Thursday, September 15, 2011

The Evolution of a Pakistani Militant Network


The Evolution of a Pakistani Militant Network is republished with permission of STRATFOR.

By Sean Noonan and Scott Stewart

For many years now, STRATFOR has been carefully following the evolution of “Lashkar-e-Taiba” (LeT), the name of a Pakistan-based jihadist group that was formed in 1990 and existed until about 2001, when it was officially abolished. In subsequent years, however, several major attacks were attributed to LeT, including the November 2008 coordinated assault in Mumbai, India. Two years before that attack we wrote that the group, or at least its remnant networks, were nebulous but still dangerous. This nebulous nature was highlighted in November 2008 when the “Deccan Mujahideen,” a previously unknown group, claimed responsibility for the Mumbai attacks.

While the most famous leaders of the LeT networks, Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, are under house arrest and in jail awaiting trial, respectively, LeT still poses a significant threat. It’s a threat that comes not so much from LeT as a single jihadist force but LeT as a concept, a banner under which various groups and individuals can gather, coordinate and successfully conduct attacks.

Such is the ongoing evolution of the jihadist movement. And as this movement becomes more diffuse, it is important to look at brand-name jihadist groups like LeT, al Qaeda, the Haqqani network and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan as loosely affiliated networks more than monolithic entities. With a debate under way between and within these groups over who to target and with major disruptions of their operations by various military and security forces, the need for these groups to work together in order to carry out sensational attacks has become clear. The result is a new, ad hoc template for jihadist operations that is not easily defined and even harder for government leaders to explain to their constituents and reporters to explain to their readers.

Thus, brand names like Lashkar-e-Taiba (which means Army of the Pure) will continue to be used in public discourse while the planning and execution of high-profile attacks grows ever more complex. While the threat posed by these networks to the West and to India may not be strategic, the possibility of disparate though well-trained militants working together and even with organized-crime elements does suggest a continuing tactical threat that is worth examining in more detail.

The Network Formerly Known as Lashkar-e-Taiba

The history of the group of militants and preachers who created LeT and their connections with other groups helps us understand how militant groups develop and work together. Markaz al-Dawa wal-Irshad (MDI) and its militant wing, LeT, was founded with the help of transnational militants based in Afghanistan and aided by the Pakistani government. This allowed it to become a financially-independent social-service organization that was able to divert a significant portion of its funding to its militant wing.

The first stirrings of militancy within this network began in 1982, when Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi traveled from Punjab, Pakistan, to Paktia, Afghanistan, to fight with Deobandi militant groups. Lakhvi, who is considered to have been the military commander of what was known as LeT and is awaiting trial for his alleged role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, adheres to an extreme version of the Ahl-e-Hadith (AeH) interpretation of Islam, which is the South Asian version of the Salafist-Wahhabist trend in the Arab world. In the simplest of terms, AeH is more conservative and traditional than the doctrines of most militant groups operating along the Durand Line. Militants there tend to follow an extreme brand of the Deobandi branch of South Asian Sunni Islam, similar to the extreme ideology of al Qaeda’s Salafist jihadists.

Lakhvi created his own AeH-inspired militant group in 1984, and a year later two academics, Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and Zafar Iqbal, created Jamaat ul-Dawa, an Islamist AeH social organization. Before these groups were formed there was already a major AeH political organization called Jamaat AeH, led by the most well-known Pakistani AeH scholar, the late Allama Ehsan Elahi Zaheer, who was assassinated in Lahore in 1987. His death allowed Saeed and Lakhvi’s movement to take off. It is important to note that AeH adherents comprise a very small percentage of Pakistanis and that those following the movement launched by Saeed and Lakhvi represent only a portion of those who ascribe to AeH’s ideology.

In 1986, Saeed and Lakhvi joined forces, creating Markaz al-Dawa wal-Irshad (MDI) in Muridke, near Lahore, Pakistan. MDI had 17 founders, including Saeed and Lakhvi as well as transnational militants originally from places like Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian territories. While building facilities in Muridke for social services, MDI also established its first militant training camp in Paktia, then another in Kunar, Afghanistan, in 1987. Throughout the next three decades, these camps often were operated in cooperation with other militant groups, including al Qaeda.

MDI was established to accomplish two related missions. The first involved peaceful, above-board activities like medical care, education, charitable work and proselytizing. Its second and equally important mission was military jihad, which the group considered obligatory for all Muslims. The group first fought in Afghanistan along with Jamaat al-Dawa al-Quran wal-Suna, a hardline Salafist group that shared MDI’s ideology. Jamil al-Rahman, the group’s leader at the time, provided support to MDI’s first militant group and continued to work with MDI until his death in 1987.

The deaths of al-Rahman and Jamaat AeH leader Allama Ehsan Elahi Zaheer in 1987 gave the leaders of the nascent MDI the opportunity to supplant Jamaat al-Dawa al-Quran wal-Suna and Jamaat AeH and grow quickly.

In 1990, the growing MDI officially launched LeT as its militant wing under the command of Lakhvi, while Saeed remained emir of the overall organization. This was when LeT first began to work with other groups operating in Kashmir, since the Soviets had left Afghanistan and many of the foreign mujahideen there were winding down their operations. In 1992, when the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was finally defeated, many foreign militants who had fought in Afghanistan left to fight in other places like Kashmir. LeT is also known to have sent fighters to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Tajikistan, but Kashmir became the group’s primary focus.

MDI/LeT explained its concentration on Kashmir by arguing that it was the closest Muslim territory that was occupied by non-believers. Since MDI/LeT was a Punjabi entity, Kashmir was also the most accessible theater of jihad for the group. Due to the group’s origin and the history of the region, Saeed and other members also bore personal grudges against India. In the 1990s, MDI/LeT also received substantial support from the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence directorate (ISI) and military, which had its own interest in supporting operations in Kashmir. At this point, MDI/LeT developed relations with other groups operating in Kashmir, such as Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Harkat-ul-Jihad e-Islami and Jaish-e-Mohammad. Unlike these groups, however, MDI/LeT was considered easier to control because its AeH sect of Islam was not very large and did not have the support of the main AeH groups. With Pakistan’s support came certain restraints, and many LeT trainees said that as part of their indoctrination into the group they were made to promise never to attack Pakistan.

