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	<title>Afghanistan &#8211; Brown Pundits</title>
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		<title>Pakistan must not treat Afghanistan like Gaza</title>
		<link>https://www.brownpundits.com/2026/03/17/pakistan-strikes-a-hospital-in-kabul-400-dead/</link>
					<comments>https://www.brownpundits.com/2026/03/17/pakistan-strikes-a-hospital-in-kabul-400-dead/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[X.T.M]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Mar 2026 10:50:24 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Popular]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.brownpundits.com/?p=23555</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[[A note to readers: BB&#8217;s open thread is taking a short break while he recalibrates to high-signal posting] Pakistan Strikes a Hospital in Kabul. Late on Monday night, the 28th night of Ramadan,  a missile struck the Omid (&#8220;Hope&#8221;) Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul. It is a 2,000-bed facility built in a former NATO camp, &#8230; <a href="https://www.brownpundits.com/2026/03/17/pakistan-strikes-a-hospital-in-kabul-400-dead/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Pakistan must not treat Afghanistan like Gaza</span></a>]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>
<div class="standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&amp;_&gt;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3">
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><em>[A note to readers: BB&#8217;s open thread is taking a short break while he recalibrates to high-signal posting]</em></p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><strong>Pakistan Strikes a Hospital in Kabul.</strong></p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">Late on Monday night, the 28th night of Ramadan,  a missile struck the Omid (&#8220;Hope&#8221;) Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul. It is a 2,000-bed facility built in a former NATO camp, housing thousands of young Afghans receiving treatment for drug dependency. Witnesses said they heard three explosions just as patients were completing evening prayers. Two bombs struck patient rooms directly. &#8220;<em>The whole place caught fire. It was like doomsday,</em>&#8221; one survivor told Reuters. <span class="inline-flex" data-state="closed"><a class="group/tag relative h-[18px] rounded-full inline-flex items-center overflow-hidden -translate-y-px cursor-pointer" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/17/families-search-for-loved-ones-after-deadly-pakistan-strikes-on-kabul-rehab" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span class="relative transition-colors h-full max-w-[180px] overflow-hidden px-1.5 inline-flex items-center font-small rounded-full border-0.5 border-border-300 bg-bg-200 group-hover/tag:bg-accent-900 group-hover/tag:border-accent-100/60"><span class="text-nowrap text-text-300 break-all truncate font-normal group-hover/tag:text-text-200">Al Jazeera</span></span></a></span></p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">Taliban authorities say 408 were killed and 265 injured; figures that remain unverified by any independent party, though the physical destruction of the hospital and the ongoing rescue operation are not in dispute. Rescuers were still pulling bodies from rubble by flashlight through the night. The UN human rights expert for Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, said he was &#8220;dismayed&#8221; and urged all parties to &#8220;<em>respect international law, including the protection of civilians and civilian objects such as hospitals.</em>&#8221; <span class="inline-flex" data-state="closed"><a class="group/tag relative h-[18px] rounded-full inline-flex items-center overflow-hidden -translate-y-px cursor-pointer" href="https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/rescue-crews-dig-bodies-ruins-kabul-hospital-hit-131139788" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span class="relative transition-colors h-full max-w-[180px] overflow-hidden px-1.5 inline-flex items-center font-small rounded-full border-0.5 border-border-300 bg-bg-200 group-hover/tag:bg-accent-900 group-hover/tag:border-accent-100/60"><span class="text-nowrap text-text-300 break-all truncate font-normal group-hover/tag:text-text-200">ABC News</span></span></a></span></p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">Pakistan insists its strikes &#8220;<em>precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure</em>&#8221; in Kabul and Nangarhar, with targeting &#8220;<em>carefully undertaken to ensure no collateral damage.