Communication from Pakistan

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Louis,

Things are getting pretty serious here in this part of the world. The
borders are bursting with refugees on one side and armed tribesmen trying
to cross over to fight with the Taliban on the other. The military
government has empowered the provincial governments to use all measures to
tackle street agitations. Leaders of religious parties are being arrested,
and many of them are now calling Musharraf a usurper who has hijacked the
country and sold it to the Americans. The American's are bombing
mercilessly, but the final push into Kabul doesn't seem to be
materializing. The Northern Alliance is hesitating. If they manage to enter
Kabul, there will in all likelihood be a bloodbath there since they will
argue that all Taliban troops need to be killed to secure the city, and it
is very hard to tell who is Taliban and who isn't. Rumsfeld came and went
through the region, and the man is walking more arrogantly than ever
before. There is little doubt that he came to discuss basing ground troops
in the country. Musharraf is looking into a very uncertain future now since
his "alliance" with America has forced him to retreat on every line he had
drawn with the Americans. Now, with the possibility of an NA government in
Afghanistan, he has to begin dismantling the local Jihadi outfits, a
delicate task indeed! Then there are concerns over Pakistan's nuclear
stockpile, and if he lifts so much as a finger to help secure those under
American pressure, there is no telling what the reaction within the army
could be. Right now he is being painted as a military hawk who has caved in
on Pakistans interest in Afghanistan, caved in on Jihadi activism, caved in
on Kashmir, and perhaps soon enough, caved in on nuclear security. A very
dangerous position for a hawk.

Meanwhile the streets around the world are bursting with indignation. Count
the number of mass demonstrations from Seattle to Genoa, and in the third
world against the IMF, and now against America's "war on terror." Close to
7.5 million people have now entered into a famine in Afghanistan, on the
very outset of winter. A UN report released a few days after the WTC
strikes said that close to 800 million children in the world are working
under bonded labor contracts, many producing goods for America's
consumptive public. Another UN report released a few days ago says that
close to 2 billion (!) people in the world now lack basic food security. I
feel like telling someone: we are tired of America's hypocrisy, tired of
her arrogance, tired of her ignorance, tired of her wars, and tired of her
greed.

Through it all, we are looking very nervously at a new brand of fascism
that is rising in our midst here, and an old brand of fascism resurfacing
inside America. Its all very troubling. What to do?

Any ideas?

KH
Lahore, Pakistan



Louis Proyect
Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org


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