Should America ditch Pakistan for India?

[Dauphin]

Please refer to my date of birth and stop being a ****wit

Is that a subtle way of saying you were around at the same time as the first Viceroy?

Brits don't feel shame over Indian subjugation - the acquisition of Indian cuisine justified the means.

[trev]

Pakistan is a country with a large population, slow moving beauracracy that changes slowly to new circumstances. The Taliban in Pakistan is its own worst enemy and through its actions is slowly changing the peoples, gov'ts and beauracracy's atitude to it. It takes time, but the support for the Taliban and its supporters in the ISI has eroded considerably and will continue to erode due to its terrorism and attacks on the Pakistan military and people. This erosion of support will allow the Pakistan gov't to suppress the Taliban over a period of time (several years).
The bigger issue is the endemic corruption in the Pakistan political system. The only way to get enough money to fight an election campaign is through corruption, therefore all winners of elections there are corrupt, they need to find some way of ending that need for corruption.
Saudi Arabia after 9/11 successfully faced down an extremist Islamic attack on it despite many sympathies for the extremists in sections of its gov't and a country that initially seemed vulnerable to collapse. It is probable that Pakistan will likewise face down this threat successfully, but will of course face many other problems that will linger and affect its ability to stabilise for many decades. The simple fact is that Islamic extremism can never appeal to a broad section of a country and therefore cannot succeed in the long term.

[Wezil]

It takes time, but the support for the Taliban and its supporters in the ISI has eroded considerably and will continue to erode due to its terrorism and attacks on the Pakistan military and people.

You do realise these attacks are a response to the US mandated crackdown on the tribal areas? An alternate narrative is that the P- people will tire of internal violence instigated by foreign powers and hold the foreigners to blame.

[trev]

You do realise these attacks are a response to the US mandated crackdown on the tribal areas? An alternate narrative is that the P- people will tire of internal violence instigated by foreign powers and hold the foreigners to blame.

The attacks are primarily extremists trying to extend their reach in Pakistan. Extremists do not need the excuse you offer and would act similarly without the USA nearby in Afghanistan, maybe it adds slightly to their support. You are right in that they are tiring of foreigners though and therefore some tribes are beginning to violently eject the Taliban, Al Quaeda and their foreign supporters. America needs to limit its operation in Pakistan to the minimum required to limit the effectiveness of the insurgents in Afghanistan and leave the Pakistan batle to pakistan. Pakistan can win it alone and will.

[Wezil]

The attacks are primarily extremists trying to extend their reach in Pakistan.

BS. They existed for decades in the autonomous regions without bombing the rest of the country. The last decade changed that. The US pressure on P- has caused that government to start forays into previous "no go" areas. The religious nuts in this area are responding with a campaign to destabilize the government (the people attacking them).

The plan will work. The current president (Mr 10%) will fall and the military will once again take control. Osama has already vowed not to continue paying off the P- military therefore the military will have no further reason to incite the local Taliban (and ilk).

[SlowwHand]

Why is it that when Pakistan immigrants and Indian immigrants get here, they get along fine? Better than fine. There's a great proliferation of Indy-Pak restaurants.

[HalfLotus]

India is fairly cozy with Russia and China, no way those two would stand for our military encirclement of them to extend there.

[BeBMan]

[KrazyHorse]

India and China are "cozy"?



You're a ****ing idiot.

[KrazyHorse]

What ****ing world do you inhabit, you ****? Is it one where the Indians and Chinese haven't fought 2 or 3 wars against each other in the last 60 years? How about the Dalai Lama and the serious territorial disagreement they have with each other?

[Dr Strangelove]

Pakistan seems to be making steady gains against the Taleban and al-Qaeda. If there is to be any chance of eliminating al-Qaeda we need the Pakistanis to keep excluding them from more and more of their territory. Therefore our alliance with Pakistan is more important than our relationship with India.

Besides, India is more important to us as a trade partner than a military ally, with Pakistan the situation is vice versa. There's no reason we can't have both.

[HalfLotus]

China and India are very much on the same page in terms of regional economic policies, and have signed numerous agreements to that end in the past few years. Their relations have improved significantly.

It is naive to take the Tibet/Dalai situation at face value. I'm sure the leadership in the region knows that it is proxy interference by the CIA. Most westerners should know that too.

If the US tries to delve further into the region, China, India, and Russia will most definitely set aside their differences to thwart more US military shenanigans.

[BeBMan]

Russia is so unhappy about a US engagement that they let US military planes from and to Afghanistan use their airspace

[KrazyHorse]

China and India are very much on the same page in terms of regional economic policies, and have signed numerous agreements to that end in the past few years. Their relations have improved significantly.

It is naive to take the Tibet/Dalai situation at face value. I'm sure the leadership in the region knows that it is proxy interference by the CIA. Most westerners should know that too.

If the US tries to delve further into the region, China, India, and Russia will most definitely set aside their differences to thwart more US military shenanigans.

You're even more of a moron than I'd previously suspected.

[Wezil]

It is naive to take the Tibet/Dalai situation at face value. I'm sure the leadership in the region knows that it is proxy interference by the CIA. Most westerners should know that too.

Just wait until they find out he's a SPECTRE double agent.