tp26.xml
Title
tp26.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2003-02-24
TomPaine Story: Story
Toward a More Perfect Union: Lessons Not Learned since 9/11
Callously deleting from memory failed states like hungry Afghanistan and its demonic Taliban, the world's sole superpower rhapsodized a new millennium with renewed declarations to lead but instead became a target of tangled mediaeval malevolence unleashed by an evil genius like Osama bin Laden.
Impacted first was President Bush and the insular mainstream media - cloyingly U.S-centric and farcically unsophisticated on world affairs. George W, who only a few months before drew a blank when asked to name Pakistan's President, overnight - along with fellow ignoramus - got a crash course on the geography, history and politics of a region swarming with Al- Qaeda terrorists.
Unpronounceable names like ""Tora Bora"", ""Quetta"", ""Jalalabad"" and ""Peshawar"" exuded a new gravitas. Not to mention Pakistan's General Musharraf, who suddenly became Bush's new best friend and bagged a promised $1 billion in aid as a quid pro quo for providing intelligence and air bases to dethrone the Taliban and get Osama.
Today, armed Americans, thousands from the army, CIA and the FBI stalk Pakistani landscape against the wishes of its people who consider America the scofflaw. When the U.S fought a proxy war with former Soviet Union in Afghanistan, Pakistan became its front-line state, promptly to be dropped once Communism collapsed. Many fear a repeat.
More ominous is a nuclear strike as India and Pakistan squabble over Kashmir. Both are nuclear capable. America can play the honest broker but says it won't unless invited by India.
Scariest still is Pakistan suffering yet another attack on 9/11 by Islamic militants threatening to strike.
Instead of finger-wagging and preachy homilies for Musharraf to ""behave"" with India, ""contain terrorism"" and allow democracy to flower by holding elections next month, a schizoid Bush and his oxymoron aides should allow Pakistan a breather to deal with militant Islam its way.
Callously deleting from memory failed states like hungry Afghanistan and its demonic Taliban, the world's sole superpower rhapsodized a new millennium with renewed declarations to lead but instead became a target of tangled mediaeval malevolence unleashed by an evil genius like Osama bin Laden.
Impacted first was President Bush and the insular mainstream media - cloyingly U.S-centric and farcically unsophisticated on world affairs. George W, who only a few months before drew a blank when asked to name Pakistan's President, overnight - along with fellow ignoramus - got a crash course on the geography, history and politics of a region swarming with Al- Qaeda terrorists.
Unpronounceable names like ""Tora Bora"", ""Quetta"", ""Jalalabad"" and ""Peshawar"" exuded a new gravitas. Not to mention Pakistan's General Musharraf, who suddenly became Bush's new best friend and bagged a promised $1 billion in aid as a quid pro quo for providing intelligence and air bases to dethrone the Taliban and get Osama.
Today, armed Americans, thousands from the army, CIA and the FBI stalk Pakistani landscape against the wishes of its people who consider America the scofflaw. When the U.S fought a proxy war with former Soviet Union in Afghanistan, Pakistan became its front-line state, promptly to be dropped once Communism collapsed. Many fear a repeat.
More ominous is a nuclear strike as India and Pakistan squabble over Kashmir. Both are nuclear capable. America can play the honest broker but says it won't unless invited by India.
Scariest still is Pakistan suffering yet another attack on 9/11 by Islamic militants threatening to strike.
Instead of finger-wagging and preachy homilies for Musharraf to ""behave"" with India, ""contain terrorism"" and allow democracy to flower by holding elections next month, a schizoid Bush and his oxymoron aides should allow Pakistan a breather to deal with militant Islam its way.
Collection
Citation
“tp26.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed October 7, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/700.