Mike Pouraryan
The Continued Challenges of US Foreign Policy: A Retrospective
One of the driving forces behind "Outsiders" was what happened to Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. I continue to be horrified as the War Cost Clock continues to click on nonstop. By this time next week, it will be at almost 1.1 Trillion Dollars. It is, frankly, irresponsible and borderline criminal.
The talk of the town over the two weeks in official Washington and the Corporate Media has been regarding Bob Woodward's Latest Blockbuster on the Afghan War. I have been reviewing excepts and have been shocked at how chaotic and rudderless the policy review has been and the total lack of respect that the key players have towards each other. Although the President made the call, it is clear that the viability of the policy continues to be questioned.
One of the most troubling aspects of Woodward's reporting has been on Hamid Karzai. I have constantly attacked Hamid Karzai throughout the "Outisders" network because I knew from day one what a fraud he was. Now, it turns out that he is actually been diagnosed as a Manic Depressive. This is as people continue to die and money continues to be spent with no end in sight. What is the exit strategy? What is "winning"? I am yet to get any indication of it.
Moving on to Iraq, there is yet to be a Government. Allawi just rejected Maliki as Prime Minister. This is as the instability continues and people continue to die. This is, of course, as the Kurds continue to do their thing. The stories about the Tawke Oil Field and how key players in Iraq (Jay Garner, Zalmay Khalizad and Peter Galbraith) have been in the business of making money off Iraq. Although Iraq is being touted as a success, the fact remains that nothing could be further from the truth.
Pakistan, though, is the biggest tragedy. It is so because of what has happened as a result of the floods. The only true thing that the Foreign Minister of Pakistan noted was the biblical nature of the floods. The reports of mal-nutrition and chorea in the so-called camps shows the absolute bankrupcy of the current gang running Pakistan. I was shocked beyond words when I listened to a talk by Tariq ALi about the refusal of the Pakistani Air Force to provide helicopters from the Health Department of the Country. This was denied becuase the base near Jacobabad was being used by the United States to launch drones. There was also another startling statistic by Fatima Bhutto that goes to the total moral bankrupcy at hand. 74% of monies allocated for dam construction was siphoned off by the corruption endemic in Pakistan. The courage of Pakistani Talk Show hosts calling for a revolution is something that the current Pakistani Ruling Gang should take notice.
There has to be a radical change in the way the policy is conducted. As it stands now, one wonders if that is in fact going to happen or not.
The talk of the town over the two weeks in official Washington and the Corporate Media has been regarding Bob Woodward's Latest Blockbuster on the Afghan War. I have been reviewing excepts and have been shocked at how chaotic and rudderless the policy review has been and the total lack of respect that the key players have towards each other. Although the President made the call, it is clear that the viability of the policy continues to be questioned.
One of the most troubling aspects of Woodward's reporting has been on Hamid Karzai. I have constantly attacked Hamid Karzai throughout the "Outisders" network because I knew from day one what a fraud he was. Now, it turns out that he is actually been diagnosed as a Manic Depressive. This is as people continue to die and money continues to be spent with no end in sight. What is the exit strategy? What is "winning"? I am yet to get any indication of it.
Moving on to Iraq, there is yet to be a Government. Allawi just rejected Maliki as Prime Minister. This is as the instability continues and people continue to die. This is, of course, as the Kurds continue to do their thing. The stories about the Tawke Oil Field and how key players in Iraq (Jay Garner, Zalmay Khalizad and Peter Galbraith) have been in the business of making money off Iraq. Although Iraq is being touted as a success, the fact remains that nothing could be further from the truth.
There has to be a radical change in the way the policy is conducted. As it stands now, one wonders if that is in fact going to happen or not.