LeT expanded its targeting beyond Kashmir to the rest of India in 1992, after the destruction of the Babri Masjid mosque during communal rioting in Uttar Pradesh state, and similar unrest in Mumbai and Gujarat. LeT sent Azam Cheema, who Saeed and Iqbal knew from their university days, to recruit fighters in India. Indian militants from a group called Tanzim Islahul Muslimeen were recruited into LeT, which staged its first major attack with five coordinated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on trains in Mumbai and Hyderabad on Dec. 5-6, 1993, the first anniversary of the destruction of the Babri Masjid mosque. These are the first attacks in non-Kashmir India that can be linked to LeT. The group used Tanzim Islahul Muslimeen networks in the 1990s and later developed contacts with the Student Islamic Movement of India and its offshoot militant group the Indian Mujahideen.

The Student Islamic Movement of India/Indian Mujahideen network was useful in recruiting and co-opting operatives, but it is a misconception to think these indigenous Indian groups worked directly for LeT. In some cases, Pakistanis from LeT provided IED training and other expertise to Indian militants who carried out attacks, but these groups, while linked to the LeT network, maintained their autonomy. The most recent attacks in India — Sept. 7 in Delhi and July 13 in Mumbai — probably have direct ties to these networks.

Between 1993 and 1995, LeT received its most substantial state support from Pakistan, which helped build up LeT’s military capability by organizing and training its militants and providing weapons, equipment, campaign guidance and border-crossing support in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. LeT operated camps on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border as well as in Kashmir, in places like Muzaffarabad.

At the same time, MDI built up a major social-services network, building schools and hospitals and setting up charitable foundations throughout Pakistan, though centered in Punjab. Its large complex in Muridke included schools, a major hospital and a mosque. Some of its funding came through official Saudi channels while other funding came through non-official channels via Saudi members of MDI such as Abdul Rahman al-Surayhi and Mahmoud Mohammad Ahmed Bahaziq, who reportedly facilitated much of the funding to establish the original Muridke complex.

As MDI focused on dawah, or the preaching of Islam, it simultaneously developed an infrastructure that was financially self-sustaining. For example, it established Al-Dawah schools throughout Pakistan that charged fees to those who could afford it and it began taxing its adherents. It also became well-known for its charitable activities, placing donation boxes throughout Pakistan. The group developed a reputation as an efficient organization that provides quality social services, and this positive public perception has made it difficult for the Pakistani government to crack down on it.

On July 12, 1999, LeT carried out its first fidayeen, or suicide commando, attack in Kashmir. Such attacks focus on inflicting as much damage as possible before the attackers are killed. Their goal also was to engender as much fear as possible and introduce a new intensity to the conflict there. This attack occurred during the Kargil war, when Pakistani soldiers along with its sponsored militants fought a pitched battle against Indian troops in the Kargil district of Kashmir. This was the height of Pakistani state support for the various militant groups operating in Kashmir, and it was a critical, defining period for the LeT, which shifted its campaign from one focused exclusively on Kashmir to one focused on India as a whole.

State support for LeT and other militant groups declined after the Kargil war but fidayeen attacks continued and began to occur outside of Kashmir. In the late 1990s and into the 2000s, there was much debate within LeT about its targeting. When LeT was constrained operationally in Kashmir by its ISI handlers, some members of the group wanted to conduct attacks in other places. It’s unclear at this point which attacks had Pakistani state support and which did not, but the timing of many in relation to the ebb and flow of the Pakistani-Indian political situation indicates Pakistani support and control, even if it came only from factions within the ISI or military. The first LeT attack outside of Kashmir took place on Dec. 22, 2000, against the Red Fort in Delhi.

The Post-9/11 Name Game

In the months following 9/11, many Pakistan-based jihadist groups were “banned” by the Pakistani government. They were warned beforehand and moved their funds into physical assets or under different names. LeT claimed that it split with MDI, with new LeT leader Maula Abdul Wahid al-Kashmiri saying the group now was strictly a Kashmiri militant organization. Despite these claims, however, Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi was still considered supreme commander. MDI was dissolved and replaced by Jamaat-ul-Dawa, the original name used by Saeed and Iqbal’s group. Notably, both al-Kashmiri and Lakhvi were also part of the Jamaat-ul-Dawa executive board, indicating that close ties remained between the two groups.

In January 2002, LeT was declared illegal, and the Pakistani government began to use the word “defunct” to describe it. In reality it wasn’t defunct; it had begun merely operating under different names. The group’s capability to carry out attacks was temporarily limited, probably on orders from the Pakistani government through Jamaat-ul-Dawa’s leadership.

At this point, LeT’s various factions began to split and re-network in various ways. For example, Abdur Rehman Syed, a senior operational planner involved in David Headley’s surveillance of Mumbai targets, left LeT around 2004. As a major in the Pakistani army he had been ordered to fight fleeing Taliban on the Durand Line in 2001. He refused and joined LeT. In 2004 he began working with Ilyas Kashmiri and Harkat-ul-Jihad e-Islami. Two other senior LeT leaders, former Pakistani Maj. Haroon Ashiq and his brother Capt. Kurram Ashiq, had left Pakistan’s Special Services Group to join LeT around 2001. By 2003 they had exited the group and were criticizing Lakhvi, the former LeT military commander.

Despite leaving the larger organization, former members of the MDI/LeT still often use the name “Lashkar-e-Taiba” in their public rhetoric when describing their various affiliations, even though they do not consider their new organizations to be offshoots of LeT. The same difficulties observers face in trying to keep track of these spun-off factions has come to haunt the factions themselves, which have a branding problem as they try to raise money or recruit fighters. New names don’t have the same power as the well-established LeT brand, and many of the newer organizations continue to use the LeT moniker in some form.

Operating Outside of South Asia

Organizations and networks that were once part of LeT have demonstrated the capability to carry out insurgent attacks in Afghanistan, small-unit attacks in Kashmir, fidayeen assaults in Kashmir and India and small IED attacks throughout the region. Mumbai in 2008 was the most spectacular attack by an LeT offshoot on an international scale, but to date the network has not demonstrated the capability to conduct complex attacks outside the region. That said, David Headley’s surveillance efforts in Denmark and other plots linked to LeT training camps and factions do seem to have been inspired by al Qaeda’s transnational jihadist influence.

