Pakistan's Duplicity is the Cause of American Casualties in Afghanistan

The United States Navy SEALs' triumph with two significant feats for the world community may cause an end to international terrorism.

First, Osama bin Laden was killed in his compound at Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2. Second and equally significant was the Navy Seals' exposure of Pakistan's duplicity in harboring bin Laden for nearly ten years inside Pakistan. In doing so, Pakistan was in breach of the trust and a mutual bargain which was struck between the United Sates and Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf in 2001. Under the bargain, Pakistan has received $20 billion thus far.

In compliance with this bargain, had Pakistan turned bin Laden over to the U.S. when he crossed from Afghanistan to Pakistan through Tora Bora, or at any time thereafter, the United States would not have sustained the enormous damages in blood and wealth during the ten-year war in Afghanistan, including 1,414 American soldiers dead and 9,971 wounded, plus multi-billion dollars for waging the war fighting insurgents supported by Pakistan.

During this interim period (2001-2011), ostensibly Pakistan's spy agency -- Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI) -- conspired with bin Laden and his Al Qaeda group and other groups such as Mullah Mohammad Omar of the Afghan Taliban, the Jalaluddin Haqqani network, the Gulbuddin Hekmatyar group and the Pakistani Taliban to kill and injure American soldiers inside Afghanistan.

The ISI played a duality in bad faith pretending to fight terrorism and concurrently being engaged as an accessory to the killing and injuring of American soldiers. ISI was serving as the conduit by sending fighters, roadside bombs and suicide youth to attack American soldiers in Afghanistan. Some elements of ISI knew where bin Laden was in Pakistan since 2001. Otherwise, he could not have remained in Pakistan for as long as he did. In his last residence in Abbottabad, bin Laden felt so secure and comfortable with his wives and children that he did not bother surrounding himself with security guards; he was just another member of the neighborhood community -- safe and secure in that town of Pakistani military elites. He was sending directives through his messengers/couriers directing his world-wide terrorist network for destruction and murder, including American people and property. And the Pakistani government let him do it and assisted the process.

As a matter of retribution, the United Sates has several options when duplicity is firmly ascertained via bin Laden tapes and computer files.

1. Take out Pakistan's atomic facilities, thereby neutralizing its ability to detonate atomic weapons in any future conflicts.
2. Dismantle the ISI apparatus and arrest its leadership for crimes against humanity, including judicial criminal prosecutions that have caused the death and dismemberment of thousands of American soldiers and Afghan soldiers and civilians in Afghanistan. But for Pakistan's duplicity, the United States and Afghanistan would not have suffered sustained casualties inside Afghanistan. ISI of Pakistan was the ring leader of a criminal conspiracy whose members included bin Laden and Al Qaeda, the Pakistani Taliban, the Jalaluddin Huqqani group, the Mullah Mohammad Omar and the Afghani Taliban, and the Gulbuddin Hekmatyar group.
3. Impose war reparation upon Pakistan equal to the present and future value of the following: Work-life earnings loss and the value of life of every American and Afghan soldier and civilian killed since 2001, and the present value and future value of every American and Afghan soldier and civilian who sustained partial or total disabilities for the remainder of their life, plus the military and civilian expenditures of the U.S. war in Afghanistan since 2001 (had Pakistan turned over bin Laden to the U.S. in 2001, there would have been no U.S. war involvement in Afghanistan. Plus $20 billion -- the amount of assistance that Pakistan has received from the United Sates since 2001, plus punitive damages for bad faith.
4. Dissect Pakistan into three smaller states -- Baluchistan for the Baluchi separatists including the city of Quetta, Pashtunistan for the Pashtun separatists covering the Pashtun tribal areas including Peshawar and the border areas, and Pakistan proper including Lahore and the Karachi areas. The ongoing domestic dissent in the Pashtun and Baluchi areas are rooted in the exploitative and discriminatory practices of the ruling class of Pakistan -- the Lahore elite -- who have alienated those groups.
5. Create a strong civilian government in Pakistan by dismantling the ISI, reducing Pakistan's military prowess and supporting the educated and secular population. Pakistan has a strong judiciary and press at this time. A strong civilian government is needed to implement democratic institutions and processes.
6. At a minimum, Pakistan must turn over to the United States Gulbuddin Hekmatyar from the Peshawar area, Jalaluddin Haqqani from the northern Waziristan area and Mullah Mohammad Omar from Quetta, Baluchistan area. These insurgents are shooting at American and Afghan soldiers inside Afghanistan and enjoy safe havens that are provided by ISI and are being sheltered in Pakistan.

It is extraordinary that Pakistan's former president, Mr. Musharraf, still denies that he knew where bin Laden was residing in Pakistan while the current prime minister, Mr. Yousuf Raza Gilani, and the Pakistani parliament are trying to shift the debate from Pakistan's duplicity to the American violation of Pakistan's sovereignty. They believe that the rubric of sovereignty will save the day for them. Not so. The Navy SEALs' possession and custody of bin Laden's computer files and tapes will end that debate, which may identify Pakistan as the most dangerous nation on earth.

