Christine Fair, an American professor who Tweets and writes regularly about Pakistan, posted something really unfair about the NATO attack. She wrote:
Irony: Pakistanis howl that NATO killed 28 Pak troops. AMCITs blissfully ignorant that Pak-backed proxies kill thousands of US/NATO troops.
Apparently, AMCIT is code for “American citizens”. (At least, that’s what the Google told me.) So what’s so unfair about this Tweet? Whether or not the respected professor intended it to, the way this was read by me and thousands of other Pakistanis is that we shouldn’t complain about about our boys being killed since our agencies allegedly back proxies (read: Haqqani Network) that are killing American troops. In other words, “tit-for-tat”.
I was embarrassed on the anniversary of 9/11 when I heard people saying that the Americans should “get over” the deaths of thousands of their countrymen in those attacks. I am embarrassed for Christine Fair also. Whether she meant it that way or not, her statement during this difficult time could only be taken as telling us to “get over” our own loss. This war is not a competition about who has suffered more. It is a fight against an enemy that has planned and carried out attacks against innocents in America, Europe, Afghanistan and Pakistan also. Our common enemy is not each other. We must stop acting like it is.
The Americans have apologized for the deaths, and even if you do not doubt their sincerity, as
DG ISPR Gen Abbas correctly said : “This (apology) is not good enough.” There needs to be more than just an apology and another toothless inquiry. We are supposed to be allies in this war, and if we are to be allies in more than just words, we need to stop apologizing and start actually working together.
In response to the attack, PM has vowed no more “business as usual”. That is the right response because obviously “business as usual” was sowing the seeds of distrust and suspicion. We need to stop treating each other as untrustworthy. That means the Americans need to stop treating us as their “ally from Hell”.
When American Army Maj. larry J. Bauguess Jr. was killed in 2007, some in America claimed that it was an act of war by our forces. According to the Pentagon’s own investigation, though, it was the act of a lone gunman who killed him. After this latest attack that martyred two dozen of our soldiers, some in Pakistan are claiming that this was an act of war by NATO forces. What it is is a tragedy that should never be forgotten and never be repeated.
It is clear that our goals and the Americans’ goals in Afghanistan are not 100 per cent aligned. But there are definite areas of overlap, and this is where we should concentrating. The Americans need an Afghanistan that will not serve as a staging ground for terrorists. We need an Afghanistan that will not serve as a staging ground for terrorists also. We want the Americans to go home, and the Americans want to go home also. Surely we can work together towards these common goals.
Our concerns about the alignment of Kabul must be taken into consideration, but let’s think about this rationally for a moment. The only way we can ensure a Kabul that is our ally is if we help to build the country and move it forward. Actually, by helping to stabilize Afghanistan, we will be speeding up the Americans exit also. It’s a win-win. Which is much more effective than “tit-for-tat”.
Demands for “blood against blood” are a natural emotional response, but are ultimately self-defeating and will only result in more loss, and more death. The Americans, though, need to think long and hard about this incident and how to make it right. We are already being killed by Taliban, we don’t need to be killed by our friends also.
Actually you missed the point of my tweet entirely, which I stand by: Pakistanis have the good sense to be outraged by this relationship and its bloody costs. Americans are ignorant that the vast majority of our casualties in Afghanistan are not due to Al Qaeda, but by Pakistan’s proxies (the Afghan Taliban, Haqqani Network, other Deobandi militant groups fighting there along with LeT).
Americans are ignorant that whatever investments the USG has made in Afghanistan have been squandered –be it lives or cash; be it Afghan or American or other–because it has never had a Pakistan policy that addresses the simple fact that we are fighting the Taliban while Pakistan supports the same…all while accepting US cash in the name of being an ally in the effort.
I was not denying Pakistanis’ right to be outraged; rather, I am outraged that my citizenry is utterly clueless about the situation in which our government has placed us. That you and thousands of others chose to read something else is best explained by you and those who saw it as you did.
As my twitter feed shows, I also resist the reflexive reading that NATO had no provocation to fire on those positions which resulted in these deaths. This has happened before and in all cases NATO argued that it came upon direct fire from across the border in Pakistan. In all cases, we never really learned what really happened likely due to diplomatic requirements.
At some point Pakistanis need to ask why their government’s support for the Taliban and other militant proxies is good for Pakistan and its people. How can it be? These “proxies gone wild” have devastated Pakistan. Yet when a shrine is attacked or when Shia are slaughtered, the chatter declares the atrocity to be the work of “outside forces.” What nonsense.
Pakistanis won’t get the Pakistan they deserve until they got off the victim bus and demand that their government adopt foreign and domestic policies that serve Pakistanis’ interests…not that of GHQ.
Incidentally, I feel the same way about my citizenry and my government.
CCF
First of all the fact your tweet has had to be explained in 6 paragraphs explains how it could be “misinterpreted” or people could “miss the point” as you put it.
And your tweet does not imply that US Citizens are “utterly clueless about the situation in which our government has placed us.” as you now explain but instead says and cannot be misinterpreted as saying “AMCITs blissfully ignorant that Pak-backed proxies kill thousands of US/NATO troops.”
The “irony” is that these groups were all one-time proxies of the U.S. itself. The only difference is while U.S. policy and loyalties have changed Pakistan is still stuck with it’s strategic defence policy.
The “irony” is that if Pak helis had fired and killed 28 NATO troops on the Afghan side of the border (provoked/unprovoked) the outrage would have been widespread, worldwide and with worse implications.
Yes I AGREE the irony is also that there are protests for the deaths of soldiers but not enough for the 30 thousand or so people killed in Pakistan by terrorists. I also agree that proxy wars need to be outed and stopped – but isn’t every govt doing it? Including the U.S. GOVT.
You are a respected professor, with that comes responsibility – that’s why the reaction to your tweet has been met with such shock.
totally agree with christene fair. pakistanis r living in denial. u cant keep blaming RAW CIA and MOSSAD for everything. the shit hole tht ur cntry is in today has been dug by ur armies policy of proxy war and double game. till u guys dont realise tht, there will be no end to ur troubles.
No doubt Pakistanis are living in denial, but it is not a justification for others to live in same sate ….
The americans have the might their word and action carries divine message!