And its implications for us
While the word ‘Pakistan’ did not appear in Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, it had formulations about matters of vital import for this country. Obama’s Afghanistan policy, the strategy to deal with terrorism and views about the Middle East, Israel and Iran are among matters that are going to affect Pakistan directly.
The US has continued to narrow down its goals in Afghanistan over the years. In his first State of the Union address Obama promised to “reward good governance, reduce corruption, and support the rights of all Afghans – men and women alike”. All this is forgotten now. In March 2009 he announced a new Afghan strategy which further narrowed down the aims to “disrupt, dismantle and eventually defeat al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan”. The mission is now further reduced to defeating just “the core of al Qaeda.” The US is mainly interested in extracting its troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. The militants still on the rampage will have to be dealt with by the Afghan government itself. A contingent of US troops would stay to train the Afghan forces, another to pursue the remnants of al Qaeda and their affiliates. Pakistan has been left to deal with its militants on its own. Islamabad needs to move fast to conclude agreements with Afghanistan and other countries in the region and beyond for peace in the region and to put down the militancy on its side. Unless it does so, Pakistan could face an Iraq-like situation where bomb blasts and suicide attacks continue to kill dozens every month. The Obama speech makes it clear that there will be no respite to drone attacks. To save its troops and reduce military spending the US will act against terrorists who threaten it “through a range of capabilities”, like drone attacks. The only way for Pakistan to put a stop to the attacks is to expel the foreign militants from its territory and stop the local ones from cross border attacks.
Those who thought that Obama would help the Palestinians have their own sovereign state were sadly mistaken. Obama’s formulation, “And we will stand steadfast with Israel in pursuit of security and a lasting peace” leaves no doubt about the powerful Israeli lobby still dominating Washington’s policy making about the Middle East. Iran will continue to be under pressure and face sanctions, the address indicates. So will, by implication, the countries like Pakistan who dare to enter into treaties with Iran.
