Two senior Israel-Firsters, Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham (a gay), members of Senate Armed Services Committee, has called Obama administration for a thorough review of US relations with Pakistan, declaring that all security and economic aid to Islamabad must be reconsidered.Interestingly, these two bigots had chased their fellow Republican presidential hopeful, Rep. Ron Paul, when the later suggested that US should stop military aid to Israel worth $3 billion per year along with Egypt and Pakistan. Egypt’s annual share is $1.3 billion per year while Pakistan has received $10 billion since 9/11 to fight Taliban on behalf of US. This ‘handout’ has cost Pakistan over $80 billion in infrastructure damage and 30,000 civilian death including 3,000 security personnel.
Both Senators have a long history of supporting Washington’s invasion of Muslim lands on behalf of Israel – such as, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Somalia – and now planning wars with Syria, Iran, Lebanon and Pakistan.
In March 2008, John McCain and Lindsey Graham visited Israel in the company of Jewish Senator Joe Lieberman and met Israeli President Shimon Peres for talks on Iran’s nuclear project and Tehran’s backing of Hamas and Hizbullah.
In September 2010, Lindsey Graham, told Israel Lobby linked think tank, American Enterprise Institute (AEI) that Washington must be prepared for a military strike against the Islamic Republic not only to destroy its nuclear program but also to bring a regime change in Tehran.
American author, Jeff Gates, in ‘Guilt by Association: How deception and self-deceit took America to war‘, recounts the shameful role of John McCain’s father (Admiral John McCain Jr.) in helping to cover up Israel’s deliberate attack on USS Liberty during the 1967 Six Day War in which 34 of the crew were killed and 294 wounded.
Jeff Gates, also discusses Pakistan in the book. He says that America needs Pakistan’s help more than before “to counter inside the US of the influence of Israeli war-planners known for their expertise at provoking extremism“.
Historically, the great majority of Pakistanis never liked Washington for its blind support to Western colonial entity Israel and Washington’s military, nuclear and intelligence support to their No.1 enemy, India which also maintains military and intelligence cooperation with Israel, Russia and Afghanistan.
Since the theatrical murder of Osama Bin Laden in May 2011 – Pakistan, a US strategic ally in the region for five decades, has become the target of vicious campaign by the pro-Israel lawmakers and mainstream media.
Last month NATO helicopters killed 28 Pakistan soldiers at a Pakistan-Afghanistan border checkpost which has brought down US-Pakistan relation to its lowest point since 1950s.
Canadian writer and blogger, Eric Walberg, wrote on December 1, 2011:
To even begin to explain the mad “logic” of US world military strategy which resulted in this “blatant and unacceptable act”, we must look at the other recent NATO undertakings in the Middle East; namely, the invasion of Libya, the approaching invasion of Syria and the ongoing attempts to subvert Iran. The US-Israeli strategy of carving up the current regimes in order to leave Israel as the undisputed regional hegemon is well known. The plan is for the latest version of the Middle East to be unapologetically sectarian, based on conservative Islam and Judaism. No room for any real democracy, which could lead to socialism, or worse, nationalism, and the inevitable jihad against Israel.
In a sense, the game has become incredibly complex, with supposed allies of empire — from Mubarak and Gaddafi to mujahideen and, increasingly, Pakistan soldiers — moving from ally to enemy in the twinkling of an eye. The Arab Spring is even now being subtlely and not-so-subtlely manipulated from Washington, with daily briefings and financial aid to Egypt’s ruling generals (“more democracy but not if it harms Israel”), daily bombings for others (Libya, Syria, Iran, Pakistan), or a blind eye to cruel autocracies which are able to crush their opposition and continue to faithfully serve the cause (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain). This apparent complexity and chaos is not complex or chaotic at all, but the realisation of contingent strategies in pursuit of clear goals. Egyptian analyst Mohamed Heikal calls it the new “Sykes-Picot agreement”.
In the wake of the collapse of US-Pakistani relations, Pakistan confirmed its gas pipeline project with Iran would be online by 2013, flouting US pressures to nix the deal and instead wait for the trans-Afghanistan pipe dream (excuse me, pipeline). Iran need not drop bombs or invade its neighbours (it ended any imperial pretensions in the 17th century), but like China, seduce them economically. The pipeline will also export gas to Turkey, Armenia and even Iraq. Iran has excellent relations with nearby India, Russia and, of course, China. But of course, Pakistan’s main lifeline is still the US.
Whether the Western intervention in Libya and Syria will turn them into willing (if conservative Islamic) allies of imperialism a la Saudi Arabia, Morocco or, yes, Pakistan, is yet to be seen. But this is the game plan, and the seemingly bizarre friendly fire on its lapdog ally, as happened last week, is from Washington’s point of view merely a blip in the old-fashion regional radar it inherited from Britain. Unless of course Pakistan has its 25 January (Spring) moment.
Uprooted Palestinian
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