Nake M. Kamrany is professor of economics and director of program in law and economics at the University of Southern California and a member of California Bar.

 

Comments

[SoldAmerican]

12:04 PM on 05/27/2011

Absolutely agree with this article.

Thank you professor Kamrany, Calling a spade a Spade in this PC world is such a relief!

Pakistan is terror central! PERIOD!

[kamrany]

04:15 PM on 05/19/2011

It is indeed a tragedy that there are casulties sustained by many nations, some 40 NATO countries, the U.S. , Afghanistan and Pakistan.. My Op-ED's main argument was that if Pakistan did not engage in duplicity and turned over bin Laden to the U.S. in 2001, the ten year war (2001-2011) could have been averted. Pakistn's duplicity was the direct cause of casulties sustained by the U.S. , Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Who is responsible? How about Pakistn's ISI? Must the culprit pay for its crimes?

[pjw5552]

02:04 PM on 05/17/2011

Mr. Kamrany apparently feels power and force justifies the US doing whatever we want. No one would argue about Pakistan duplicity having horrible consequences for the US and that it has cost us plenty. Thinking the US can step into a country of 170 million people and simply impose its will is ridiculous. We don't need more war and we don't need people like Mr. Kamrany suggesting we engage in more of it or expand it.

[kamrany]

04:26 PM on 05/19/2011

I should make it clear that I am a pacifist and abhore wars. The theme of my OPED was Pakistan's breach of trust and agreement with the United States by hiding ben Laden for 10 years and during this time causing enormous damages to the U.S. forces and Afghanistan forces and civilian. My suggestion is not to start another war but to effctuate an appropriate retribution. The options that I have enumerated could be accomplished without a war. We can cut off military aid to Pakistan, increase civilian assitance to tip the balance, help the Pashtuns and Baluchi's to ascetrtain their rights, just as we are supporting the movements in Egypt, Syria, and other places. I would like to invite you to gogggle me and read my publications. Then you will be convinced otherwise.

Regares,

NMK

[Card-Carrying American]

01:13 PM on 05/17/2011

I don't think there's a single "option" on this list that could be implemented without a full scale war with Pakistan. It would take a World War II sized national mobilization for any such attempt to have a chance of success. It also seems unlikely that good results would come out of it.

I propose another alternative. For years, the open secret that bin Laden was in Pakistan provided Pakistan with great leverage over the U.S. If the U.S. wanted bin Laden, they had no choice but to deal and bargain with Pakistan.

Now that leverage is suddenly and dramatically removed. The US has much less to lose by walking away from Pakistan in terms of aid and assistance. As much as Pakistan loves to hate the U.S., it views such aid and assistance as vital to prepare for combat with their arch-enemy India. Suddenly the equation has changed where Pakistan needs the U.S. far more than the other way around.

Now it's time for the U.S. to push on that lever. We've snatched by force the only real carrot Pakistan had and was dangling to extract aid. The choice should be simple. Continued assistance is contingent upon real efforts to stabilize Afghanistan.

There have been calls for this in the past. What's different now is that the U.S. can afford to walk away.

-Card-Carrying American
http://cardcarryingamerican.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Card-Carrying-American/149565408390518

[kamrany]

04:01 PM on 05/19/2011

The options that I have enumerated do not require an invasion of Pakistan or another war. Some of it could be done via a surgecial approach such as taking out the atomic facilities. The civilian government's relative position vis-i-vis ISI and its DOD could be accomplished by freezing military assistance and increasing civilian assitance, tipping the relative positions. The dissection of Pakistn could be accomplished by supporting the Baluchis and the Pushtuns. Although the U.S. government claims that there is no evidence of Pakistnis government's knowledge of bin Laden's residence, I do not believe it - it is just a cover up presumably with the hope of getting someting out of Pakistan. Pakistan can easily arrest the leaders of the insurgent group and close their shops. But the U.S. has to show some resolve - Pakistan has harm us over the last 10 years.

Your suggestion to get Pakistan to cooperate in stabilizing Afghanistan is conisstent with my proposed options.

Regards,

Nake Kamrany

[Subhan Jamil]

11:16 AM on 05/17/2011

This article is the exact reason Pakistan has no peace. It doesn't mention how many soldier pakistan military has lost, how many innocent lives they have lost. I feel at times we value our lives more then others.. as if one american life is worth 10000 other lives. Because of 3000 Americans 300,000 iraqi/afgani/pakistani's have died. Is that how God will bless the 3000 into heaven? By us killing more civilians and killing 30 terrorists?

[Farid Rahman]

02:50 AM on 06/02/2011

Pakistanis have indeed died like flies. But it is the Pakistan military's duplicity that bears primary responsibility for the deaths.

Pakistan military cannot demand an understanding from the rest of the world aboutf the loss of Pakistani lives anymore than the killer of one's parents can demand understanding because he is an orphan.

Pakistan's wounds are self-inflicted. The gangrene needs to be surgically removed for the sake of Pakistan itself. Taking out the nuclear weapons facility would be a step in the right direction. It would make Pakistan and the rest of the world a lot safer than they are today.