To date, these operations have failed, but they are worth noting. These transnational LeT-linked plotters include the following:

  • The Virginia Jihad Network.
  • Dhiren Barot (aka Abu Eisa al-Hind), a Muslim convert of Indian origin who grew up in the United Kingdom, was arrested there in 2004 and was accused of a 2004 plot to detonate vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices in underground parking lots and surveilling targets in the United States in 2000-2001 for al Qaeda. He originally learned his craft in LeT training camps in Pakistan.
  • David Hicks, an Australian who was in LeT camps in 1999 and studied at one of their madrassas. LeT provided a letter of introduction to al Qaeda, which he joined in January 2001. He was captured in Afghanistan following the U.S.-led invasion.
  • Omar Khyam of the United Kingdom, who attended LeT training camps in 2000 before his family brought him home.
  • The so-called “Crevice Network,” members of which were arrested in 2004 and charged with attempting to build fertilizer-based IEDs in the United Kingdom under the auspices of al Qaeda.
  • Willie Brigette, who had been connected to LeT networks in France and was trying to contact a bombmaker in Australia in order to carry out attacks there when he was arrested in October 2003.

While these cases suggest that the LeT threat persists, they also indicate that the transnational threat posed by those portions of the network focused on attacks outside of South Asia does not appear to be as potent as the attack in Mumbai in 2008. One reason is the Pakistani support offered to those who focus on operations in South Asia and particularly those who target India. Investigations of the Mumbai attack revealed that current or former ISI officers provided a considerable amount of training, operational support and even real-time guidance to the Mumbai attack team.

It is unclear how far up the Pakistani command structure this support goes. The most important point, though, is that Pakistani support in the Mumbai attack provided the group responsible with capabilities that have not been demonstrated by other parts of the network in other plots. In fact, without this element of state support, many transnational plots linked to the LeT network have been forced to rely on the same kind of “Kramer jihadists” in the West that the al Qaeda core has employed in recent years.

However, while these networks have not shown the capability to conduct a spectacular attack since Mumbai, they continue to plan. With both the capability and intention in place, it is probably only a matter of time before they conduct additional attacks in India. The historical signature of LeT attacks has been the use of armed assault tactics — taught originally by the ISI and institutionalized by LeT doctrine — so attacks of this sort can be expected. An attack of this sort outside of South Asia would be a stretch for the groups that make up the post-LeT networks, but the cross-pollination that is occurring among the various jihadist actors in Pakistan could help facilitate planning and even operations if they pool resources. Faced with the full attention of global counterterrorism efforts, such cooperation may be one of the only ways that the transnational jihad can hope to gain any traction, especially as its efforts to foster independent grassroots jihadists have been largely ineffective.



The Evolution of a Pakistani Militant Network is republished with permission of STRATFOR.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Photo: India-Pakistan Border From Space

Reuters/NASA/Handout

See the orange line? This is what the border between Pakistan and India, floodlit for surveillance purposes, looks like at night, from space.

The bundles of light in the photo, which was taken from north to south, are the following cities: Delhi (top center), Srinagar (left), Lahore (center, just below the border line), and Islamabad (bottom center.)

The picture, taken by the International Space Station’s Expedition 28 crew, was shot on Aug. 21 and recently released



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Sid Mehta
Dubai, UAE
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India Pakistan Border from Space, Incredible India, India Pakistan Relations, Sid Mehta,
Siddharth Mehta, Sidharth Mehta, Blog,

Monday, September 12, 2011

Political Crap - Mayawati and her Hawaai Chappals







Special Reporter,
Reporting from MayaNagri (erstwhile Lucknow) exclusively for Aam Aadmi Times.

It isn’t often that we get to see for ourselves the lavish lifestyles of our rich and famous politicians, given the high security walls that they build around themselves. Though, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati has, of course, been quite open when it comes to wasting state resources on building numerous fanciful statues for herself. Obviously, the pigeons and crows who shit on those statues each day, give Mayawati quite a distinguished look, which she thoroughly deserves.

In an exclusive interview to the Aam Aadmi Times, Maya, got candid, and clarified many accusations made against her in recent times, including the exposure given to her sandals by WikiLeaks. Oh by the way, we call her Maya as she was adamant we call her by that name (Sources in her political party, BSP say "she always wanted to be the dream girl of Shahrukh Khan in the movie 'Dil Toh Pagal Hai'" !! )

Looking, not surprisingly, ‘stung’ by confidential US diplomatic cables which painted an unflattering picture of her, chief minister Mayawati chose to hit out at WikiLeaks and called its "owner" - Julian Assange - a madman who should be locked up in an asylum.

She went on to add “I don’t even wear Sandals... This is totally false, ridiculous and outrageous. All my life, I have always stuck to ‘Hawaai Chappals’, and not Sandals”. When asked if the private jet had ‘Hawaai Chappals’ , she said “Yes, obviously! Hawaai Chappal toh ‘Hawaai Jahaaj’ se hie aaenge naa, gaadi se thodi aaenge”.

She also claimed Assange was anti-dalit, since as per her dalits do not wear sandals. “Hum dalit sirf hawaai chappal pehente hai, sandals toh general category ke liye hota hai”.


'Maya's hawaai chappals just landed straight to her feet'


Assange, responding to Maya, in a late night exclusive to Aam Aadmi Times said “she is welcome to send her private jet to England to collect me, where I have been detained against my will, under house arrest, for the last 272 days. I would be happy to accept asylum, political asylum, in India -- a nation I love. In return, I will bring Maya a range of the finest British footwear."

Maya, accepted the request of Assange to send a private jet to pick him up, but with the condition that the footwear he brings from England, should be of the same brand as her hawaai chappals. Later she was seen dancing wearing her favorite footwear on the popular hindi song from SRK’s latest flick – ‘You are my Chappal-Challo’.

Indeed, Maya has arrived! ‘Chappal Phaad Ke’.

-

Sid Mehta

Dubai, UAE

Mayawati, Sandals, Assange, WikiLeaks, Political Crap, India, The Great Indian Nightmare

Sunday, August 28, 2011

In response to 'August 27 - The saddest day for Parliament'



I have never blogged my comments which I post on other news websites on their stories.

Today I am doing so... Earlier this morning, I wrote a comment on the blog post of Mr. C P Surendran, a poet and writer, who it seems, has become a victim of identity crysys after taking up Journalism.

