Marching with summer soldiers

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen crisis

With the building up of the American Revolution, the ranks of the Continental Army were bloated by the joining of “summer soldiers”, a term coined by Thomas Paine. These were farmers and people from other professions who would join the army but would either return to their lands for harvesting season or to attend to more important pursuits or to disappear in the dead of biting winter nights.

The fact that media dropped the bombshell that Pakistan was examining Saudi Arabia’s request to join the Gulf-led operation against Shia Houthi militias in Yemen made one do a double-take. Reuters said, “Gulf broadcaster Al-Arabiya TV reported that the kingdom was contributing as many as 150,000 troops and 100 warplanes to the operations and that allies Egypt, Jordan, Sudan and Pakistan were ready to take part in a ground offensive in Yemen.” A knee-jerk reaction by the Pakistani government led to a furious debate on social media and the drawing room politicians. Fortunately, saner heads prevailed but not before exposing the autocratic manner in which the decision was taken or contemplated to the complete exclusion of the Parliament.

My first concern was how the Parliament was ignored in the final analysis of whether or not to support the summer soldiers in Yemen. This was strange. Remember, how we debated and debated, and debated some more and continued debating the decision to hold talks and later have military strikes against terrorists within our borders. And here we are, in sublime oblivion to our problems of terrorism, ignoring the very real danger of an angry Iran leading to a further escalation of ongoing proxy war in Pakistan, and the danger of engaging Pakistan Army on too many fronts diluting the thrust against terrorism on home ground.

To jolt the memories here, Pakistani Parliament had opposed in 2012 drone attacks by America. A Parliamentary Commission had demanded that these strikes in the territory of Pakistan must end. Parliament and Parliament alone must determine whether or not Pakistani troops are to be outsourced. Owing to the gravity of the decision, the Parliamentary debate on the subject must be public with coverage by media. As a friend wrote, “Parliament is the best defence for such tricky situations. One can even wriggle out of personal considerations in favour of national interests.”

Beware, you ‘sunshine patriots’, of opening a pit full of worms. The lid will not be put back so easily, if at all. Just as the misdirected policy under Zia is exacting a price today, it is frightening. Recall the words of Thomas Paine, “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country.” The sunshine patriots here are the supporters of the revolution. They supported the revolution while it went well yet shrank away, taking with them their support once things started going awry.

This is not about airstrikes alone; that is probably not the solution to Yemen’s problems. Joyce Karam, a Washington Correspondent for Al-Hayat newspaper, in her piece in Al-Arabiya states, “While the Yemen intervention will need key components such as tribal support and a multifaceted socioeconomic strategy that goes beyond airstrikes to succeed, it ushers in a new era on how GCC responds to threats as well as a more independent framework for its relations with the United States.” I could not agree with her more.

Saudi Arabia shares a border with Yemen, running roughly 1,800 km, give or take. Iran’s supporting of the Houthis and training of their militants had sent alarm bells ringing. The unflinchingly inflexible stance of the Houthis, with threats to invade Mecca among others, has forced many countries to form an alliance against the Houthis. Obama has supported Saudi Arabia, the statement by NSC Spokesperson Bernadette Meehan on the situation in Yemen says, “The United States coordinates closely with Saudi Arabia and our GCC partners on issues related to their security and our shared interests. In support of GCC actions to defend against Houthi violence, President Obama has authorised the provision of logistical and intelligence support to GCC-led military operations. While US forces are not taking direct military action in Yemen in support of this effort, we are establishing a Joint Planning Cell with Saudi Arabia to coordinate US military and intelligence support. At the same time, the United States continues to closely monitor terrorist threats posed by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and will continue to take action as necessary to disrupt continuing imminent threats to the United States and our citizens.”

The question here is not whether or not Saudi Arabia or Iran is justified in carrying out their fun games. The question is of Pakistan’s ability to take on additional burden of opening yet another front. No matter what the opinion of the sunshine supporters here is, this is a dumb and foolhardy step to contemplate. Lest we forget, ‘Western intelligence agencies consider AQAP the most dangerous branch of al-Qaeda because of its technical expertise and global reach. The US has been carrying out operations, including drone strikes, against AQAP in Yemen with President Hadi’s cooperation, but the Houthis’ advance has meant the US campaign has been scaled back.’ (BBC News March 27, 2015)

David Model, in his paper titled, “Welcoming the Summer Soldier and Sunshine Patriot: Suppressing Dissent in America,” quotes John Adams, who “warned us about the dangers of tyranny even in a democracy when he uttered the words: “The jaws of power are always open to devour, and her arms always stretched out if possible, to destroy the freedom of thinking, speaking, and writing.” (02 January, 2011)

Pakistan has its plate full of its share of problems. Homegrown terrorism, sponsored terrorism, an untenable border between her and Afghanistan, a hostile neighbour, and its army engaged in a war within its borders that needs to be fought with single minded focus. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Then there are practical considerations: Does Pakistan has the surplus troops to send to Yemen? Can we undertake this venture when we at war on our own home ground? It was therefore with a huge sigh of relief that many read Khawaja Asif’s statement that Pakistan would not participate in a conflict that could divide Muslim Ummah. In addition to it came another positive statement that, ‘Pakistan is ready to facilitate end of conflicts in the Islamic world with a pragmatic view that involvement in conflict could aggravate fault-lines in Pakistan.’ Clearly, the immediate danger of Pakistani boots on the ground stands averted. The people of Pakistan, of course, support the rational wisdom displayed by the government. As a deeply troubled friend F M Endrabi wrote to me before Khawaja Asif made the government stance clear, “It seems to be a big war theatre. On one side we have India, on another Afghanistan, and now may be Iran too… [all the while] with an ongoing war against terrorism within Pakistan.”

The Pakistan government’s duty is to ensure protection and/or extraction of Pakistanis from a volatile Yemen and heed the appeal of stranded Pakistanis. This must be seen to be the Pakistan government’s foremost duty in Yemen. Besides extracting them, the Pakistani Consulate must coordinate with Pakistanis stranded in homes, buildings and other points to safely return to their homeland. Then there is the question of jailed Pakistanis reportedly being threatened by local prisoners, according to a local TV channel. How will their security be ensured?

To quote the exact words of Thomas Paine, “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” —The Crisis.