unflinching idealism ... since 1997 archivessitemapabouthelpfeedback
ideas, identities and interactions
  • Home
  • InFocus
  • Themes
  • Columns
  • Articles
  • Fiction
  • iLogs
  • Gallery
  • Unplugged
  • Writers
  • Interactors
  • Tags
Sign in | Join Chowk
web chowk
  • Article
  • Interact
  • read writer comments
  • add to favorites
  • get rss feeds
  • print
  • email this link

Dueling Partners: Pakistan and America

Wajahat Ali October 1, 2008

Latest comments   flat   threaded   latest   oldest   all

#16 Posted by Ras on October 5, 2008 11:14:55 am

This is one of the more significant articles

currently on CHOWK. Tariq is a joy to listen to.

His delivery is almost at par with what Bibi could once do.

Great job here Wajahat Ali Sahib. You captured his

views very well. Too bad I could not attend this event

and report on it.


Ras
reply to this interact write a new interact add to favorites flag objectionable content
#15 Posted by MantoLives on October 5, 2008 10:12:42 am
I met him a few years ago and asked him a simple question: what is wrong with American Empire?

He didn't give me a straight answer.


Jayp,

Most of the people does not mean all of the people. Sorry to disappoint you but Tariq Ali's view is not specific to Jinnah who he sees an exception to the rule. Had you read his books you would know. There were other exceptions as well but Tariq Ali didn't see Jinnah as being in control or even part of the Pakistani elite.

As a general rule, he is right that Pakistan's political elite consisted in the large part of the pro-British loyalists. I just don't see what is so wrong with that though ... The British were the best thing that happened to South Asia. Much of what makes you proud of India is due to the British.

Nor is there anything wrong with being the American camp. It was certainly better than hobnobbing with the expansionist and totalitarian Soviet Union.

And Pakistan did pursue the Americans from day 1 ... but Jinnah was of the firm view that America needed Pakistan more than Pakistan America. That is true but this is precisely why Americans prefer military rulers in Pakistan because civilian leaders like Jinnah and the Bhuttos drove a hard bargain (Jinnah had asked for US $ 10 bn in 1947 in return for help from Pakistan...and Bhutto's support in the 1970s meant putting up with his unique brand of populist anti-american rhetoric) ...

What I don't get is what is so wrong with making alliances with the Americans? It was a very good idea and I am still waiting on what Tariq Ali could say that would make me change my view of the Americans.

reply to this interact write a new interact add to favorites flag objectionable content
#14 Posted by ijaz_gul on October 2, 2008 11:05:00 pm
Tariq Ali, Ahmaed Raseed and Salman Taseer, all eggs of the same basket.
reply to this interact write a new interact add to favorites flag objectionable content
#13 Posted by ahmedmadani on October 2, 2008 7:19:21 pm
Re: # 12 Mr. Tariq Ali is communist and advocates indirectly violent ways. I wonder why nealy communist person is "well respected " in west( UK,USA) ? If he had chance he will not mind bloody rvolutions and suppressing freedom. He is replica image like hindu Communist chief of Nepal mr. Prachanda. If chance comes he will be ruthless like Lenin, stalin, J. Basu (Bengali) and violent type people. He should be boycotted.
reply to this interact write a new interact add to favorites flag objectionable content
#12 Posted by HP on October 2, 2008 5:12:07 pm
“Unless we have a government that is capable of dealing with this, the country will continue to be in crisis. There is real anger now at the gap between the haves and the have nots, between rich and poor in the country. And it spills over into violence at the slightest excuse. People are really angry now about this.�

I know Tariq Ali is trying to sell a book so some hyperbole is in order. But what bothers me is that he sounds exactly like some grotesque right wing Jamaat Islami Op-Ed writers of Pakistani Urdu press. It is now his standard approach: He would always start with some inane anecdote from 1947-48, blame the civil Bureaucracy, ridicule the army, bring up the Indian scenario, and finally abuse the politicians past or present.

He started this track after ZAB was removed by Gen. Zia. Since then he follows the same pattern and go back and check his articles, interviews from 1980s. And then he writes a book every couple of year with the same info with a new order of appearance for the chapters and a new index. I am sure his new book would have the same pattern and I don’t know how many idiots would buy that.

But if you are going to do all that, abuse everyone, dis everything and every politician, then you better come up with at least, if not too flashy and too complicated, a nice sounding solution too.

His intellectualism/Marxism/New left(he edits that unreadable magazine.) goes bust when it comes to solutions. This time around he comes up with a glorious solution, just read and enjoy.

“Unless we have a government that is capable of dealing with this, the country will continue to be in crisis.�

Ha!
Well, you just dissed everyone, Nawaz is not good enough and Zardari... oh, let’s not talk about him… what a horrible person. (Tariq Ali secretly desired that Benazir should have married him.)

Okay, fine! Let us have a new government but where are you going to find it from? The damn thing does not grow on trees. Army has barely handed over power, minus the real thing. And lastly, how do we know we will get a “capable government� when there is no politician worth his salt left in the country to please Turd Ali?