To read his article/blog post please click here -


My comment is as follows:

Mr. Surendran,

When the parliament and the parliamentarians do not act as per the will of the people of their own constituency, it is then when people like 'TEAM ANNA' rise so that the parliamentarians do what their people are asking them to do.

As per me, it was the best day for INDIA after its independence day in 1947, as for the first time ever, 'We the People' could make things happen without being in the parliament, which our representatives were not doing for their own interests.

If the parliament has to mould (or mold) its ways for something which is correct, it is surely not a sad day. It is rather a proud day for all the people of India, and for once, for the parliamentarians as they have passed a resolution which in the most truest form, the people of India wanted them to do.

Hope some sense prevails in your mind, just as Times of India says 'let the truth prevail'...

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Sidharth Mehta
Dubai, UAE
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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Music Review - Arko & Dev - Mira






Before I heard them, I never thought I would write a blog post ever for a music band on Full Start. But.... I feel great writing this, and would like all of you to know about the incredible debut album of Arko & Dev.

Last few years and even now, I feel the Indian Non-Bollywood Music Industry (IndiPop) has been going through a rough patch... a drought to put it in real terms. Thankfully, IndiPop has something to cheer about finally.

Mira, the debut album of Arko & Dev, is as fresh as the sweet smell of the first monsoon rain.... it is as meaningful as much as your ambitions { ambitions are always meaningful :) }... it is as smooth as velvet... it is as soothing as you have always wanted music to be....

The title track - 'Mira Re' takes you on a journey to memories in the best possible traditional sound - its cult!... 'Jaane Ja', is contemporary and will attract the youth towards its sound.... 'Aankhon se' will take you to a different world and make you think of the person who is the closest, yet the farthest to you.... 'Ore Piya' - got no words for this!

Its an incredible debut to say the least.

Listen it, enjoy it, live it. http://arko-dev.bandcamp.com/ ;

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Sidharth Mehta
Dubai, UAE
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Arko & Dev, Arko & Dev Music, Arko & Dev Mira Re, Arko n Dev Mira, IndiPop, Music, Non-bollywood cult songs, Debut Album, Hindi Songs, Aankhon Se, Ore Piya, Kolkata Music, Sidharth Mehta, Sid Mehta, Siddharth Mehta, Sid Mehta Blog, sidharth Mehta Blog, Music Review, TOI, Hindustan Times, Dubai, UAE,

Thursday, July 14, 2011

The Dance with Death - 'Bomb'BAY





14 July 2011,

The city of dreams was attacked again. Yes, yet again.

3 years back, I left Bombay for good, just a day before 26/11 happened. I used to frequent Leopold's Cafe, the Sea Lounge at the Taj, and lived bang opposite where the Indian governments son-in-law Ajmal Kasab was caught. Watched it live on TV for 3 continuous days, and the only thought which came to mind was, why the hell did I have to leave the city a day before all that happened. Somehow, I wanted to be in the city when all of it was happening.. The pain I felt sitting in Delhi and watching it happen on screen made me cry for being helpless and not able to do anything for a city which I love the most. Just to be there with the people of Bombay, would have given some peace to my heart....

Fast forward to 2011, the cowards choose to attack the city again, this time with bombs at three different crowded places killing and injuring innocent people. One question always come to my mind, and which I want to ask these cowards:

- Why do you always keep attacking and target innocent civilians and the general public?
What do you achieve? Do you think it matters to the Indian Government or politicians? They are sitting ducks and shall continue to do so, until and unless you bang someone from within them... If you aim is to create fear in the minds of the public, then you are mistaken, as getting killed by a bomb blast is better than to die of hunger. Be it Bombay or any other place in India, the public will come out of their shelters and do their normal work and routine to feed their families. Conclusion- stop doing it. You are seriously not achieving anything, and simply wasting your time.

On the other hand, our media has no apathy left with the public. They come out with news headlines such as "Day after serial blasts, Mumbaikars venture out boldly'. My question to the media -- Do the people of Bombay or India have any other choice but to go about their routine work? To call this the spirit of Mumbai, it is like hiding the inefficiency of our security and political network. Politicians come out with statements such as these to save their @ss, the media should not!.

Numb.....

Sidharth Mehta
Dubai, UAE
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Mumbai Attacks July 2011, Mumbai Bomb blasts, Pathetic Journalism, Indian Government, Terrorist Attacks Strike Bombay, 13 July 2011, 26/11 Mumbai, India, The Great Indian Nightmare, Incredible India!, Sid Mehta, Sidharth Mehta, Siddharth Mehta, Inbuss, Infinity Business School Alumni, Dubai, Identity Crysys, Identity Crisis, Blog, Sid Mehta Blog,

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Pathetic Journalism - With Rs 2 lakh in pocket, poor beggar dies rich


First of all, does this news really need to take space on the front page of a national daily? I do not think so. Instead of reporting that a man died, and being not so loud about it, TOI instead chooses to celebrate that the beggar died rich!

Anyways, another example of pathetic journalism and hopeless editing is this news article by TOI. I am posting the full article below, before TOI amends it --


AJMER: In his death, an anonymous beggar has confirmed Ajmer as the city of alms.

As his corpse lay at Panigram Chowk near the city's historic dargah on Sunday, none could recall his name. Someone called the police and his body was taken away.

But as word got around that cops had found a booty of nearly Rs 2 lakh from the dead man's pockets, scores gathered to claim they were mourning the death of a relative.

"He was about 60 years of age and had torn clothes and a shabby bag with him. We searched his body to learn his identity and found Rs 1,500 in the inner pocket of his pants," said a constable who was ordered by the Dargah police station to fetch the body for an autopsy. The matter was again reported to police station and the body brought back. "There were a total of Rs 1.98 lakh in his pockets. We later came to know that he used to change coins into Rs 1,000 and 500 notes from shopkeepers," said a police officer.

Finding that the man had died rich, police started a search for his identity in the Dargah Bazaar and soon many beggars showed up claiming to be relatives. "More than a dozen beggars came here to claim his body but none could give proof of his identity," said the officer. All they knew was that he came into town three years back and had no friends.

A post mortem confirmed he died from lack of treatment for a host of ailments. The body was cremated by the Dargah committee.

As per rules, police will wait for 90 days for a relative to claim the money they got from the deceased and after that it will be submitted to a city magistrate.

