Political, military and diplomatic events moved so fast after the Abbottabad night raid that there is an utter confusion in the country. Everyone has his opinion and each opinion expressed increases the existing perplexity. Our government, our military and the foreign office are all reluctant to share the facts with the nation. There have been high level conferences at the military level, in-camera sessions at the Parliament and a flurry of diplomatic contacts but the confusion still persists in fact deepens. In the absence of any definite information many stories are floating among the public and media, some half truths and some utter fantasies. In the midst of these conspiracy theories the real problems facing the country have been lost altogether. The US Special Forces launched a midnight raid at a residential compound not far from the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) allegedly occupied by a high terrorist target. Abbottabad is a military garrison town which houses three large size military training establishments besides the PMA. The raiding party remained in the vicinity for over 40 minutes yet these military establishments did not or could not react in time. The media did report some nefarious activity, the situation cleared in the morning when the US President publically announced that the US Special Forces had killed Osama bin Laden (OBL) who was hiding in Abbottabad for the last several years and accused Pakistan and the ISI of sheltering him. Rest is history. The most disturbing aspect for the nation was that the US helicopters could intrude into Pakistan airspace undetected during the fly in, operation and fly out; our radars were jammed, no were inactive, shut down for maintenance were the excuses offered to the nation. These excuses came out after a considerable lapse of time. There are stories that these helicopters flew from a base near Terbela which is being operated by US CIA. Apart from the claims of the USA we do not know the identity of the man killed; the manner to which OBLs dead body was disposed of leaves many doubts. But the media blitz unleashed will not stop till the 'lie is believed; its 9/11 and Iraqi WMDs all over again. Why did Pakistan Army and the government act in a confusing manner? In the absence of exact information one tends to believe that Pakistan Army and the government were in cahoots with US operations; after all we are Allies in the war on terror. One, Raqib Shah in a blog captioned 'Why well never see dead OBL has floated a fantastic story. He claims OBL had died quite some time back and his dead body was being held in a freezer at Terbela by the ISI. When Raymond Davis found out that family of OBL was residing at Abbottabad and this information fell in the hands of ISI after Lahore debacle Pakistan wanted to extract maximum benefit from the USA and conspired with them to stage the raid. He claims that OBL dead body was transported by Pak Helicopters to the compound at Abbottabad from where the US troops took on. The Pakistan military and political leadership knew the standing OBL had acquired in the Muslim mind; hence they did not react immediately. The later reaction was an effort to do damage control. Raqibs story appears far fetched. But it does leave some doubts. When this happened our President was touring Russia and the Prime Minister was visiting France. Despite this crisis at home they took their time, the PM even stayed over an extra day. This too creates doubts. The US and the Indian leadership used this as a propaganda blitz against Pakistan and threatened more assaults of this nature. Pakistan military and political leadership went into high gear and called high level conferences, in-camera sessions and high sounding warnings of 'dire consequences if such attacks are repeated. Parliament resolution called for the stoppage of drone attacks. The irony is that a number of drone attacks were launched while we were issuing resolutions. This has shattered the confidence of the nation. The masses feel unsafe with confidence in our forces almost shattered. If the story that the US helicopters flew in from Afghanistan undetected and launched the assault in the heartland of Pakistan is believed, every place in Pakistan is vulnerable to enemy attacks. The questions raised in media about defence expenditures become pertinent. The support campaign orchestrated to project that masses are behind the forces loses its luster when one listens to comments on media channels. The fact is that there is a general gloom and despair in the nation. This despair is seeping into the forces also. This is evident from the Frontier Corps (FC) Balochistan behaviour that has emerged on the television across the nation. The manner a posse of FC shot and killed five hapless women and men shows the demoralisation that is setting into the uniformed forces. They shot those unarmed men and women as if they were out on a duck shoot. The commanding officer was in lead and shooting on fallen bodies. The most deploring scene was when the wounded women raised her arm finger pointing to the sky, a symbolic gesture of pleading in the name of Allah to stop but the brave men kept changing magazines and shooting. A uniformed and trained body of men forgets the rules of engagement only when they are afraid, demoralised or in panic, and indiscipline creeps in. This episode shows amply that all segments of society are in a state of panic. Senator Kerry carried a stick when he visited Pakistan and threatened to mount further attacks a la Abbottabad. President Obama has come out open with we would do it again threat. Realistically speaking, Pakistan is at war with the USA. An American journalist Webster Trapley in a TV interview had opined on the Abbottabad raid that it was CIA operation and was mounted to boost sagging Obama image in the USA. The disturbing prediction that he had made was what will follow this raid. He had said that CIA will launch a series of terrorist attacks across Pakistan which will be claimed by militants in NWA area. It will be the pressure tactics to force Pakistan to attack them. Such attacks will also demonstrate that Pakistan is incapable of defending its nuclear arsenal, making case for its neutralization with or without Pakistans cooperation. Thus the US forces will use Pakistan to eliminate threat to US troops in Afghanistan. With this threat reduced, Obama can start thinning out from Afghanistan in time to make a winning re-election bid. The terrorist attacks at Shabqadar and Mehran Naval Base have proved him right. Our internal security agencies have failed the nation yet again. Pakistan seems to lack a clear and well defined political, diplomatic and military strategy to overcome the situation the nation finds itself in. Politically the parties are trying to make political mileage and undermine the rivals; the Interior Minister had publicly accused Nawaz Sharif of providing shelter to OBL. We have no Foreign Minister to lay down clear guidelines for a diplomatic strategy to meet the sitution. Our military claims to thwart all and any aggression against Pakistan, yet people are being killed in drone attacks, terrorist onslaughts and threats are being hurled at Pakistan. Nothing is clear in the domestic and international spheres; the nation is in a state of utter confusion. When a nation loses its direction and gropes in the dark it merely survives. With unabated terror attacks across Pakistan we are living in constant fear; the sagging faith and trust in our military capability is ushering in a panic state. Unless the leadership gears up and takes a bold stance no improvements seems in sight. There is a dire need to establish a national government in the country which with the backing of the populace can tell the Americans to go fight their wars on their own and distance Pakistan from their imperialistic designs. The present government does not have the spine to show this resolve. n The writer is a freelance columnist.