</em>&#8221; <span class="inline-flex" data-state="closed"><a class="group/tag relative h-[18px] rounded-full inline-flex items-center overflow-hidden -translate-y-px cursor-pointer" href="https://www.cp24.com/news/world/2026/03/17/pakistan-airstrike-on-afghan-hospital-leaves-400-dead/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span class="relative transition-colors h-full max-w-[180px] overflow-hidden px-1.5 inline-flex items-center font-small rounded-full border-0.5 border-border-300 bg-bg-200 group-hover/tag:bg-accent-900 group-hover/tag:border-accent-100/60"><span class="text-nowrap text-text-300 break-all truncate font-normal group-hover/tag:text-text-200">CP24</span></span></a></span></p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">One witness at the scene noted military units were positioned around the hospital perimeter; which may explain the targeting logic, if not excuse it. No secondary explosions consistent with an arms depot were filmed.</p>
<figure style="width: 890px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="sFlh5c FyHeAf iPVvYb" src="https://mondediplo.com/local/cache-vignettes/L890xH777/arton5182-e5243-d472c.jpg?1740648260" alt="Afghanistan-Pakistan border: new centre of the 'war on terror', by Philippe Rekacewicz (Le Monde diplomatique - English edition, December 2009)" width="890" height="777" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">the war</figcaption></figure>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><strong>The pattern matters as much as the incident.</strong></p>
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<p><span id="more-23555"></span></p>
<div class="standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&amp;_&gt;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3">
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">This conflict, the most severe between the two neighbours in years, began in late February when Afghanistan launched cross-border attacks in response to Pakistani airstrikes that Kabul said killed civilians. A Qatar-brokered ceasefire was shattered.</p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">Pakistan has since declared itself in open war with Afghanistan. <span class="inline-flex" data-state="closed"><a class="group/tag relative h-[18px] rounded-full inline-flex items-center overflow-hidden -translate-y-px cursor-pointer" href="https://www.npr.org/2026/03/16/g-s1-114013/pakistan-strike-kabul-hospital" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span class="relative transition-colors h-full max-w-[180px] overflow-hidden px-1.5 inline-flex items-center font-small rounded-full border-0.5 border-border-300 bg-bg-200 group-hover/tag:bg-accent-900 group-hover/tag:border-accent-100/60"><span class="text-nowrap text-text-300 break-all truncate font-normal group-hover/tag:text-text-200">NPR</span></span></a></span></p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">The structural parallel with Gaza is not rhetorical; it is operational. One side has an air force and the other does not. One side can strike a capital city&#8217;s hospitals; the other cannot reach Islamabad. When a militarily superior power wages war in dense civilian terrain, whatever the provocation, the asymmetry of suffering becomes the story, regardless of who started it. Pakistan&#8217;s stated casus belli, TTP cross-border attacks facilitated by the Taliban, is real. But the civilian body count accumulating in Kabul is also real, and the two facts sit in the same moral universe.</p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">There is a principle here that should not require repetition but apparently does: <strong>hospitals are protected under international humanitarian law not because the patients inside are innocent of politics, but because the sanctity of medical care is a floor beneath which no military logic is permitted to descend.</strong> Drug addicts in a rehab ward on the 28th night of Ramadan are not combatants. Bombing them, intentionally or through reckless proximity, is not a precision strike. It is a massacre.</p>
<figure id="attachment_23558" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-23558" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-23558 size-medium" src="https://www.brownpundits.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cc159770-21cf-11f1-bc83-b1c1646c71b1.jpg-300x168.webp" alt="" width="300" height="168" srcset="https://www.brownpundits.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cc159770-21cf-11f1-bc83-b1c1646c71b1.jpg-300x168.webp 300w, https://www.brownpundits.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cc159770-21cf-11f1-bc83-b1c1646c71b1.jpg-768x431.webp 768w, https://www.brownpundits.