Pakistan Vs. Iran - It's Nuclear

Listening To: Patience – Guns N Roses
Mood: Tired

I’ve been meaning to write on this subject for quite some time now at least long before both countries came into the spotlight for totally different issues. Unless you have been on a different planet (like, say, Saturn) lately, you will have heard about the findings that Iran has not developed weapons grade uranium nor does it plan to in the near future. This happened in spite of all of the posturing and pissing contests being held between our fearless, fake cowboy, leader and Iran’s short and conservative Ahmadinejad. You will also have heard about Pakistan’s recent drama with President Musharraf refusing to disrobe (well, not exactly disrobing, but it sounds so much more fun than just taking off his uniform!) and the unfortunate demise of Benezir Bhutto.

I haven’t been hearing as much lately, but the presidential candidates have been participating in some saber rattling over Iran and how we will definitely go after them if they don’t bow down and kiss our ass and do what we say. Now, I’m not mindlessly pro-Iran. They definitely have their own problems with religious nutcases and infrastructure. I don’t know that I want them to have nuclear weapons capabilities either because there are a lot of power hungry nutcases who would use them in the wrong way. However, in this case I think I admire Iran. They basically bent over and mooned the US and told us where to stick it instead of letting the US bully them. They were right that we had no authority to tell them that they were to get rid of any and all nuclear things. Hats off to Ahmadinejad for having cojones.

What concerns me is not so much that we’re going after Iran, but that we’re bothering them and completely ignoring Pakistan’s decent into chaos. A country that already has weapons grade nuclear capacity. Let’s wade just a little further into this cesspool of ridiculousness. Ahmadinejad seems to be an intelligent guy. As we determined, he has balls and knows how to conduct himself politically in the world. He has his own mind and stands up for himself. Iran isn’t the model democratic country, but they really have a lot more order than, say, Afghanistan or Pakistan. There is an infrastructure and a strong leadership, even if fanaticism rears its head at times. Pakistan, on the other hand, has been, and continues to, spin farther and farther out of any semblance of order and control. If you need proof of this, just take a look at Pakistan’s Northwestern Frontier Province (NFP) and Balochistan. Not only are these areas completely out of any government control, they are under the control of local war lords who thumb their noses at Musharraf and do what they want. Pakistan has numerous problems with porous borders in these areas into and out of Afghanistan, a major production center for religious nut jobs with control issues. I have my own theories that Bin Laden himself is indeed within Pakistan instead of Afghanistan, but I’ll save that for another day. I know for certain that I don’t want anyone in Afghanistan having nuclear knowledge. In case anyone is still interested in Afghanistan (you know, the country that started our latest meddling in the middle east…..) the Taliban nutcases are starting to come back out of the woodwork and being pains in peoples’ asses again. On top of all this nonsense, Pakistan is going through what promises to be a transitional phase with the government.

So why are we so blind to the situation in Pakistan? Why are we not giving the situation due attention? A few reasons. Number 1, we (as in we the White House) like Pres. Musharraf. Well, we like the fact that we can control him for the most part. Number 2, we would rather have the evil that we know (i.e. Musharraf) rather than a religious fanatic that we don’t. Number 3, we (again as in we the White House) want oil, and Pakistan is pretty well useless in this regard. Iran on the other hand would be a strategic resource for oil snatching.

A few rebuttals for these points:

1. Pakistan has, and probably always will be, bought by the highest bidder in the interest of the country. Has anyone in the White house looked into the history of Pakistan?? Seriously?? It is truly an insane place. The governments in Pakistan have a history of changing loyalty and interests like they change underwear. Whatever/whoever they gain the most from has their attention for the moment. The fallacy that we have Pakistan under our thumb is just that – a fallacy. If some country offers them lots of money to pass on technology they’re not gonna say, “Gee, the US probably wouldn’t like that….,” they’re gonna pass it on.

2. Musharraf is a temporary calm in the storm. As I mentioned, the government in Pakistan is unstable. We recently saw a serious jockeying for control in Pakistan because Musharraf decided that he was going to throw a tantrum and not take off his uniform, prompting Bhutto and Shariff to see the opportunity to take over in the event that the world turned against him. Anyhow, as we already determined, they already have nuclear technology. If they can’t get their government in order, how are they ever going to keep state secrets like nuclear technology?

3. Musharraf helping us to police his section of the world in regards to terrorists is another fallacy. Musharraf has no more control over certain sections of Pakistan (like the ones that cater to and harbor terrorists) than you or I. As I mentioned, the reality is that local war lords rule their territory with complete authority and a ferocity that Musharraf really has no desire to go up against. Musharraf has never really stood up to, nonetheless taken a stand against the religious fanatics that reside in his own country.

4. Invading Iran, whether it’s recognized as an oil snatching maneuver or not, would be a devastating decision for the US. Iran is not going to fall over like Iraq did. I would place money on the fact that Ahmadinejad will not be hiding in any underground tunnels. He will be directing the beating of the US army with a stick – most likely with the support of a large section of the world. Does anyone really think that Iran has not taken notice of the events of the past 3 years along with our cavalier attitude towards telling Iran what to do and not made plans about how to defend itself? I’m not thinking so.

I could probably go on about this for a few more pages, but I’ll stop now and post this. Please do not support a candidate who jumps on the bandwagon about Iran. It’s just not worth it. Our country needs to do some serious diplomacy research and actions in order to restore our face in the mind of the world. We have seriously wasted our good name and lots of patience in the past few years, and going vigilante on Iran would be a huge mistake to make.

Becky