never support a Pakistani dictator again irrespective of circumstances?




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