Loud Thinking

Posts Tagged ‘army’

If the Indian government is so weak and afraid of the Indian establishment, which is headed by Indian army, that the government was forced to lick its own spit (first they submitted a statement in the Lok Sabha that Pak Army had no hand in the killings of the Indian soldiers, 5 KM inside the border, about which Indian army in fact, filed an FIR as well, and later on, took a 180 degrees turn and openly blamed Pak Army SSG soldiers, all under its establishment’s pressure), then the only course left for the Pakistan’s government is to directly talk with the Indian army, which wields real power in India, over the dummy civilian government’s facade.

My old comments on a TOI news of 21 September, 2012 and latest observations of a senior US army general about the influence of the Indian army over its government.

Greatness of a general doesn’t lie in waging and winning a war. Rather, in avoiding the war.

Indian Army chief opposes PM’s trip to Pak (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Army-chief-opposes-PMs-trip-to-Pak/articleshow/16482507.cms#write )

Here, I Remember what Winston Churchill said about the generals, “war is too serious a business to be left to the generals”. Adding to that I will say “peace is even more serious a business to be left to the generals, who by their training are mostly prone to their myopic and tunnel vision.”

I wonder, if the Berlin wall would ever have been removed, if the decision was left to the generals.

So Gen. Bikram Singh should also know that it’s not Siachin, but the future of 1.5 billion humanity of sub continent which is at stake. If, the blood has been shed on a foolish act in the past, why not take action to stop further shedding of blood, for the noble cause of peace & eradication of ignorance and poverty, in the sub continent.

The thinking of such generals, can delay the emancipation of Indians and Pakistanis, but can never permanently deny the divends of peace to such a large world population, which is no more interested in continued acrimony, between the two neighboring countries.

Now,the peace loving people of both the countries have decided once for ever, that they will no more remain the prisoner of the past.

If any body wants to observe the dividends of peace between the neighbors, just look at Europe, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Now, I invite the attention of all those people towards the following eye opening comments of a senior US army general, reported on 29 July, 2013 by the TOI, who say within and outside Pakistan, that Pak army is very influential in exercising its authority over the civilian governments in Pakistan, with reference to the major policy issues of the country.

WASHINGTON: The Indian Army is by far the most influential in the Asia Pacific region, a top American General said as he stressed on the importance of building military-to-military relationship between the two countries.

“As is in many of the Asia-Pacific countries, the army is the dominant service in those countries. India is a prime example. It is by far the largest service. It is by far the most influential,” US Army chief of staff General Raymond T Odierno said.

Link:- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Indian-Army-most-influential-in-Asia-Pacific-region-US-General/articleshow/21465988.cms

By: General Mirza Aslam Beg

Former Chief of Army Staff

On 17^th August 1988, I didn’t consult any of my Corps Commanders or Principal Staff Officers (PSOs) and called-upon the Naval and Air Chiefs, discussed the matter briefly, and within three hours of General Ziaul Haq’s death, restored the Constitution and handed over power to Mr. Ghulam Ishaq Khan, It was an unprecedented decision in favour of democracy and rule of law. Similarly General Kiani, took the ‘command decision’ of keeping the army out of the election process of 18^th February 2008, defeated Musharraf’s sinister design of repeat of 2002 elections and put democracy on the right course. 

      In May 1990, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan gave me a ‘non-paper’, listing serious lapses on part of the Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto. I made the mistake of discussing this matter with the Corps Commanders and the PSOs. The ‘consensus decision’ was conveyed to the President, that “remaining within the constitutional limits, the President may take action as deemed necessary.” Benazir Bhutto’s government was soon dismissed and a care-taker government was formed to hold elections in 90 days, thus setting the bad precedence of ‘Presidential Coup’, during the period 1990-1998. In the retrospective, I regret having consulted the senior military commanders on such a vital issue. My ‘command decision’ would have been very different. 

      Similarly, General Kiani’s recent decision to consult the Corps Commanders and the PSOs, on the present critical national issues, and the declaration of 10th June 2011, carries all the weaknesses of a ‘consensus decision’ as it has failed to address the main issues, which matter to the people of Pakistan and the country, as highlighted in my recent article, titled “Our Wuthering Sovereignty” published on 15^th May 2011. I said: “The Pakistani nation has had such high expectations from the democratic government to deliver a sovereign parliament, an independent judiciary and an above board accountability, which are the pillars of national sovereignty, but unfortunately these institutions have been so methodically suppressed to render them ineffective. In fact, our national sovereignty has been debased and humiliated by one and all who mattered in Pakistan.”

      The GHQ Declaration of 10^th June, 2011, has passed-on the entire responsibility of correcting the course, to the government, which itself is responsible for creating this calamity. This declaration won’t help establish the civilian supremacy over the military. Rather it shirks responsibility, to support the state institutions to perform. In fact, it is a repeat of General Jehangir Karamat’s action of 1997, who failed to respond to the call of the Supreme Court, that led to the assault on the Supreme Court and the political turmoil, thus paving the way for Musharraf’s take over. And if past declarations of this kind are any guide, this declaration also falls short of achieving the main objective, that is, establishing the supremacy of the civil authority over the military. Let us re-count a few episodes, preceding Gen Zia’s coup of 1977:

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  • In 1976, Prime Minister Bhutto was visiting Multan. The then Corps Commander Lt Gen Ziaul Haq called-on him and pledged loyalty to Mr. Bhutto, on the Holy Book. Mr. Bhutto was so impressed that he appointed General Zia, as his COAS.
  • In 1977, Mr. Bhutto was visiting Murree. Commander 12 Division Maj Gen Akhtar Abdur Rahman lined-up his officers and their wives, on the reception-line and in an exclusive meeting he also pledged loyalty to Mr. Bhutto on the Holy Book, establishing the nexus with General Zia.
  • In 1977, when the political agitation against Mr. Bhutto’s government had reached a dangerous level, the top military commanders, such as the Chairman JCSC and the three service Chiefs, pledged to the nation, their loyalty and unflinching support for the government, but, within days, Gen Zia struck and dismissed the government.