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cc159770-21cf-11f1-bc83-b1c1646c71b1.jpg.webp 976w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-23558" class="wp-caption-text">the destruction</figcaption></figure>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">China&#8217;s special envoy has been shuttling between Kabul and Islamabad urging a ceasefire. <span class="inline-flex" data-state="closed"><a class="group/tag relative h-[18px] rounded-full inline-flex items-center overflow-hidden -translate-y-px cursor-pointer" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghanistan-hospital-strike-kabul-pakistan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span class="relative transition-colors h-full max-w-[180px] overflow-hidden px-1.5 inline-flex items-center font-small rounded-full border-0.5 border-border-300 bg-bg-200 group-hover/tag:bg-accent-900 group-hover/tag:border-accent-100/60"><span class="text-nowrap text-text-300 break-all truncate font-normal group-hover/tag:text-text-200">CBS News</span></span></a></span></p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">He has nothing to show for it. Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State are both present in the region and actively trying to resurface. <span class="inline-flex" data-state="closed"><a class="group/tag relative h-[18px] rounded-full inline-flex items-center overflow-hidden -translate-y-px cursor-pointer" href="https://www.npr.org/2026/03/16/g-s1-114013/pakistan-strike-kabul-hospital" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span class="relative transition-colors h-full max-w-[180px] overflow-hidden px-1.5 inline-flex items-center font-small rounded-full border-0.5 border-border-300 bg-bg-200 group-hover/tag:bg-accent-900 group-hover/tag:border-accent-100/60"><span class="text-nowrap text-text-300 break-all truncate font-normal group-hover/tag:text-text-200">NPR</span></span></a></span></p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">A full Pakistan-Afghanistan war is the vacuum they have been waiting for. Islamabad&#8217;s generals may believe they are winning. History suggests otherwise.</p>
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		<item>
		<title>Open Thread &#8211; &#8220;Open War&#8221; breaks out between Pakistan and Afghanistan</title>
		<link>https://www.brownpundits.com/2026/02/27/open-thread-open-war-breaks-out-between-pakistan-and-afghanistan/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[RecoveringNewsJunkie]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Feb 2026 09:04:53 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Open Thread]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RecoveringNewsJunkie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indo-Pak Relations]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.brownpundits.com/?p=23297</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This is a quote from Pakistan&#8217;s &#8216;defence minister&#8217; from a couple of hours ago. There is a shooting war on the Durand line, and the PAF has bombed Kabul and Kandahar, including the airport, Taliban ministry buildings and other non-military targets. This round of AfPak hostilities kicked off with a &#8216;surgical airstrike&#8217; by Pakistan into &#8230; <a href="https://www.brownpundits.com/2026/02/27/open-thread-open-war-breaks-out-between-pakistan-and-afghanistan/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Open Thread &#8211; &#8220;Open War&#8221; breaks out between Pakistan and Afghanistan</span></a>]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This is a quote from Pakistan&#8217;s &#8216;defence minister&#8217; from a couple of hours ago. There is a shooting war on the Durand line, and the PAF has bombed Kabul and Kandahar, including the airport, Taliban ministry buildings and other non-military targets.</p>
<p>This round of AfPak hostilities kicked off with a &#8216;surgical airstrike&#8217; by Pakistan into Afghanistan that resulted in multiple civilian deaths. The Taliban retaliated by attacking Pakistani border outposts on the Durand Line, and claim to have captured more than a dozen of them, with Pakistani POWs and KIA. In response, the PAF has now bombed Kabul and Kandahar.</p>
<p>The Taliban, the erstwhile creation of the ISI, is now at war with Pakistan. Where does this go from here?</p>
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		<title>The growing Pakistan-Afghan Conflict. What next?</title>