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If you read the second last paragraph, the writer says that the body was 'cremated' by the Dargah committee. In a country which is so religious, and has many religions staying together for years and years, for a national daily to not know that Muslims are not cremated is sheer shame. Muslims are buried, and not cremated. They have made a bigger blunder by actually saying, that the beggar was cremated by the Dargah committee. WOW!

--
Sidharth Mehta
Dubai, UAE
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Pathetic Journalism TOI, India, Incredible India, Sid Mehta, Sidharth Mehta, Siddharth Mehta, Dubai, UAE, The Great Indian Nightmare, Where the mind is without fear!, Times of India, Journalism, News

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Post Osama - Time to act for India





'Osama wins gold medal for the game of hide and seek - 2001 - 2011' - I came across this statement on Facebook where a friend had put it across as his status update.... 'Quite apt for the story of Osama Bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks until he was finally killed by the US Navy SEALS in Abbottabad - Pakistan'....

Astonishingly, Osama was hiding in a 3 floor mansion, 90 kilometers from Islamabad - Pakistan's capital, just at a stone's throw distance from the Pakistan Military Academy in the garrison city of Abbottabad, which graduates the elite of the Pakistani Military. While the Pakistani military and intelligence graduate from this academy, it seems Osama was undertaking a five year long post graduation course which ended with a graduation ceremony done by the US forces instead of the Pakistani.

While Osama was hiding in this compound for the last five years, the whole world was searching for him in the mountains on the Af-Pak border... The Americans gave aid to Pakistan, which ran into billions of dollars to find this one man --- interestingly it seems, the Pakistani's instead built a mansion from a part of that money where they could hide Osama, and chose to continuously see the show, year after year, of the US government providing money and military support to the famished economy and top brass of the Pakistani nation.

Now that Osama is dead, this might have direct implications on the economy of Pakistan which was being supported by the aid money being given by the USA. If the money flow from the US gets curbed into Pakistan, it is pretty obvious that Pakistan will resort to exporting terror from the Kashmir route into India at a refreshing pace, given, it can't see India's economy getting stronger each day. It will shift it's focus from Af-Pak border to Kashmir once again.

On the other hand, full marks to the US government and its leadership, for going deep into Pakistan, finding the target, and eliminating it. No Arrests. No Drama. While India, even after having video proofs, and eye witnesses, are preaching to the world the lesson of law by spending billions feeding Kasab at Arthur Jail in Mumbai. The Indian Foreign Minister repeatedly 'requests' the Pakistani counterpart to 'have a look' at the numerous dossier's which India keeps providing to Pakistan with detailed information and whereabouts of Terrorists and criminals wanted by India and sheltered in Pakistan. Till date, Pakistan has never even thought of responding to these dossiers, leave aside actually handing over the criminals to India.

Our accomplishment in 60 years, is a troubled relationship with all our neighbors except for Bhutan. Our true friend. It is more important for us to listen to Kasab's demand of 'Butter Chicken' and watching 'Laawaris', and we feel proud of our judicial system of giving everyone a chance to put across his word in defense. Kasab, went ahead and ridiculed our judicial system, by saying, that the person in the video's and the photos is a 'Humshakal'/ a 'look-a-like' of his.. and our system is actually taking all this!...Our politicians and police men are seen crying at the death of magicians who proclaim themselves as god... Our corrupt politicians debate and decide more about the IPL than our country's policies of importance.

Our intelligence gives information to CIA about whereabouts of Osama (that he is in Abbottabad - RAW/2009)- it even gives information to Pakistan about a threat to Pervez Musharraf's life by Pakistani terrorists, the attempt which eventually was foiled. Our intelligence knows the full postal address of Dawood's residence in Karachi- we even have clear details of the guest list of his daughter's and son's marriage reception -- furthermore, our bollywood actors and actresses often met with Dawood and continue to do so, but still the don is safe.

No doubt, our commando's are capable to undertake an operation such as the one did by the US to eliminate Osama, deep inside enemy territory, but only if our NSG commando's are not made to 'baby-sit' our corrupt politicians. Our government is always happy to engage Pakistan in dialogue, whereas the Pakistani government takes the entire 'dialogue affair' as if they need to read out dialogues from a Bollywood movie. Literally!.

It is time, India eliminates the terrorists and criminals hiding inside Pakistan using full stealth help, the way the CIA and the Mossad of Isreal goes about eliminating its enemies. It is then, when Pakistan will truly come to the table to engage in dialogue.

--
Sidharth Mehta
Dubai - UAE
--
Key Tags - Osama Killed, Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan involvement Osama Killing, India Pakistan Relations, Terrorism, India, Kashmir, India post Osama, Al Qaida, Dawood, Kasab, 9/11, Mumbai Attacks, Sid Mehta, Sidharth Mehta, Siddharth Mehta, Identity Crysys, Identity Crisis, Full Start, Sid mehta Blog, Sidharth Mehta Blog, Infinity Business School - Alumni.


Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Pathetic Journalism - TOI - 'OBAMA' was found with youngest wife!!!!





In the race to report the most spicy and masaaledaar news,our very own Times of India did it again!... Now, this should get them the most pathetic journalism for the decade award, given Mr. Osama Bin Laden finally was found and killed after a decade...

Before detailing the incredible work from TOI, I would like to thank Tanay - the man behind NTMN - India's leading news satire website for which I write as well, for forwarding me the news link so that I could post it on my blog under the pathetic journalism series.

Now, check out this link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Obama-was-found-with-youngest-wife/articleshow/8141774.cms before TOI even changes this as they changed the 'headline'.

Originally, this news article was published with the headline "OBAMA was found with youngest wife". Obviously, what TOI meant was "OSAMA was found with youngest wife". This is what happens when you are taking part in a race to come out with the most spicy news. TOI could have just posted a headline saying 'OSAMA FOUND, and KILLED' or anything of that sort, but they were focusing on the fact that he was found with his youngest wife, and that is exactly why they did not realize what they just published!

Proof of the blunder they did is the fact that the news 'link' still has the original 'obama-was-found-with-youngest-wife'. Look carefully in the above link.

The editor of TOI, it seems is more interested in Osama's adventures in Abbottabad with his youngest wife instead of the fact that he was killed! Anything can be expected from a newspaper which publishes, semi-nude pictures of models with just a blur, on its home page as breaking news!!!

