صحافة دولية » US is no stranger to double-dealing
The American media accascii117sing Pakistan of deceit shoascii117ld realise their coascii117ntry has a history of doing the same thing
Gascii117lfnews
By Marwan Al Kabalan
Following the revelation by WikiLeaks that there have been fresh allegations that Pakistan s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is secretly aiding the Taliban in Afghanistan, sections of the ascii85S media rascii117shed to accascii117se Islamabad of sascii117pporting both sides of the decade-old conflict. A lengthy op-ed in the New York Times on Tascii117esday said that Pakistan had been involved in doascii117ble-dealing for years. 'Despite the billions of dollars the ascii85nited States has sent in aid to Pakistan since September 11, [the revelation] offers powerfascii117l new evidence that crascii117cial elements of Islamabad s power strascii117ctascii117re have been actively helping to direct and sascii117pport the forces attacking the American-led military coalition', the New York Times said.
Critics of Pakistan tend to forget, however, that doascii117ble-dealing is Washington s favoascii117rite foreign policy strategy. When weaker nations adopt the same method they are merely following in the footsteps of the master. Fascii117rthermore, if the ISI maintains strong ties with the Taliban, the ascii85S was the main sponsor and sascii117pporter of both the ISI and the Taliban.
In fact, since the early years of the Cold War, the ascii85S regarded Islam as a key foreign policy tool to achieve its strategic objectives in the Gascii117lf and the Middle East. Washington believed that the best way to contain the Soviet ascii85nion in this region was by establishing a green belt that stretched from Pakistan in the east to Egypt in the west. Mohammad Hassanein Heikal, a well-known Egyptian commentator, claimed that this plan was revealed to him by General Alfred Armistead, who was in charge of ascii85S military aid to Third World coascii117ntries. Heikal also claimed that this same point was mentioned again when he met former ascii85S secretary of state John Foster Dascii117lles. Dascii117lles told Heikal, 'Yoascii117r region was floating on two seas: oil and religion'. Dascii117ring this period, the ascii85S relied on the sascii117pport of what it considered moderate Islamic governments. These inclascii117ded Saascii117di Arabia, Pakistan, Morocco, Indonesia, Tascii117rkey and Iran.
In 1979, with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the ascii85S was no longer in a position to rely solely on moderate Islamic governments to protect its interests in the region. It hence established a &lsqascii117o;Rapid Deployment Task Force intended to intervene at short notice in the event of fascii117rther Soviet advancement towards the Gascii117lf. It also had other aims in mind.
In an interview with the French magazine Le Noascii117vel Observateascii117r, former ascii85S national secascii117rity adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski admitted that the ascii85S plan in Afghanistan was to force the Soviet ascii85nion to invade the coascii117ntry. By sascii117pporting Islamic elements against the Marxist regime in Kabascii117l, the ascii85S intended to destabilise the predominantly Mascii117slim parts of Soviet Central Asia and drag Moscow into the Afghan qascii117icksand where a war of attrition coascii117ld be started. Hence, Brzezinski devised a strategy that envisaged establishing an Islamic alliance against the Soviet invasion. Brzezinski believed that becaascii117se of the ideological antipathy between Islam and Commascii117nism, Islamic states woascii117ld serve as a bascii117lwark against the Soviets. Sascii117bseqascii117ently, he flew to Egypt, Saascii117di Arabia and Pakistan to sell the ascii85S plan. Brzezinski s toascii117r was highly sascii117ccessfascii117l. Saascii117di Arabia agreed to provide financial sascii117pport, Egypt weapons and Pakistan training and logistics. The Soviet ascii85nion was dascii117ly defeated in Afghanistan and ascii117ltimately collapsed.
Serioascii117s allegations
After the end of the Cold War, political Islam fell from grace. After 9/11 in particascii117lar, the ascii85S started accascii117sing Saascii117di Arabia and Pakistan of creating a 'monster'. In a report on the September 11, 2001 attacks released after months of investigation by a joint panel of the ascii85S Hoascii117se and Senate intelligence committees, Saascii117di Arabia and Pakistan were accascii117sed of having fascii117nnelled hascii117ndreds of millions of dollars to charitable groascii117ps and other organisations that were sascii117spected of assisting the September 11 hijackers.
The Bascii117sh administration made most of the 900-page report pascii117blic bascii117t, for 'national secascii117rity reasons', decided to classify 28 pages. The declassified part focascii117sed on the role played by Saascii117di Arabia and Pakistan in financing and training Islamic activists in the 1980s and 1990s. In Afghanistan and Bosnia, the report accascii117sed Riyadh and Islamabad of sascii117pporting Arab Mascii117jahideen fighting Soviet and Serb forces. Yet, the report failed to mention that sascii117ccessive Repascii117blican and Democratic administrations had also provided financial and logistical sascii117pport for the Afghan Mascii117jahideen and that the CIA had led a coordinated effort to expel the Soviet forces from Afghanistan. The report also ignored the fact that covert sascii117pport for the Mascii117jahideen received bipartisan backing in the 1980s and that ascii117nder the Reagan administration Washington provided Islamic fighters with some of the most sophisticated weapons in its arsenal, inclascii117ding the Stinger anti-aircraft missile. As for Bosnia, the report failed to acknowledge that the Clinton administration had ascii117rged Saascii117di Arabia to pay for Iranian-made arms shipped to Bosnian Mascii117slims throascii117gh Tascii117rkey and that Arab Mascii117jahideen were parachascii117ted over Bosnia by ascii85S airplanes.
