Understanding Waziristan With Akbar Ahmed*

Dear Mr. President,
The Tribal Areas of Pakistan are invariably described as lawless, ungoverned, volatile and havens for Al Qaeda and the Taliban. In a speech on March 27, 2009, “A New Strategy For Afghanistan And Pakistan,” you called it “the most dangerous place in the world.” You mentioned Al Qaeda 24 times, the Taliban 7 times and “safe haven” 5 times. What you didn’t mention was that until we pressured Musharraf to go into the region and capture Al Qaeda and Taliban militants fleeing Afghanistan, the region had been peaceful for more than 50 years. You also didn’t mention that contrary to press reports, the tribal regions had been governed by ancient traditions and law and had been left to follow their tribal ways, first by the British and then by the new Pakistani government under its George Washington, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Jinnah pulled all military troops out of the region, gave them the respect and freedom to rule themselves and they lived at peace with the central government until our invasion of Afghanistan. Musharraf finally yielded to American demands, sent troops into the region and all hell broke loose. But instead of seeing it for what it was, a battle for continued autonomy, respect and dignity by the Wazirs and Mehsuds, Washington saw it as a battle against Al Qaeda and your escalation of illegal and immoral drone attacks made it worse. In the roughly 400 attacks—all but 18 in Waziristan—more than 3,400 people have been killed, less than 2% of them High Value Targets. Once again, American foreign policy based on hubris and ignorance destabilized a formerly peaceful country resulting in the slaughter of thousands of innocents and the misery of millions (more than a million people, half the population of the region, are now displaced). You probably know that 79% of Pakistanis hate the US drone policy but did your foreign policy wizards tell you that 68% also dislike Al Qaeda? Akbar Ahmed, former Pakistani High Commissioner to the UK and currently a professor at American University in Washington says: “The government, instead of funding military operations in Waziristan, should be funding education, medical facilities, stable electricity lines and other development projects.” (http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/04/20134983149771365.html) Why don’t you have a talk with Mr.Ahmed, someone who understands the history, culture and people of Pakistan instead of war hawks like Brennan, Clapper and Kerry? It would make for a better world.
 * Akbar Ahmed  is the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University in Washington, DC, the former Pakistani High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, and served as Political Agent in South Waziristan Agency. His most recent book is The Thistle and the Drone: How America's War on Terror Became a War on Tribal Islam, (Brookings Institution Press, March 2013).