SiD’s Sphere!!

They tell me the soldiers are fighting My War.

They tell me that while I should support the troops.

They tell me that the IDPs are collateral damage.

They call me a traitor for not agreeing.

The more I think about it, the more perplexed I get. I feel for the displaced families. I feel for every single soul that has been turned out of its home, in this sweltering summer heat. But not a single cell in my brain is ready to accept the logic behind the so called operation. The cost of this war outweighs any benefits that were to be had from it. Who are these Taliban? What writ of the government are they challenging?

Yes, the writ… the word that works so many of us up. They tell me, no one can have their own brand of justice when the constitution exists? Is the government not challenged in the crime infested streets of Lyari? Do tribal lords with private jails only pose a threat when they don’t benefit the ruling party?

But the war… this war, they call mine and yours.. where did that come from. Have you seen Charlie Wilson’s War?

When the world wasn’t looking, he changed it forever!

Sure as hell he did. But as the movie will show you, he also failed. After he succeeded in his covert operation of arming the Mujahideen to drive out the Russians, he couldn’t convince the US Senators who had spent billions on the arms, to spend merely a small proportion of that on reconstruction effort. The Russians were defeated alright! But what did that achieve. Charlie Wilson himself believes they fucked up.

These things happened. They were glorious and they changed the world… and then we fucked up the endgame.

A few days ago, Nabeel posted some eye catching posters on his blog called ‘What Goes Around’.

In Pakistan, we’re on the receiving end of the coming round of everything that has happened in the past, and the sad news is that the IDPs will start another cycle of disaster.

I don’t support the troops of my country. I feel sorry for them. They join the armed forces with the vision of serving their country, yet they’re only serving imperial interests. Unquestioning, unsuspecting, they follow orders and put their lives on the line for nothing.

You don’t eliminate terrorists with guns and tanks. You never will. You will only breed more. Go fight this war, if you have to but don’t call it mine.