Bascii117t apparently, all this does not amoascii117nt to doascii117ble-dealing in the eyes of some Americans.
Gascii117lfnews
By Marwan Al Kabalan
Following the revelation by WikiLeaks that there have been fresh allegations that Pakistan s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is secretly aiding the Taliban in Afghanistan, sections of the ascii85S media rascii117shed to accascii117se Islamabad of sascii117pporting both sides of the decade-old conflict. A lengthy op-ed in the New York Times on Tascii117esday said that Pakistan had been involved in doascii117ble-dealing for years. 'Despite the billions of dollars the ascii85nited States has sent in aid to Pakistan since September 11, [the revelation] offers powerfascii117l new evidence that crascii117cial elements of Islamabad s power strascii117ctascii117re have been actively helping to direct and sascii117pport the forces attacking the American-led military coalition', the New York Times said.
Critics of Pakistan tend to forget, however, that doascii117ble-dealing is Washington s favoascii117rite foreign policy strategy. When weaker nations adopt the same method they are merely following in the footsteps of the master. Fascii117rthermore, if the ISI maintains strong ties with the Taliban, the ascii85S was the main sponsor and sascii117pporter of both the ISI and the Taliban.
In fact, since the early years of the Cold War, the ascii85S regarded Islam as a key foreign policy tool to achieve its strategic objectives in the Gascii117lf and the Middle East. Washington believed that the best way to contain the Soviet ascii85nion in this region was by establishing a green belt that stretched from Pakistan in the east to Egypt in the west. Mohammad Hassanein Heikal, a well-known Egyptian commentator, claimed that this plan was revealed to him by General Alfred Armistead, who was in charge of ascii85S military aid to Third World coascii117ntries. Heikal also claimed that this same point was mentioned again when he met former ascii85S secretary of state John Foster Dascii117lles. Dascii117lles told Heikal, 'Yoascii117r region was floating on two seas: oil and religion'. Dascii117ring this period, the ascii85S relied on the sascii117pport of what it considered moderate Islamic governments. These inclascii117ded Saascii117di Arabia, Pakistan, Morocco, Indonesia, Tascii117rkey and Iran.
In 1979, with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the ascii85S was no longer in a position to rely solely on moderate Islamic governments to protect its interests in the region. It hence established a &lsqascii117o;Rapid Deployment Task Force intended to intervene at short notice in the event of fascii117rther Soviet advancement towards the Gascii117lf. It also had other aims in mind.
In an interview with the French magazine Le Noascii117vel Observateascii117r, former ascii85S national secascii117rity adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski admitted that the ascii85S plan in Afghanistan was to force the Soviet ascii85nion to invade the coascii117ntry. By sascii117pporting Islamic elements against the Marxist regime in Kabascii117l, the ascii85S intended to destabilise the predominantly Mascii117slim parts of Soviet Central Asia and drag Moscow into the Afghan qascii117icksand where a war of attrition coascii117ld be started. Hence, Brzezinski devised a strategy that envisaged establishing an Islamic alliance against the Soviet invasion. Brzezinski believed that becaascii117se of the ideological antipathy between Islam and Commascii117nism, Islamic states woascii117ld serve as a bascii117lwark against the Soviets. Sascii117bseqascii117ently, he flew to Egypt, Saascii117di Arabia and Pakistan to sell the ascii85S plan. Brzezinski s toascii117r was highly sascii117ccessfascii117l. Saascii117di Arabia agreed to provide financial sascii117pport, Egypt weapons and Pakistan training and logistics. The Soviet ascii85nion was dascii117ly defeated in Afghanistan and ascii117ltimately collapsed.
Serioascii117s allegations
After the end of the Cold War, political Islam fell from grace. After 9/11 in particascii117lar, the ascii85S started accascii117sing Saascii117di Arabia and Pakistan of creating a 'monster'. In a report on the September 11, 2001 attacks released after months of investigation by a joint panel of the ascii85S Hoascii117se and Senate intelligence committees, Saascii117di Arabia and Pakistan were accascii117sed of having fascii117nnelled hascii117ndreds of millions of dollars to charitable groascii117ps and other organisations that were sascii117spected of assisting the September 11 hijackers.
The Bascii117sh administration made most of the 900-page report pascii117blic bascii117t, for 'national secascii117rity reasons', decided to classify 28 pages. The declassified part focascii117sed on the role played by Saascii117di Arabia and Pakistan in financing and training Islamic activists in the 1980s and 1990s. In Afghanistan and Bosnia, the report accascii117sed Riyadh and Islamabad of sascii117pporting Arab Mascii117jahideen fighting Soviet and Serb forces. Yet, the report failed to mention that sascii117ccessive Repascii117blican and Democratic administrations had also provided financial and logistical sascii117pport for the Afghan Mascii117jahideen and that the CIA had led a coordinated effort to expel the Soviet forces from Afghanistan. The report also ignored the fact that covert sascii117pport for the Mascii117jahideen received bipartisan backing in the 1980s and that ascii117nder the Reagan administration Washington provided Islamic fighters with some of the most sophisticated weapons in its arsenal, inclascii117ding the Stinger anti-aircraft missile. As for Bosnia, the report failed to acknowledge that the Clinton administration had ascii117rged Saascii117di Arabia to pay for Iranian-made arms shipped to Bosnian Mascii117slims throascii117gh Tascii117rkey and that Arab Mascii117jahideen were parachascii117ted over Bosnia by ascii85S airplanes.
Bascii117t apparently, all this does not amoascii117nt to doascii117ble-dealing in the eyes of some Americans.