--
Sidharth Mehta
from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi
--
Key Tags - OBAMA found with youngest wife, OSAMA found with youngest wife, TOI Pathetic Journalism, Times of India Pathetic Journalism, India Pathetic Journalism, Sid Mehta, Siddharth Mehta, Sidharth Mehta, Infinity Business School - Alumni, Full Start. - The Blog, Identity Crysys, Identity Crisis, Incredible India


Monday, April 25, 2011

Pathetic Journalism - WSJ - India Graduates Millions, but Too Few Are Fit to Hire




Another masterpiece of an article, giving me yet another chance to add content to the 'pathetic journalism' section of my blog. This time, it is The Wall Street Journal, taking the honors.


The article talks about India graduating millions of students, but still they are not worthy to get hired. I have never read such an article which has been written after some really shallow research with relatively smaller lesser known companies.

Please go through the following points after reading the article on the WSJ website:

- India is not just about Call Center jobs

India graduates millions of students in diverse fields and subjects, and only a tiny little percentage actually takes up a job in a call center. To come up with examples of call center companies not able to find people who can speak english properly, and to reach a conclusion of they are not worthy of being hired, is utter crap and insane.

- How do we define proper English?

Proper English for a call center company might mean - English in the American accent/Western accent. If the company 24/7 can't find people in India who can speak English fluently in the American accent, or because they do not have the money and time for training Indians the American accent - does it mean Indian graduates are not hire-able? Incredible conclusions by the author of WSJ.

In the same manner, I could write up an article with the title "America graduates millions, but too few are fit to hire" - if needed for call-center jobs catering to Hindi-speaking Indians!

WSJ - get a life. Move beyond America and just Americans in your thought process. It won't be long when Americans would do anything to learn Hindi and Chinese to grab jobs in India and China (a trend already started.....)

- The examples of interviews are rubbish.

Just because an engineer said, his hobby is international travel but has not really traveled abroad, makes him unemployable is kiddish. A call-center company hires even a school drop-out if he/she can communicate well. This young man is an engineer, and if needed can get a technical job if not a call center job.

- The article mentions NIIT Ltd as a recruitment firm, and Maharashtra as a rural state (One of the most industrialized states in India - with Bombay, its capital - the financial capital of the country). Seriously WOW!!! Kudos to WSJ's research.

This is nothing but a sheer blatant attempt to ridicule "Indian Graduates" and some mind masturbation for the author and her likes at the WSJ. Literally, the author is going through an Identity Crysys.

--
Sidharth Mehta
from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi - UAE.
--
Key Tags - Pathetic Journalism, Wall Street Journal, WSJ Pathetic Journalism, Indian graduates, Students, Call Center Jobs, Recruitment Problems, WTF, Sid Mehta, Sidharth Mehta, Siddharth Mehta, Sid Mehta Blog, Sidharth Mehta Blog, Siddharth Mehta Blog, Inbuss, Infinity Business School Alumni, Full Start, Identity Crysys.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Pathetic Journalism - J&K Muslim jawan helped nab Pak spy




Times of India (TOI) has done it again.

On the eve of the World Cup Semi Final between India and Pakistan, when the Prime Ministers of both countries met at Mohali, a young India soldier nabbed a Pakistani spy (a driver working with the Pakistan High Commission), who was trying to fish out military information from the soldier by offering him money.

The soldier obviously deserves a pat on his back for getting the spy caught, and fully justifies a news article in the national daily about his heroics. But, he surely doesn't deserve the kind of title and write up what TOI has published about the entire episode.

More than focusing on his heroics, TOI instead has put a focus on him being a Muslim, and that too from J&K. What is the need to go deep into his religion and the area he belongs? He is an Indian. An Indian Army Soldier.. Period.

We are a democracy where all religions stay together - the idea of India. Why do we need to justify or give a message to our neighbors by writing about heroics in the Indian army who are Muslim and from Kashmir?

Honestly, with the kind of patriotism a soldier bleeds, this young man would have been more proud to be called an Indian, instead of being called a Muslim Kashmiri. By giving him the identity of being a Muslim Kashmiri, we are just separating him from the rest of Indians.

TOI - grow up!

Sidharth Mehta
from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi - UAE
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Key Tags - Pathetic Journalism, TOI, Times of India, Pathetic Time of India, Kashmiri Muslim Indian Soldier, TOI, Sidharth Mehta, Sid Mehta, Siddharth Mehta, Identity Crisis, Identity Crysys, Identity Crysys Blog, Sidharth Mehta Blog, Siddharth Mehta Blog, Sid Mehta Blog, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Inbuss, Infinity Business School, Alumni - Infinity Business School




Monday, April 11, 2011

Pathetic journalism - India 'quietly' begins combat drone project





What I read on the TOI online version today morning is incredibly funny, informative and at the same time equally pathetic. I am not sure, if this news article was on the front page of the print version as well, but to have it on the front page of the TOI website written in big bold letters gives it plenty of eye balls for sure.

This is how the heading goes:

' INDIA QUIETLY BEGINS COMBAT DRONE PROJECT ' (Read the article here)

When you go through the article, a number of times the project is described as a top secret project for the defence authorities. I wonder, if the project was so secretive, who gives TOI the right or freedom to go and publish all this information for the common man to read. If DRDO (Defence Research and Development Authority) has gone ahead and given statements to the media/TOI, that is further stupidity on their part.

Ironic is TOI's title of the news item. Read between the lines, and you would notice 'QUIETLY', whereas, TOI has been screaming out loud about the news on its website.

TOI online editor, the time is ripe for you to quit..

--
Sidharth Mehta
from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi - UAE.
___
Key tags - India, Incredible India, Pathetic Journalism, Times of India, Pathetic Journalism TOI, India Journalism, Identity Crysys, Identity Crisis, Sid Mehta, Siddharth Mehta, Sidharth Mehta, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Inbuss, Infinity Business School Alumni,

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

India - ICC Cricket World Champs 2011 - It can't get bigger than this!!








It seriously can't get bigger than this!.

What the entire world saw on 2nd April 2011 was nothing less than magic. India played their best cricket ever. The Indian fielders were literally cheetah's on the field running behind the ball, and jumping around like never before. Bowling was almost perfect leaving aside the last 3-4 overs. And when it came to batting, I have never seen such concentration, and grit on the part of the Indian batsmen ever before this historical night and occasion.

