The Pakistan Problem

The Democratic Party doesn’t really have a reputation as the party of war, and in recent years, the Republicans have painted Democrats as lily academics, scared to get their hands dirtied by hard work or the blood of war. Basically, the general opinion of some Americans (as far as I can piece together from political campaigns and opinion polls of the recent past) is that Democrats are weak and need the Republicans to defend them (and the country).

President Obama recently had the opportunity to change that when he dealt with Somali pirates that attacked a US registered ship and took its captain hostage. Mr. Obama ordered Navy SEALS to use whatever force they deemed necessary to rescue the captain, and on April 13, SEAL snipers killed 3 pirates, rescuing the captain. President Obama made it known that if you attack an American, the consequences will be swift and fierce – and I applaud him for that, as did many Republicans that feared he would be a soft leader.

He needs to maintain that fierceness, though.

Pakistan appears to have completely given up their fight against Taliban insurgents as the Taliban move closer and closer to Pakistan’s capitol city of Islamabad. As the insurgency approaches to the capitol, the Pakistani government barely lifts a finger to stop the advance. Last week the Taliban took control of the Buner district, a mere 60 miles from Islamabad and the government’s response was to send constabulary forces (not military, mind you) to lose an almost non-contested fight for control of the district.

It’s not as if Pakistan is lacking in military prowess. They’re a recognized nuclear state (remember the India/Pakistan nuclear tests?), and a major power in the region. Oh, and they receive one billion dollars a year from the US in military aid to boost their standing army of 500,000 people and help them fight off insurgencies like this (we provide them aid to help maintain and protect their fragile democratic government).

The idea of rogue groups having nuclear weapons is frightening enough, but the idea of Iran going nuclear AND the Taliban taking over an already nuclear state is outright horrifying.

Now, I’m a sissy Democrat and opposed the war in Iraq, but we’re invested quite heavily in the region. We may not be well liked, and it may not be right of us, but we’re still the world’s super power and consider it our duty to try to keep peace in the region, often by our political and military might. 

President Obama will have to make tough decisions throughout his presidency, indeed he has had to make tough decisions from Day 1. But his decision on how best to deal with the Pakistan situation could well shape the course of his tenure as leader of the free world. Not being a high ranking military or political figure, I can only offer a mere civilian’s (and an urban Democrat, at that) thoughts to the matter.

The US needs to take a military stand in Pakistan.

Yes, that would create incredible tension between our two governments and it would likely outrage many in the region. But the two days leading to the announcement that the Taliban took Buner were the two of deadliest days in Iraq. We have been bombing lawless regions in Pakistan where terrorists and Afghan insurgents are hiding out. Is it that hard to believe that we Pakistan plays a huge role in potentially keeping peace in the region? I don’t think so.

I don’t know how, exactly, this military presence should be made in Pakistan, and I’ll leave that up to our military leaders, but I do know that Pakistan’s democracy cannot fall to the Taliban. It would cause regional upheaval and give an extreme and unpredictable group state-controlled nuclear weapons and legitimacy. And it could very likely cause another war between India and Pakistan.

Here’s hoping this problem is dealt with swiftly and effectively.

Nuclear North Korea

President Obama just finished up his first G20 meeting and a trip that took him through Europe to Turkey and ended in Iraq. This was the first time he was could showcase his international political skills as President.

But the real test to President Obama and Hillary Clinton has come from the always troublesome of North Korea. In the past few weeks North Korea has been preparing to put a satellite into orbit using a three stage rocket.

Despite urging from nearly every country with global clout, including (sort of) China and Russia not to go through with it, North Korea launched the rocket towards space.

Now, if you get your news from sources within North Korea, you’d be under the impression that the launch was a success and a satellite is currently hurtling around in low earth orbit while sending patriotic music back to their Dear Leader (not even kidding, they have to say this when referencing him. Punishable by imprisonment), Kim Jong-Il. If you read uncensored news sources, you’d be under the impression that all three rocket stages and the payload fell back to Earth, not making it into orbit.

The question now becomes: how should the world respond? Most countries see this launch as a blatant attempt by North Korea to show that they can launch an ICBM and reach faraway targets, presumably with a nuclear warhead attached (because, remember, they’ve been trying to become nuclear capable for some time now and have been in six nation talks to stop the program).

Barack Obama has appealed to the UN Security Council to take action against North Korea. Probably the response will be watered down by Russia and China. The goal here should be to use this as a way to further Mr. Obama’s desire to end nuclear proliferation by citing the dangers or rogue regimes achieving nuclear capabilities and ignoring the safety of the world.

Despite the ties between Russia and North Korea, I think that North Korea’s blatant dismissal of international wishes can be a way to convince Russia we live in a time when the possession of nuclear weapons by rogue states or groups is increasingly more dangerous than the possession of nuclear weapons by nations that seem to have enough sense not to use them.

The takeaway from this situation, I believe, is that North Korea is a dangerous country, akin to a wild dog, that desperately wants to be taken seriously and they need to be punished – and not taken seriously. Ideally, Mr. Obama can appeal to North Korea’s allies/suppliers and use the influence of Iran, Russia, and China over North Korea to punish Kim Jong-Il and find a common issue that can act as a base to rebuild relations.

North Korea attempted to use the launch as a means to increase their political capital, but I think that Mr. Obama should use the launch as a means to leverage his own international political capital to pull together countries that have before been seen as enemies and strengthen America’s place as the super power.