Adil Najam
Flicking through Pakistani TV channels I note that all of Pakistan’s mediadom seems to be waiting for imminent release of new documents on WikiLeaks, reportedly including communication from US officials on Pakistan, Pakistanis, Pakistani politicians, and Pakistani agencies and officials.
News junkie that I am, I must confess that I, too, am waiting for Wikileaks. But I am not really sure ‘what’ I am waiting for – or anticipating to hear – from Wikileaks. Nor, do I think, does anyone else. At least any Pakistani. Maybe that is what makes the entire episode so enticing. But it also shows just how messed up US-Pakistan relations really are today.
Amidst all the talk about how dangerous the leaks might be and how they might spoil relations between the US and its supposed ‘allies,’ I wonder exactly what we might find from the leaked documents that would really ‘surprise’ any Pakistani leader, or Pakistani journalist, or any Pakistani for that matter?
Would we, for example, learn that US officials have no trust in or respect for any Pakistani leader, or for Pakistanis, or for Pakistan? And if we did, would that really be a surprise or ‘news’ for anyone in Pakistan or in the US?
Or, maybe, the leaked documents will tell us that the US has continued and plans to continue an illegal, immoral and ineffective campaign of drone attacks into the territory of one of its closest ‘allies’? That despite their apparent protestations the Pakistan government has remained cognizant but acted ignorant of this campaign? That these attacks have consumed more civilian life than military targets, increased anti-Americanism in Pakistan? And if they did, would that be a surprise for anyone who has watched TV news or opened a Pakistani newspaper at anytime in the last year?
Maybe they will reveal that the amount of contempt that Pakistani institutions and officials have for the US is matched only by the contempt that US institutions and officials have for Pakistan? Or that the Pakistan’s favorite pundit sport of ‘blame it on America’ is no different from America’s favorite pundit sport of ‘blame it on Pakistan’? And if it does, who, pray tell me, is supposed to be surprised by that?
Of course, I do realize that the entire point of a ‘surprise’ is that it cannot be anticipated. That, after all, is the point of calling it a surprise. Indeed, there will be surprises. More than that there will be validation of that which we already believed. And most of all there will be details. All of these will keep the news wheels grinding – in their different styles and rhythms, but with equal but inconsequential fervor – in both Pakistan and USA.
But the real and most important revelation that these particular Wikileaks could make about US-Pakistan relations has already come out in the run-up frenzy to the leaks: The US-Pakistan relationship is at such a low point in both USA and in Pakistan that nothing – well, maybe ‘nearly’ nothing – can make the trust deficit too much worse than it already is.
Are these wiki leaks really secret things for people? Don’t we already know what’s being planned for different countries of the world.
Does any one realise who benefited or will benefit the most with the wikileaks???
Israel ….. off course.
Excellent analysis.
Your concluding point has been proven by what we find in the reaction to the leaks in both Pakistan and USA:
“The US-Pakistan relationship is at such a low point in both USA and in Pakistan that nothing – well, maybe ‘nearly’ nothing – can make the trust deficit too much worse than it already is.”
Interesting discussion but I haven’t found anything substantive in this report. As for the statement that Zardari is dirty but not dangerous and Sharif vice versa, it’s subject to one’s personal opinion and national interest. From the Western point of view Zardari is less dangerous because he is leading Pakistan’s foreign and regional policy against the wishes of the general public and in line with the Musharraf-Bush policy. But from Pakistani point of view Zardari is both dangerous and dirty. Because our bigger challenges are poor governance and corruption and from this point of view extremism and militancy is an outcome of bad governance and lack of writ of the government in our rural and tribal areas. It can also be said that terrorism is actually a remnant of the Cold War but that’s beside the discussion at hand.
@Asad: Better you go thru the documents published by Wikileaks. It has more than discussing joker Zardari.
I don’t understand what’s the objective of releasing these documents? Specially when US is planning to pull out forces from Afghanistan next year after the ‘defeat’ and mounting up pressure on Iran. Discussion of Iran and associating it with Saudi monarch is quite meaningful.
On the other hand, crook Taseer and his daughters are busy in Twitterverse to badmouth King Abdullah who spoke truth about Zardari. Interesting thing is that they are cursing to the leader of the country which always helped Pakistan in needy times. Even in the presence of corrupt Zardari regime, they tried to distribute things during flood. That’s other thing that we sold out those dates in Market. Taseer should show some maturity. Americans curse his Master more than Arabs one way or other. That’s other thing that layer of Beghariti helps them to ignore those reactions by Americans.