The winning stroke of 'six' hit by M S Dhoni, I need to admit, was the most beautiful cricketing shot I had ever seen. It was truly a master-stroke. Honestly, it deserved to be the winning stroke. As the ball went up in the sky towards the stands, the expressions of people plus emotions were of a kind never seen or felt before. The feeling was incredible, to say the least. Tears were pouring down, not just from the eyes of the players but also from the eyes of the audience - on the field, and on screen too (including me)!. Never before have I cried at the end of a sporting event...For a moment, I felt numb and the very next moment I was in a different world - an adrenaline rush and heartbeat faster than any instrument could even measure it!

I am sure every Indian felt emotionally closer to each and every team member after the victory celebrations and the TV interviews of the players live from the field. The players were so candid on camera that it felt as if we know them personally. They would have been in different high altogether being a part of the playing squad, but trust me the general public's emotions post the victory were nothing less than the kind of celebrations and emotions we saw from the team on the field.

Virat Kohli, the youngest in the team, I thought said the most matured statement when asked by Sanjay Manjrekar about how it felt to carry Sachin Tendulkar on his shoulders - 'Sachin has carried the burden of the entire nation for 21 long years, it was time we took him on our shoulders now'... I suddenly felt connected with Virat, as he was speaking my mind, and am sure everyone's mind. It was not just the victory itself, but even these small little statements and emotions of the players which made the entire occasion so special and memorable.

I can go on writing pages about this victory, however there are 2 people in the Indian team without whom I think this victory would not have been possible. About the judgement day, I felt Gautam Gambhir's innings was spectacular, and did not get much adulation by the media as much as it should have been. Obviously, Dhoni's knock was equally important, but the weightage is high for the captain's knock instead of being equal with Gambhir's knock. Mind you, Gambhir came in when India was 0/1 in the first over itself. Going on to make 97 and the very important partnership with Virat deserved to be highlighted more. I suppose, if he could have got those 3 extra runs, he would have been judged as man of the match - but anyhow that does not mean, we take importance out of his 97.

The other person who deserves to be lauded even more is the coach - Gary Kirsten. It is a tragedy that he wont continue further as the coach for the Indian cricket team. I think Gary deserves to be given an award by the Indian government and sporting authorities. There have been many great coaches in the cricketing world, but only few are exceptional. He is one of them. It is not an easy task to coach players who have already established a name for themselves, manage their egos, and further find a space to tell them where they can be better!. Gary - Thank you for bringing a smile to every Indian's face.

As I said, I could go on writing... but I feel, nothing can beat those emotions which still get alive the moment you even think of Dhoni's winning stroke. Close your eyes, and re-live that moment. You don't need a you-tube to watch it again! It's stuck in our minds and hearts, forever.

--
Sidharth Mehta,
from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi - UAE.

P.S - Needless to say, pump your emotions in the comment section!

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India, Incredible India, Cricket World Cup 2011 Winners, Champions, Dhoni, Masterstroke, Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Sachin, Yuvraj, Yuvi, Zaheer Khan, Gary Kirsten, Gautam Gambhir, Sid Mehta, Sidharth Mehta, Siddharth Mehta,

Monday, March 14, 2011

Wake up Manmohan Singh!!




This is crazy. Seriously.

I am shocked and angry with the Indian Govt Authorities, to just give sympathies and condolences, and 'blankets' to Japan in its hour of need.Being the 3rd biggest economy in Asia, and with Japan being one of the highest aid donor to India and a natural ally, to just sit and watch is highly stupendous!!!

Countries like China, being one of the biggest enemies of Japan have come forward to help unprecedentedly with sending search and rescue teams + food and other help leaving aside all their differences and countries like Pakistan coming forward to make mobile hospitals and clinics in Japan..

Manmohan Singh and team -- even if you donate 1% of the monetary amount of all the scams your government have managed to do, you would become one of the highest donors in the world to Japan in its time of need!!!
Can you please wake up!!

Sidharth Mehta
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Japan Earthquake, India aid to Japan, Manmohan Singh, Rescue effort in Japan, India participating in Japan rescue effort, International aid to Japan, Sidharth Mehta, Siddharth Mehta, Sid Mehta,

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Obama's State of the Union and U.S. Foreign Policy

Obama's State of the Union and U.S. Foreign Policy is republished with permission of STRATFOR.

By George Friedman


U.S. President Barack Obama will deliver the State of the Union address tonight. The administration has let the media know that the focus of the speech will be on jobs and the economy. Given the strong showing of the Republicans in the last election, and the fact that they have defined domestic issues as the main battleground, Obama’s decision makes political sense. He will likely mention foreign issues and is undoubtedly devoting significant time to them, but the decision not to focus on foreign affairs in his State of the Union address gives the impression that the global situation is under control. Indeed, the Republican focus on domestic matters projects the same sense. Both sides create the danger that the public will be unprepared for some of the international crises that are already quite heated. We have discussed these issues in detail, but it is useful to step back and look at the state of the world for a moment.


Afghanistan


The United States remains the most powerful nation in the world, both in the size of its economy and the size of its military. Nevertheless, it continues to have a singular focus on the region from Iraq to Pakistan. Obama argued during his campaign that President George W. Bush had committed the United States to the wrong war in Iraq and had neglected the important war in Afghanistan. After being elected, Obama continued the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq that began under the Bush administration while increasing troop levels in Afghanistan. He has also committed himself to concluding the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of this year. Now, it may be that the withdrawal will not be completed on that schedule, but the United States already has insufficient forces in Iraq to shape events very much, and a further drawdown will further degrade this ability. In war, force is not symbolic.


This poses a series of serious problems for the United States. First, the strategic goal of the United States in Afghanistan is to build an Afghan military and security force that can take over from the United States in the coming years, allowing the United States to withdraw from the country. In other words, as in Vietnam, the United States wants to create a pro-American regime with a loyal army to protect American interests in Afghanistan without the presence of U.S. forces. I mention Vietnam because, in essence, this is Richard Nixon’s Vietnamization program applied to Afghanistan. The task is to win the hearts and minds of the people, isolate the guerrillas and use the pro-American segments of the population to buttress the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and provide recruits for the military and security forces.


The essential problem with this strategy is that it wants to control the outcome of the war while simultaneously withdrawing from it. For that to happen, the United States must persuade the Afghan people (who are hardly a single, united entity) that committing to the United States is a rational choice when the U.S. goal is to leave. The Afghans must first find the Americans more attractive than the Taliban. Second, they must be prepared to shoulder the substantial risks and burdens the Americans want to abandon. And third, the Afghans must be prepared to engage the Taliban and defeat them or endure the consequences of their own defeat.