		<link>https://www.brownpundits.com/2025/11/03/the-growing-pakistan-afghan-conflict/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[RecoveringNewsJunkie]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 Nov 2025 09:57:42 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[RecoveringNewsJunkie]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.brownpundits.com/?p=20888</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Most of us keeping up with news from the sub-continent are aware by now of the recent escalation in the long-simmering friction between Pakistan and Afghanistan.  The historical &#8216;divide&#8217; regarding the Durand Line is something that never really went away as much as the Pakistani state attempted to pretend that its a fait accompli.  And now &#8230; <a href="https://www.brownpundits.com/2025/11/03/the-growing-pakistan-afghan-conflict/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">The growing Pakistan-Afghan Conflict. What next?</span></a>]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Most of us keeping up with news from the sub-continent are aware by now of the recent escalation in the long-simmering friction between Pakistan and Afghanistan.  The historical &#8216;divide&#8217; regarding the <a href="https://www.efsas.org/publications/study-papers/the-durand-line-a-razors-edge-between-afghanistan-and-pakistan/">Durand Line</a> is something that never really went away as much as the Pakistani state attempted to pretend that its a <em>fait accompli</em>.  And now with the <em>Tehreek e</em> T<em>aliban <strong>Pakistan</strong></em> managing to to challenge the Pakistani state&#8217;s writ, and inflicting ever <a href="https://www.satp.org/terrorism-assessment/pakistan-khyberpakhtunkhwa">increasing costs</a> on PakMil, the <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1951957/asif-warns-afghanistan-of-deep-strikes-if-pakistan-attacked-from-its-soil">threats</a> to punish Afghanistan further are flowing thick and fast from Islamabad.</p>
<p>Pakistan, obviously enjoys a military supremacy over Afghanistan in multiple orders of magnitude. But as we have seen in Ukraine, or even in Afghanistan over the last few decades, the underdog can inflict some serious costs. And keep it going.</p>
<p>Question is, where does Pakistan go from here? With the growing reported <a href="https://www.chathamhouse.org/2025/10/india-seeking-reset-relations-taliban-can-rapprochement-last">rapprochement between the Taliban and New Delhi,</a> there&#8217;s every chance that the Afghan air defenses may be quickly ramped up from non-existent, to at least some level of deterrent.  Rumors are rife on the internet about Indian supply planes landing at Bagram.  And simply bombing Afghan border posts has diminishing returns.  The Taliban <a href="https://x.com/TOLONewsEnglish/status/1983911701553746388">do not appear </a>to be in any conciliatory mood.</p>
<p>In many ways, this has many parallels to India&#8217;s experience with <a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF11934">Pakistan backed jihadi groups</a> in the 30+ years starting from the late 1980s.  Its almost impossible to deter and defend against insurgency in mountainous terrain.  Especially when the insurgents find succor in the local populace.</p>
<p>So, what next for &#8220;Khyber Pakhtunkhwa&#8221; and Pakistan? How realistic is the possibility that the Pakistani military will be able to succeed &#8220;this time&#8221; when it has already &#8216;failed&#8217; a few times post-9/11, and had to make repeated &#8216;peace&#8217; deals with the TTP or its predecessors in the past?</p>
<p>The shooting war seems to have gone a bit quiet for now, but the war of words is quickly escalating.  It seems like the Taliban are being &#8216;good students&#8217; of the ISI and have adopted the tactic of releasing catchy music videos to make propaganda points.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Afghanistan&#8217;s powerful and truthful song about<br />
ghadar and dalal army of . 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/CLyFAnA17z">pic.twitter.com/CLyFAnA17z</a></p>
<p>&mdash;<br />
Fazal Afghan (@fhzadran) <a href="https://twitter.com/fhzadran/status/1984686931809083408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November<br />
1, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
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		<title></title>
		<link>https://www.brownpundits.com/2025/11/02/9349/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Omar Ali]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 02 Nov 2025 06:15:08 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Omar Ali]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[ISBN-13: 978-1727709261 ISBN-10: 1727709268 This is a very interesting book by Montana University (adjunct) Professor . The author explains that th genesis of this book was his:&#8211; (page-9) “Two- month stay at the Counterinsurgency Training Center in Kabul, Afghanistan during the summer of 2009. It was there that I learned a great deal more about &#8230; <a href="https://www.brownpundits.com/2025/11/02/9349/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text"></span></a>]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>ISBN-13: 978-1727709261<br />
