The Wolf and the Lamb (Part XII) on April 5, 2022The chequered history of Pakistan’s rollercoaster relationship with the US suggests that birds of the same feather don’t necessarily make good partners. The two had a number of commonalities and were on the same page on almost everything except India and Israel. Which is what ruined a potentially enviable partnership! The birth of Pakistan was […]
The Wolf and the Lamb (Part XI) on March 19, 2022The claim that “Pakistan has been the most bullied ally of the US” is based on a fallacious premise and only partly valid. The US did bully Pakistan the most and bullied it most ruthlessly, but it is a misnomer to describe Pakistan as its ally. Alliances are always between equals, needing one another equally. […]
The Wolf and the Lamb (Part X) on February 26, 2022In 2001, President Pervez Musharraf told President Bush that Pakistan was with the US. But it didn’t take him long to realise that the US was not with Pakistan; having intimidated Pakistan into submission, it was going all-out for India. Negotiations on the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement were started in 2005. The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue […]
The Wolf and the Lamb (Part IX) on February 12, 2022The US’ “War on Terror” was an intriguing misadventure. Among other things, it saw allies fighting with, against and hoodwinking one another concurrently. Quite naturally, therefore, it met the fate it deserved. Pakistan, illusioned to be a Non-NATO ally of the US, stood by Washington’s puppets in Kabul. It ditched its next-door ally in the […]
The Wolf and the Lamb -VIII on January 29, 2022President Pervez Musharraf had joined the US’ invasion of Afghanistan under duress. But his successors, beholden to the Condoleezza-Rice-brokered National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) of 5 October 2007, converted the fait accompli into a personal opportunity. Humbled by the way “she (had) toiled for many sleepless nights to bring Musharraf and Benazir together”, they reassured Washington […]
The Wolf and the Lamb –VII on January 17, 2022President Pervez Musharraf, unnerved by President Bush’s blatant ultimatum of 6 November 2001, allowed the CIA, secretly, to fly unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) from Shamsi Airfield to target “terrorists” within Pakistan. He wanted the drones to operate under Pakistan’s control but the US did not agree. The US Air Force, operating under the CIA’s Special […]
The Wolf and the Lamb — VI on January 1, 2022The US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) needed Pakistan to invade and occupy land-locked Afghanistan. Its first and foremost preoccupation was to ensure supplies to Kabul – securely and cheaply. The air supply operation at the beginning of the war was the third largest in history, after the Berlin and the 1990 Gulf War Airlifts. […]
The Wolf and the Lamb” – V on December 20, 2021The September 11 attacks (9/11) brought a significant qualitative change in Pakistan’s equation with the US. Till then, the Pak-US relations, with mismatched strategic objectives, could at best be described as a partnership of convenience. But the irate President George W. Bush’s daunting proposal of 6 November 2001 – “either with us or against us” […]
The Wolf and the Lamb-IV on December 6, 2021[Recap: The US has held Pakistan and ISI responsible for its humiliating exit from Afghanistan. Through a resolution, tabled in the Senate in September, it intends to punish the Taliban for liberating their motherland; Pakistan for supporting them; and ISI for outsmarting the Five Eyes, assisted by Mossad, NDS, and RAW in the Afghanistan imbroglio. […]
The Wolf and the Lamb (Part III) on November 23, 2021Recap: Since its “premature” birth, the “truncated” state of Pakistan, with every conceivable neo-natal vulnerability, had to scramble for perennial life support. Having parted ways with erstwhile masters, missed the Soviet bus and disregarded the NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) bandwagon, desperate Pakistan jumped into an unenviable relationship with the US. In a bid to become a […]