      General Kiani has time to correct the course. Civilian supremacy over the military can be established only by a sovereign parliament and an independent judiciary as we witness today in Turkey – the example to follow. General Kiani should support the Parliament’s resolution demanding cessation of drone attacks, which the American flouted and the parliament was helpless, while the Pakistani armed forces have full capability to deter and defeat such violations of our sovereignty. The will to use this capability is ‘a function of command decision, of the person in authority’ as demonstrated in 1990, by the then Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto. She sent the foreign minister to Delhi, with a strong message, and ordered a squadron of F-16s fully armed, ready to strike targets deep in the South of India. This bold command decision, deterred the enemy. Then, we had the F-16s and now we have the submarines, missiles and guns, which can engage targets upto a range of 30 KMs to 3000 KMs. Whereas we enjoy distinct superiority on ground, i.e., the men and missiles and the conventional weapons support. Our men belong to one of the best fighting machine of the world, supported by the hard core tribal fighters of our border regions. Based on Men and Missile, we can effectively deter and defeat aggression directed against Pakistan from Afghan territory. Let there be no ambiguity about it. 

      The Armed Forces must support the ‘Supreme Court of Pakistan, to ensure that the judgments passed by the apex court are implemented, which is the constitutional responsibility of the armed forces and there is no going back on it. The armed forces must also help re-establish, above board accountability, to punish the corrupt and the unscrupulous. The political parties also have the shared responsibility to help the military, establish the supremacy of the civilian rule and also have to remain mindful of the bloatings and blusterings of the opposition leaders, against the military, which is counter-productive. They better draw on the political wisdom of Mr. Erbogan of Turkey, who has achieved harmony between the seculars/liberals and the Islamists, has established the supremacy of the civilian rule over the military and has taken the country to unprecedented economic heights.

      If the military high command remains content with the 10^th June declaration, that would mean waiting for the collapse of the system and military take-over. It is the time now to act, remaining within the framework of the Constitution, and support the present government, to build a sovereign parliament, an independent judiciary and the institution to deliver above board accountability. This would be the greatest gift, the armed forces could offer to the nation – an unprecedented move, “to willingly accept the supremacy of the civilian rule.” 

This is our rendezvous with history. And to make history, one has to rise above the level of the ordinary.

LINK:http://pakpotpourri2.wordpress.com/2011/06/18/waiting-for-the-command-decision/

An exceptional article publised in the daily ” The Nation ” dated May 22, 2011 titled ‘Osama’s Killing: A Drama or Reality” by Mr. Khawar Munir Haroon, is reproduces below for the benefit of readers who are keenly interested in resolving the mystery of the death of Osama Bin Laden.

Quote. ” According to Dr Steve R. Pieczenik, a psychiatrist who has treated CIA employees, “Osama was dead in 2001” and 9/11 was, in any case, a farce. When a person with the inside knowledge of the American intelligence system says so it is hard not to believe him.

Mr Pieczenik cannot be dismissed as a conspiracy theorist. He served on important posts with Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush Sr. He was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State with the first three and also as senior policy planner under Henry Kissinger, Cyrus Vance and James Baker. The former US Navy Captain still works as a consultant for the Department of Defence and is recipient of two prestigious Harry C. Solomon awards at the Harvard Medical School, as he simultaneously completed a PhD at MIT. He has a long list of credentials that can be found through the internet. He says: “Osama was suffering with Marfan syndrome”, and he died in 2001, “not because the Special Forces had killed him, but because as a physician I had known that the CIA physicians had treated him and it was on the intelligence roster that he had Marfan syndrome. The US government knew he was dead before they invaded Afghanistan. Bush Jr knew about it, the intelligence community knew about it. CIA physicians had visited bin Laden in July 2001 at the American Hospital in Dubai.”

Marfan syndrome is a degenerative genetic disease for which there is no permanent cure. The illness severely shortens the lifespan of the sufferer.

Then why to dramatise Osama’s capture, his murder and then throwing the dead body in the sea? What is the message sent out? Who gained and who are the losers?

The CIA failed on 9/11 or did it? It is a Zionist plan that is gradually unfolding. It is a pity that the poor Americans are so naive that they cannot read between the lines. They are mechanised robots.

They do not have time to go through the political jigsaw. Most of them only understand what is fed to them by the media, which is primarily owned and operated by the Jews. They are fleecing the people of America who are being practically controlled by Israel. Don’t we know who controls the American economy? Don’t we know about the owners of US gold reserves? Why moves aimed at destabilisation are under way in our part of the world? Who are the actors behind the stage? Who are the supporters of the terrorist groups operating in Pakistan? Are we not aware of the funding channels of these plunderers? The answer is short and crisp. It is the Israeli perpetrators. They are there in the guise of our so-called religious brethren and friends.