History’s fools: Lessons for Pak, Imran Khan from failed romance with US

Realpolitik has taught Imran Khan a lesson he missed at Oxford — never put all your eggs in the US basket. One day, the eggs will break and so will your heart.

Just before his bilateral talks with Donald Trump in Washington on Monday (September 23), Pakistan’s Prime Minister gave the world a peek into his psyche that seems tormented by regret over his country’s doomed romance with the US. He regretted his country’s “blunder” of supporting the US war on terror fought primarily in his own backyard, rued the resultant “$-200 billion” hit to the economy and, like a dejected Romeo, lamented the fact that in spite of all this, his country is being blamed for the failures in Afghanistan.

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If he had been in a poetic mood, Khan may have delved into Mohammad Iqbal’s famous Shikwa (complaint to Allah) and cried: Barq girti hai to bechare mussalmanon par (lightning strikes only the hapless Muslims). Or, he could have sung mournfully like Madhuri Dikshit, crying “tabah ho gaye (we were ruined)” You’ve got to feel for Khan. Since the dawn of Pakistan, its leaders believed in just two political philosophies: fight with India, suck up to the Americans.

Just a few months after its birth, Pakistan plonked itself into the US cradle, became its client state and part of all the western alliances — Seato, Cento, MNNA… you name it. In the 80s, it became more loyal than the king by becoming a party to Operation Cyclone — a CIA plan to counter the Soviet bloc — by turning its land into a training ground for jihadis.

There is a touch of irony to Khan’s bout of self-flagellation in the US. It has been triggered by Trump’s brothers-in-arms act with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — the two leaders did a victory lap of a stadium in Houston with their palms intertwined — in Texas. Since what goes around, comes around, it would be relevant to point out that the script of Pakistan’s doomed affair with the US was first written in Texas by its flamboyant Congressman Charlie Wilson, known as the Winston Churchill of America’s Afghan policy.

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Wilson was single-handedly responsible for making the US Congress agree to the idea of pumping dollars into Pakistan to arm and train Mujahidins to launch Stinger missiles at the Russians. For over a decade, he sent hundreds of millions of dollars to the Mujahidins, saying he wanted to make sure Afghans could do everything possible to kill Russians, as painfully as possible. Wilson, who loved cocaine, women and Pakistan, would have turned in his grave on hearing the US President’s vow to wipe out the very monster he created, as painfully as possible, with the help of India.

Wilson, of course, is not around to witness the turnaround in geopolitics, but Khan has to bear the burden of this painful sight. So, it is natural that his repressed emotions will come out once in a while. But, Khan should have known that when it comes to its own interests, the US is adept at using other countries as a disposable sheath of tissues. It props up allies in different regions of the world depending on its extant geopolitical interests and then dumps them unceremoniously, sometimes it even turns against them.

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In the 70s and 80s, it channelled millions of dollars in the Gulf to help Iraq take on the post-revolution Republic of Iran. Later, it turned against the leaders it had propped up in Iraq and levelled the country, creating circumstances for the rise of al-Qaeda and later Daesh (Isis). This was almost a perfect prelude to what was to later happen in Afghanistan, where the US has made so many U-turns that its current ally, President Ashraf Ghani, doesn’t know if the Taliban are now closer to Trump than his own government. In fact, Khan should be happy that the US has not yet bombed his country into Stone Age, a courtesy it has extended to almost all its allies.

Pakistan didn’t learn from the 1971 disaster either. Convinced that Uncle Sam would not let its toady disintegrate or bullied by India, Pakistan started an ill-fated war with its neighbour on two fronts. After making a lot of noise, the US government sent its 7th fleet to the Indian Ocean, indicating that it will attack India. But, after circling the subcontinent and being circled by Russian submarines, the US fleet went back to its harbours, leaving Yahya Khan at the mercy of the Indian army.

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The short point: The US has always known where its interest lie. And these interests keep changing. (Modi should note). There isn’t much Khan do about his country’s troubled tango with the US. He can’t rollback the years, go back into time and thwart Wilson’s war or stop his predecessors from sitting in the US lap for financial aid and waging a war against India. He can only introspect and regret the fatal US hug that has all but ruined his country, its ego and its economy.

To his credit, Khan has started talking more and more as a leader who knows his limits and frustrations. He has realised that the Ummah is a myth — his calls to Islamic countries for intervention in Kashmir have been rebuffed. He has understood that Pakistan’s nuclear bluff doesn’t work anymore, primarily because the world knows his countrymen are wise enough to not start a war of assured annihilation. He has learnt that allowing someone to rear snakes in your own backyard is rank stupidity — one day they will bite the hand that feeds them.

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There is just one more vital lesson left for Khan to learn. On Monday, while lamenting the breakdown of peace between Trump and the Taliban, he opined: “Look, there is not going to be a military solution. For 19 years if you have not been able to succeed, you’re not going to be able to succeed in another 19 years.”

Exactly, Mr Khan. Now, how about applying this lesson to Kashmir?