Getting the right bearings

This nation, completely adrift in its bearings in all and every way, is once again awash with anti-American polemics, as it has been sporadically since the early 1990s when the Iraq-Iran war was being waged, and we are once again being fed, via our media, a daily diet of often crude anti-Americanism that has not been rationalised or thought out. As always, it is creating political havoc. When lamenting the perceived loss of sovereignty (an overused word) and the takeover of Pakistan by the American empire, are we not focusing on the wrong target - the USA itself? Why should we blame the US for its finger-in-the-pie of Pakistan when it is in fact patriotic Pakistanis who have acquiesced, even encouraged to their own advantage, American domination? How has it come about that public perception has it that the president of the republic, Asif Ali Zardari is far too close for comfort to the US which has convinced a large bunch of Pakistanis that the US wishes to take over the country, complete with its nuclear arsenal and that the nation's fight against terrorism and the Taliban is a mere cover up? Let us revert to the deal struck in 2007 between former President General Pervez Musharraf, Benazir Bhutto and the US, brokered by such men as (to name but two of now high profile) Rehman Malik and the then ISI chief, Lt General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. As soon as Benazir was murdered at the end of 2007, Zardari wasted little time in grabbing the leadership of the PPP, taking it from under the noses of those who had loyally served both Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his daughter. He did so without a murmur being raised and with all, in a wink of an eye, forsaking the memory of the two leaders and pledging themselves to the new Zardari branded PPP. Musharraf admittedly had done his bit to allow the Americans leverage on the nation's affairs, but does anyone know how much more Zardari has ceded? Why should we doubt that what is being allegedly achieved by the US is not linked firmly to a Zardari-US 'arrangement'? It must have been but days after Benazir's death that a shrewd Zardari, thinking ahead, made up his mind to get into the presidency which would give him the necessary immunity he desired and needed from his past alleged misdeeds. And it was at that same time that the US, gauging the situation, the sympathy wave being a mammoth factor, transferred the 'deal' from Benazir to Zardari, keeping an agreeable Musharraf who mistakenly trusted Zardari in place. Zardari played his cards well. He cleverly manipulated Mian Nawaz Sharif and his League, leading them by the nose up into the hills of Murree and had no scruples on reneging on any deal done, as he then reneged on the Musharraf deal, joining hands with his historical enemies with the sole purpose of getting rid of the general and getting himself into the presidency. Once the US understood that Musharraf could not be saved, it had no hesitation in dumping him. It can be assumed that a new 'deal' was done or arrangement made with Zardari who had wangled matters so cleverly that it was guaranteed to the US that the pathetic politicians of the various assemblies would, at the level to which they had sunk, vote him in as president. Now, what was this understanding between Zardari, and of course the army chief, General Kayani, who as head of the ISI was once described in the American press as "the coolest" spy chief of Pakistan the US had ever dealt with? What grounds were ceded to the US, what concessions agreed to, how much of the nation's precious assiduously guarded sovereignty was surrendered so that both the Americans and Zardari and the mighty Pakistan Army could have their respective cakes, enjoy and eat them at their leisure? That the army has come up trumps when it comes to battling on its own soil against its own terrorist forces is of course to its credit - but credit must also be given to the urgings by the US in keeping with the arrangements made. Rumours abound about the rocky relationship between the president and the army chief. Is it really rocky? It is unlikely that the army was not aware of the negotiations over the Kerry-Lugar Bill - after all, it is inconceivable that the largest and most powerful party of the land, all-seeing and all-knowing, did not know what was happening in Washington. The president is in a place for as long as he serves Uncle Sam's purposes, until he can no longer deliver, or until the US realises the depths of his unpopularity. And, most importantly, he is there until an equally pliant and open to influence replacement is found for him - that may not be such a difficult one as our politicians are famed for their ability to swing with the gift-bearing winds. The writer is a freelance columnist. Email: jilani.amina@gmail.com