Given that there is minimal evidence that the United States is winning hearts and minds in meaningful numbers, the rest of the analysis becomes relatively unimportant. But the point is that NATO has nearly 150,000 troops fighting in Afghanistan, the U.S. president has pledged to begin withdrawals this year, beginning in July, and all the Taliban have to do is not lose in order to win. There does not have to be a defining, critical moment for the United States to face defeat. Rather, the defeat lurks in the extended inability to force the Taliban to halt operations and in the limits on the amount of force available to the United States to throw into the war. The United States can fight as long as it chooses. It has that much power. What it seems to lack is the power to force the enemy to capitulate.


Iraq


In the meantime, the wrong war, Iraq, shows signs of crisis or, more precisely, crisis in the context of Iran. The United States is committed to withdrawing its forces from Iraq by the end of 2011. This has two immediate consequences. First, it increases Iranian influence in Iraq simply by creating a vacuum the Iraqis themselves cannot fill. Second, it escalates Iranian regional power. The withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq without a strong Iraqi government and military will create a crisis of confidence on the Arabian Peninsula. The Saudis, in particular, unable to match Iranian power and doubtful of American will to resist Iran, will be increasingly pressured, out of necessity, to find a political accommodation with Iran. The Iranians do not have to invade anyone to change the regional balance of power decisively.


In the extreme, but not unimaginable, case that Iran turns Iraq into a satellite, Iranian power would be brought to the borders of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria and would extend Iran’s border with Turkey. Certainly, the United States could deal with Iran, but having completed its withdrawal from Iraq, it is difficult to imagine the United States rushing forces back in. Given the U.S. commitment to Afghanistan, it is difficult to see what ground forces would be available.


The withdrawal from Iraq creates a major crisis in 2011. If it is completed, Iran’s power will be enhanced. If it is aborted, the United States will have roughly 50,000 troops, most in training and support modes and few deployed in a combat mode, and the decision of whether to resume combat will be in the hands of the Iranians and their Iraqi surrogates. Since 170,000 troops were insufficient to pacify Iraq in the first place, sending in more troops makes little sense. As in Afghanistan, the U.S. has limited ground forces in reserve. It can build a force that blocks Iran militarily, but it will also be a force vulnerable to insurgent tactics — a force deployed without a terminal date, possibly absorbing casualties from Iranian-backed forces.


Iran


If the United States is prepared to complete the withdrawal of troops from Iraq in 2011, it must deal with Iran prior to the withdrawal. The two choices are a massive air campaign to attempt to cripple Iran or a negotiated understanding with Iran. The former involves profound intelligence uncertainties and might fail, while the latter might not be attractive to the Iranians. They are quite content seeing the United States leave. The reason the Iranians are so intransigent is not that they are crazy. It is that they think they hold all the cards and that time is on their side. The nuclear issue is hardly what concerns them.


The difference between Afghanistan and Iraq is that a wrenching crisis can be averted in Afghanistan simply by continuing to do what the United States is already doing. By continuing to do what it is doing in Iraq, the United States inevitably heads into a crisis as the troop level is drawn down.


Obama’s strategy appears to be to continue to carry out operations in Afghanistan, continue to withdraw from Iraq and attempt to deal with Iran through sanctions. This is an attractive strategy if it works. But the argument I am making is that the Afghan strategy can avoid collapse but not with a high probability of success. I am also extremely dubious that sanctions will force a change of course in Iran. For one thing, their effectiveness depends on the actual cooperation of Russia and China (as well as the Europeans). Sufficient exceptions have been given by the Obama administration to American companies doing business with Iran that others will feel free to act in their own self-interest.


But more than that, sanctions can unify a country. The expectations that some had about the Green Revolution of 2009 have been smashed, or at least should have been. We doubt that there is massive unhappiness with the regime waiting to explode, and we see no signs that the regime can’t cope with existing threats. The sanctions even provide Iran with cover for economic austerity while labeling resistance unpatriotic. As I have argued before, sanctions are an alternative to a solution, making it appear that something is being done when in fact nothing is happening.


There are numerous other issues Obama could address, ranging from Israel to Mexico to Russia. But, in a way, there is no point. Until the United States frees up forces and bandwidth and reduces the dangers in the war zones, it will lack the resources — intellectual and material — to deal with these other countries. It is impossible to be the single global power and focus only on one region, yet it is also impossible to focus on the world while most of the fires are burning in a single region. This, more than any other reason, is why Obama must conclude these conflicts, or at least create a situation where these conflicts exist in the broader context of American interests. There are multiple solutions, all with significant risks. Standing pat is the riskiest.

Domestic Issues


There is a parallel between Obama’s foreign policy problems and his domestic policy problems. Domestically, Obama is trapped by the financial crisis and the resulting economic problems, particularly unemployment. He cannot deal with other issues until he deals with that one. There are a host of foreign policy issues, including the broader question of the general approach Obama wants to take toward the world. The United States is involved in two wars with an incipient crisis in Iran. Nothing else can be addressed until those wars are dealt with.

The decision to focus on domestic issues makes political sense. It also makes sense in a broader way. Obama does not yet have a coherent strategy stretching from Iraq to Afghanistan. Certainly, he inherited the wars, but they are now his. The Afghan war has no clear endpoint, while the Iraq war does have a clear endpoint — but it is one that is enormously dangerous.

It is unlikely that he will be able to avoid some major foreign policy decisions in the coming year. It is also unlikely that he has a clear path. There are no clear paths, and he is going to have to hack his way to solutions. But the current situation does not easily extend past this year, particularly in Iraq and Iran, and they both require decisions. Presidents prefer not making decisions, and Obama has followed that tradition. Presidents understand that most problems in foreign affairs take care of themselves. But some of the most important ones don’t. The Iraq-Iran issue is, I think, one of those, and given the reduction of U.S. troops in 2011, this is the year decisions will have to be made.

--

Key tags: Sidharth Mehta, Stratfor, War Intelligence, Military Intelligence, USA Afghan War, US Iraq War, US disaster in Iraq, US Iran War, US wars in the middle east, identity crysys, identity crisis, sid mehta, siddharth mehta, full start, Dubai

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