Perhaps the US and the Pak army should ask Tariq Ali to come in & take over…Is he ready to provide capable government? I doubt it!

Tariq Ali! solution or whatever is right here…. Try and follow it.

"It ain't much of a war, son, but it's the only one we got!"

reply to this interact write a new interact add to favorites flag objectionable content
#11 Posted by _arjun27 on October 2, 2008 4:07:56 pm
=== Interact Filtered ===
view this users filtered interacts
reply to this interact write a new interact add to favorites flag objectionable content
#10 Posted by _arjun27 on October 2, 2008 4:00:28 pm

Steven Hadley, the head of the NSA, made an interesting comment: “Pakistan is not equipped to combat the militant threat.�


You mean head of the NSC...
reply to this interact write a new interact add to favorites flag objectionable content
#9 Posted by masadi on October 2, 2008 1:02:14 pm
http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/5570

reply to this interact write a new interact add to favorites flag objectionable content
#8 Posted by ijaz_gul on October 2, 2008 11:31:00 am
Whats the issue?
It does'nt read according to your script?
reply to this interact write a new interact add to favorites flag objectionable content
#7 Posted by laddu on October 2, 2008 8:00:30 am
Hindus must realize that the promulgation of Indian Penal Code , 1860 was the end of Shariah over them forever......

Remember, IPC , 1860 as the final liberator of hindus from momeen Shariah Laws.
reply to this interact write a new interact add to favorites flag objectionable content
#6 Posted by laddu on October 2, 2008 5:00:42 am
"Well because they put him in power. They did a deal with his wife. ..."

There goes his commie imbecility.........always peddling conspiracy theories and have no regard for common people who voted in general elections.....

If he has guts then he should contest elections than talk nonsense....
reply to this interact write a new interact add to favorites flag objectionable content
#5 Posted by Eklavya on October 2, 2008 4:16:30 am
I flagged my own post.
reply to this interact write a new interact add to favorites flag objectionable content
#4 Posted by Eklavya on October 2, 2008 4:03:40 am
=== Interact Filtered ===
view this users filtered interacts
reply to this interact write a new interact add to favorites flag objectionable content
#3 Posted by dawa-i-dil on October 2, 2008 3:41:00 am
this is the Auqat of 3rd class citizens...mummy daddy qaum..identityless..countryless US Pako blend...bieng naked on airports..but are so Baighairats taht they not raise voice for Dr. Afia....or Goitmo etc...


what can be/ ought to be done against this heinous act?



Daily Kos: State of the Nation


Muslim Children Gassed at Dayton Mosque After "Obsession" DVD Hits Ohio
by Chris Rodda
Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 08:50:29 PM PDT
(From the diaries -- kos)

On Friday, September 26, the end of a week in which thousands of copies of Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West -- the fear-mongering, anti-Muslim documentary being distributed by the millions in swing states via DVDs inserted in major newspapers and through the U.S. mail -- were distributed by mail in Ohio, a "chemical irritant" was sprayed through a window of the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton, where 300 people were gathered for a Ramadan prayer service. The room that the chemical was sprayed into was the room where babies and children were being kept while their mothers were engaged in prayers. This, apparently, is what the scare tactic political campaigning of John McCain's supporters has led to -- Americans perpetrating a terrorist attack against innocent children on American soil.

Chris Rodda's diary :: ::


I read the story as reported by the Dayton Daily News, but this was after I had received an email written by a friend of some of the victims of these American terrorists. The matter of fact news report in the Dayton paper didn't come close to conveying the horrific impact of this unthinkable act like the email I had just read, so I asked the email's author for permission to share what they had written. The author was with one of the families from the mosque -- a mother and two of the small children who were in the room that was gassed -- the day after the attack occurred.

"She told me that the gas was sprayed into the room where the babies and children were being kept while their mothers prayed together their Ramadan prayers. Panicked mothers ran for their babies, crying for their children so they could flee from the gas that was burning their eyes and throats and lungs. She grabbed her youngest in her arms and grabbed the hand of her other daughter, moving with the others to exit the building and the irritating substance there.

"The paramedic said the young one was in shock, and gave her oxygen to help her breathe. The child couldn't stop sobbing.

"This didn't happen in some far away place -- but right here in Dayton, and to my friends. Many of the Iraqi refugees were praying together at the Mosque Friday evening. People that I know and love.

"I am hurt and angry. I tell her this is NOT America. She tells me this is not Heaven or Hell -- there are good and bad people everywhere.

"She tells me that her daughters slept with her last night, the little one in her arms and sobbing throughout the night. She tells me she is afraid, and will never return to the mosque, and I wonder what kind of country is this where people have to fear attending their place of worship?

"The children come into the room, and tell me they want to leave America and return to Syria, where they had fled to from Iraq. They say they like me, ... , and other American friends -- but they are too afraid and want to leave. Should a 6 and 7 year old even have to contemplate the safety of their living situation?

"Did the anti-Muslim video circulating in the area have something to do with this incident, or is that just a bizarre coincidence? Who attacks women and children?

"What am I supposed to say to them? My words can't keep them safe from what is nothing less than terrorism, American style. Isn't losing loved ones, their homes, jobs, possessions and homeland enough? Is there no place where they can be safe?

