STEVE PIECZENIK TALKS

“India and Pakistan Still Fighting over The Line Of Control—Marquis De Sade Where Are You When We Need You?”

One of the discomforting truisms of international relationship is that Israelis/Palestinians will maintain their sado-masochistic [S&M] relationship as long as it suits both parties. 

  Possibly the more disturbing S&M relationship is the one between Pakistan and India. 

 

Pakistan was created right after WWII in order to accommodate  the millions of muslims who did not feel that Hindu India would allow them to live in peace.

 Ironically,  India presently has one hundred million muslims while Pakistan has about 75 million.

The point of contention between India and Pakistan  has been and still is – some half-a-century later--- the thorny issue of which country controls the provinces of Jammu and Kashmir.

  Is it Pakistan or India?

The “Line Of Control” known as the “Asian Berlin Wall”  is a de facto demarcation which does not constitute a legally recognized international border.    It was signed on July 3, 1972.

Why is this S&M issue between Pakistan and India so important when chaos floods the political banks of  Egypt, Libya,  Syria,  Bahrain,  Yemen,  Afghanistan, et al ?

 

To begin with a half decent explanation one has to understand that  unlike the middle eastern countries,  what the world is confronting now are two behemoth nuclear-armed countries that  can do significant damage to South Asia and the surrounding countries—China,   Russia,  Central Asian Republics—if a major war were to erupt. 

We are not talking about a few nuclear weapons, here.   And we are not talking just about political/religious  differences. 

What we have in this unconscionable situation is a failed state –Pakistan—which is losing control of both it’s military-- Inter Service Intelligence Services as well as it’s inability to fight both the Taliban and extremist Islamist groups within Pakistan and Afghanistan.

  With regards to India,  the line of communication has deteriorated since the 2008 Mumbai attacks which were conducted under the ‘auspices’ of the ISI.

Furthermore,   five Indian soldiers were killed  recently [August 6, 2013]  in the disputed region of Kashmir.

In January of 2013,  an Indian soldier was killed by decapitation.

 

These recent flair-ups over the Line Of Control compels me to write this blog.

Just to give an idea of how serious the situation is,  I will try  to delineate the force structures that confront each other at the present time.

  The numbers may not be completely accurate,  but they do approximate  the force structures that would come to bear in an all-out war.

Each country has well into the hundreds,  if not thousands of deliverable weapons. 

  These two countries have standing armies that have faced each other for over 40 years.   There are about 700,000 Pakistani  ‘over-eager’ troops facing 2.2 million  highly disciplined Indian soldiers.

  This is not Operation Dome where the IDF was testing out it’s new equipment on Hamas and ‘collateral damage’ was fewer than one hundred casualties  [despite the fact that was already too many]. 

  Pakistan and India have really borne festering animosities to each other for over the last fifty years.   Their respective grievances,  real or imaginary,  could set the world ablaze in overheated cross-fire over Kashmir.    It would not take much to set this part of the world ablaze.

China is considered Pakistan’s primary patron state while Russia is indebted to India.

The spark of Kashmir could set ignite another unnecessary Sino-Russian War reminiscent of the late 1950’s  except this time with nuclear weapons.

Q: What makes this situation particularly more dangerous now than before?
A:   The departure of the American troops from the Afghanistan/Pakistan border.

 

Why?
  The Taliban leader,  Mullah Omar,  continues his religions haj in Pakistan to create a prominent Islamic political area for the  Taliban  after departure of the American troops.   In the meantime,  Pakistan will be stretched with it’s efforts to exert control of the Islamic Extremists in both Islamabad and in Kabul.

Pakistan is faced with Islamic extremism both internally and externally while trying to manage its conflict with India.

India is trying to focus its attention on Afghanistan—offering military and covert support to Karzai—in order to pre-empt the Pakistani militants.   India feels rightfully that it cannot trust the Pakistani military to control the cross-border attacks over Kashmir or between India/Pakistan.

What does this all mean?

  Once again,  the USG has very little leverage to manage the situation.

In reality,  China and Russia may have to arbitrate these differences,  if they find that the situation is untenable.

  But who knows best how to deal with Sado-Masochistic relationships? 

  Not I!!

 

        I have to resort to history for that answer.

  Maybe if we read the writings of the so-called ‘mad genius’ Marquis De Sade,   the French writer,  philosopher,  politician who exalted  ‘libertine virtues’,  we might accrue a clue as to what motivates the pleasures and intoxications of ‘beat-me-hit-me’.

May I suggest that before the modern day Juan de Marcos- Dominque  De Strauss [DSK] –be incarcerated for ‘abusing prostitutes’ [a seemingly paradoxical notion],  France might consider sending  him to Kashmir to negotiate this S&M relationship.

 

Who else understands the pleasures of S&M more than DSK?   Perhaps he could team up with Silvio Berlusconi who may have an in with Sonia Gandhi (born in Italy)-  he certainly understands the pleasures of a good whipping now and then.

Just a suggestion for an international advisory committee of experts that may help to prevent a  WWIII  based on Sado Masochism.    Think  outside  the  box!