EDITORIAL – U.S. repeats history in Pakistan tribe strategy

“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” – George Santayana

The… “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” – George Santayana

The Pentagon proposed a new strategy yesterday to train and expand Pakistani paramilitary tribal groups to fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Those of us who pay attention in history class realize, however, that this isn’t a “new” strategy at all. It’s been used many times in the past, scarring our nation’s history with shocking deeds and alliances.

Take the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, for instance, in which the United States aided fundamentalist militia to combat Soviet pursuits in the region. Out of the militia rose the infamous Taliban who eventually seized power in Afghanistan and who we are still struggling to fight today. And yet, American military officials do not hesitate in proposing the same plan, paving the way for a vicious, never-ending cycle of violence in the Middle East. The object of the War on Terror should be to get rid of terrorism, not give way to it.

We are in awe of our government’s astounding inability to learn from history. It is shocking to think that a group of intelligent military officials could think this plan is a good one.

According to The New York Times, the proposal is modeled to some extent on similar actions by the American military in the Anbar Province in Iraq that have shown much success in fighting insurgents.

But the developments in Iraq are unique to Iraq, and Iraq only. Pakistan is a different country, with a different history, with different people and with a different culture and politics. It is both inefficient and irresponsible to use the same tactics in two separate countries.

The United States might share a mutual enemy with certain tribes in Pakistan, but what Pentagon officials do not seem to understand is that the United States is also bound to fall out with those groups. History has shown that such groups have never been on our side. And they most likely never will be.

The truth is that tribal paramilitaries are not helping the United States out of the goodness of their hearts. They are doing so because of already-existing tensions with our mutual enemy. And U.S. military officials are exploiting those tensions for their own benefits, something that could have disastrous results. The last thing we should be doing is arming fractious and ideologically ambiguous groups in the already unstable Middle East.

Another obvious problem is that tribal paramilitaries do not fall under the oversight of the international government. In other words, these groups could easily take advantage of the aid they receive from the United States, using it for terrorism of their own kind.

The Pentagon’s plan is like trying to win a chess game blindfolded. We are clearly unable to see and understand the enemy and the tribal groups that have the potential to become the enemy. We also don’t know what moves they are making and how they will react to our moves.

If implemented, this plan is sure to come back to haunt us in a few years. Can we learn from history or will we continue to repeat it?