"She didn't want me to leave her tonight, but it was after midnight, and I needed to get home and write this to my friends. Tell me -- tell me -- what am I supposed to say to them?"




When acting as a representative of Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), the 501(c)3 non-profit organization that I work for, I cannot engage in political activities. The distribution of Obsession, however, although a political campaign scheme, clearly crosses over into the mission of MRFF. So, I'm going to make two statements here -- one in my capacity as MRFF's Research Director, and another as an individual whose disgust at the vile campaign tactics of John McCain's supporters completely boiled over when I opened up the email about children being gassed.

My statement as MRFF's Research Director:

The presidential campaign edition of the Obsession DVD, currently being distributed by the Clarion Fund, carries the endorsement of the chair of the counter-terrorism department of the U.S. Naval War College, using the name and authority of an official U.S. military institution not only to validate an attack the religion of Islam, but to influence a political campaign. For these reasons, this endorsement has been included in MRFF's second lawsuit against the Department of Defense, which was filed on September 25 in the Federal District Court in Kansas.

My opinion as an individual and thoroughly appalled human being:

John McCain has a moral obligation to publicly censure the Clarion Fund, the organization that produced Obsession and is distributing the DVDs; to denounce the inflammatory, anti-Muslim message of Obsession; and to do everything in his power to stop any further campaign activities by his supporters that have the potential to incite violence.




Daily Kos: State of the Nation




reply to this interact write a new interact add to favorites flag objectionable content
#2 Posted by barristerakc on October 2, 2008 3:34:59 am
Tariq Ali like Arunadity Roy is an idealist jerk who has no political experience what-so-ever ; I do not understand why he’s taken so seriously!
reply to this interact write a new interact add to favorites flag objectionable content
#1 Posted by jayp on October 2, 2008 2:09:38 am
"Tariq Ali: What I argue in my book is that for the first two to three years, it was the Pakistani elite which was pursuing the United States. Because most of the people in charge of Pakistan for its first 10 years were people who collaborated with the British politically and militarily."

YLH where are you. Enlarge the above, put it under the photos of jinnah that you have in every wall of your house.
reply to this interact write a new interact add to favorites flag objectionable content

Interact Index

    #16 Ras
    #15 MantoLives
    #14 ijaz_gul
    #13 ahmedmadani
    #12 HP
    #11 _arjun27
    #10 _arjun27
    #9 masadi
    #8 ijaz_gul
    #7 laddu
    #6 laddu
    #5 Eklavya
    #4 Eklavya
    #3 dawa-i-dil
    #2 barristerakc
    #1 jayp

Also by Wajahat Ali

  • The Modern Morlocks Emerge – Muslim Americans
  • Oliver Stone movie “W.â€?
  • The Republican Red Scare
more »

Similar Articles

  • Dueling Partners: Pakistan and America Wajahat Ali
more »

Swat: Paradise Lost

  • Swat Calls For Civil Society to Act
  • In Search of Political Will: Fight Against Militants in Swat
  • In memory of the Swat valley
  • The Nightmare Must End
  • In Honor of the Heroes of Swat
more »
get rss feed Get Chowk RSS Feed

Get Chowk Newsletter

Latest Interacts

  • a_r_j_u_n325: #95 Posted by... The Strange Case of
  • RiazHaq: Re: # 90 bhs7:... The Strange Case of
  • jrabamind: Dear Parthaab, The study referred... Communicating Medical Errors
  • anil: Re: # 20 Dost sahib: “Indians... Uneven Democracy : The
  • shankar: #93 Woah...the mullah said he... The Strange Case of
  • guru: I mean http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqQJLOpKgRU... I Want Jinnah's Pakistan
  • guru: I do not want... I Want Jinnah's Pakistan
  • RiazHaq: It seems a little... Uneven Democracy : The

THEMES

  • Pakistan's Struggle for Democracy
  • The Indian Story
  • Indo-Pak Relations
  • Personal Narratives
  • Religion Today
  • War on Terror
  • Role of Media
  • Call for Social Change
  • Hold Them Accountable
  • Environment and Us
  • Way of Life
more »

Top 5 Articles This Week

  • Popular
  • The Strange Case of the Indian Channels That Did Not Air the 26/11 Documentary
  • I Want Jinnah's Pakistan
  • Why MQM Wants To Enter Punjab?
  • Forgive n Forget
  • Three Poems by Allama Iqbal
  • Featured
  • There are a Lot of Monkeys
  • White Charade
  • Words of a Woman
  • FOX News and the Smelly Shoes
  • Dilemmas of Creative Children
  • 10 Years Ago
  • Pakistan: Rapprochement with India ‘unstoppable’
  • In Defence of Benevolent Dictators
  • The Never-Ending Story
  • Misty-fying Haze
  • An MD’s Version of Faiz

Write on Chowk Interact Guidelines Privacy policy Terms Contact

Copyright © 1997 - 2009 chowk.com. All Rights Reserved
Reproduction of material on any www.chowk.com pages without prior written permissions is strictly prohibited