The divide between the USA and Pakistan is not the making of President Zadari or his late wife. They have been dedicated to bringing justice and democracy to Pakistan for generations. The problem lies in the underlying fear that still exists between communist countries and the USA.
There are still remnants of the Cold War and it has literally torn Pakistan into factions. There is just too much power in Pakistan due to nuclear proliferation. The nuclear footprint of Asia is huge. While it is somewhat understandable Pakistan would seek nuclear weapons given its neighborhood, actually having that capacity it causing its instability. Pakistan needs to remove its nuclear weapons from its military capacity and join a global process of non-proliferation.
When one considers the history of the region, it has been the epicenter of hostilities with all the major powers, Russia, the USA and now China. Then there is India. The attacks into Mumbai were deployed directly out of Pakistan by extremists. I am fairly confident the tensions that spawned those attacks was due to the chronic suffering and struggles of those in Kashmir. How are the lives of people in this region going to change and become productive if there is not a move to 'disincentive' the power struggle within that country?
President Zadari has a family lineage devoted to bringing peace to Pakistan. Enough already. When the impossible is impossible no matter how much is done to bring peace and security thorough democracy and prosperity it needs to stop. Pakistan and the USA are becoming enemies and not allies.
There are five nuclear nations in the world. There should not be any more. Nuclear military capacity brings huge challenges to a country's ability to support the weaponry and keep it secure. Paksitan has too many problems with poverty to even consider maintaining its nuclear capacity. The people have to come first, not the strong arm tactics of militarization to match every other legitimate nuclear power. The Russians and the USA have continued to remove nuclear capacity from their arsenals for decades now. The process is ongoing. Why would we expect less from any other nation?
China has yet to make the leap of faith the USA will not engage in the war to end all wars. The USA has had a one nation policy with China for as long as I can remember. The continued arming of Taiwan is due to China continuing aggressions rather than peace. That paradigm is a matter of power struggles set up a long time ago. When it comes to reversing the mistrust between the USA and China there still exists too much fear to make the commitment to peace and prosperity.
The USA is not innocent. The past regime in the White House was the most hostile in a long time and unpredictably so. The Bush/Cheney administration alarmed the American people, yet, when it comes to removing such power players within our democracy the people of this country treat it as a game. It is not a game. It is a political reality the USA has yet to contain through the understanding of its own footprint and how tensions escalate rapidly with simple words. The Bush/Cheney regime were insecure in the understanding of peace, they rather destroy everything that was 'not of them' then learn to live within it and improve on relations.
I don't write this for political purposes, I do this because it is the reality of the world. In the case of Pakistan, the problems are incredible in their dimensions. The nuclear capacity is only one reason to be concerned about global peace. The floods have destroyed lives and have reset the idea of community. The confusion alone is enough to bring about opportunity for extremists to once again entrench themselves among the populous. But, the poverty and suffering is unending. When does a country's leadership finally have the ability to unify its people and move forward with an understanding of common interests? It is time the USA remove itself as part of the instability in Pakistan. The divisions of the country run too deep and the faux loyalities have to end. We don't belong there anymore.
I wish President Zardari a speedy recovery and I hope his people realize the leader they have before it is too late for them.
As far as the floods, we all know what caused them and the USA's economy of fossil fuel dependence has to stop as well. Here again we are running into impossible people with power to literally change the climate of the world. The USA has problems, too. It needs to come to terms with the political follies of its own democracy.