ISBN-10: 1727709268</p>
<p>This is a very interesting book by<br />
Montana University (adjunct)<br />
Professor .<br />
The author explains that th genesis<br />
of this book was his:&#8211; (page-9)</p>
<p>“Two- month stay at the<br />
Counterinsurgency Training Center in<br />
Kabul, Afghanistan during the<br />
summer of 2009. It was there that I<br />
learned a great deal more about<br />
Afghanistan–Pakistan relations in</p>
<p>10</p>
<p>general and ISI operations in<br />
Afghanistan in particular.”</p>
<p>The book examines the following<br />
issues in the writers own words:&#8211;<br />
1. How has ISI evolved as an<br />
institution exercising intelligence<br />
and security responsibilities at<br />
home and abroad? What were<br />
the driving forces behind that<br />
evolutionary process?<br />
2. How does ISI fit into the larger<br />
Pakistani Intelligence<br />
Community?<br />
3. What does the decades- old<br />
relationship between ISI and<br />
the CIA tell us about the larger<br />
US–Pakistan security<br />
relationship?</p>
<p>4. What is ISI’s record in providing<br />
accurate and timely early</p>
<p>warning intelligence to decision-<br />
makers?</p>
<p>11</p>
<p>5. To what extent has ISI<br />
disrupted and abused Pakistan’s<br />
democratic processes?<br />
6. Is ISI a rogue agency or a state<br />
within a state?<br />
7. Can ISI be reined in and the PIC<br />
(Pakistani Intelligence<br />
community) reformed?<br />
8. How has ISI employed UW<br />
(Unconventional warfare) in<br />
support of the state’s national<br />
security objectives? To what<br />
extent has UW been a<br />
successful strategy<br />
for Pakistan?<br />
These are the very interesting<br />
question that the writer has<br />
formulated as stated in the books<br />
beginning and has attempted to<br />
answer in this most interesting book.<br />
On page-7 I must add that some of<br />
the authors sources have produced<br />
some really classical pearls of<br />
confusion and nonsense like late</p>
<p>12</p>
<p>Syed Saleem Shahzad and living<br />
Steve Coll.</p>
<p>On page-7 our author starts<br />
moralizing and states :&#8211;</p>
<p>How writers can assume such an air<br />
of arrogance is hard to understand ?<br />
Map of Kashmir on page 15 is<br />
apology of a decent map.I am<br />
surprised at the cartographical<br />
poverty of our learned adjunct<br />
professor.</p>
<p>13</p>
<p>Our author makes false and<br />
uninformed assertions about how the</p>
<p>Kashmir proxy war started on page-<br />
16 in a haste to blame the Pakistani</p>
<p>military for all the so called perceived<br />
ills as the author views them.Like he<br />
fallaciously claims that the idea of<br />
Kashmir war originated from Colonel<br />
Akbar Khan,DSO:&#8211;</p>
<p>The Muslim League’s high command<br />
had tasked Mian Iftikhar ud Din<br />
Minister for Refugees to prepare a<br />
plan aimed at ensuring that the<br />
Muslim majority state of Kashmir<br />
should join Pakistan. Brigadier Akbar<br />
Khan then serving in the Pakistani<br />
GHQ wrote an appreciation ‘armed<br />
revolt inside Kashmir ‘ on Mian<br />
Iftikhar ud Din’s request.<br />
The writers assertions on above<br />
mentioned page 16 are nothing short</p>
<p>14</p>
<p>of sheer intellectual dishonesty as he<br />
falsely claims that it was the army<br />
colonel Akbar Khan who forced Jihad<br />
in Kashmir on the government.This is<br />
a factually incorrect statement.<br />
On page 214 of his book Sardar<br />
Shaukat Hayat the man directly<br />
responsible for Pakistans proxy war<br />
invasion of Kashmir clearly states the<br />
sequence of events :&#8211;<br />
“Seeing the Maharajas and Indias bad<br />
faith,we therefore decided to walk<br />
into Kashmir.I was put in charge of<br />
operations.I asked for the services of<br />
Brigadier Sher Khan and Brigadier<br />
Akbar both of 6/13th Frontier Force”.<br />
The author could have easily found<br />
this book published in April 1995 but<br />
did not ! And more deadly is his basic<br />
intellectual dishonesty in preparing a<br />
moral case against Pakistan Army by<br />
falsely claiming that the invasion was<br />
Colonel Akbar Khans idea forced upon</p>
<p>15</p>
<p>,civilians who were not very keen<br />
possibly !<br />
On page 16 our author starts making<br />
basic factual mistakes :&#8211;</p>
<p>As a matter of fact the tribal invasion<br />
of Kashmir began on 20th October<br />
1947 and the tribesmen on night of<br />
20/21st October had crossed the<br />
Neelam River bridge in Kashmir.<br />
Muzaffarabad had been captured on<br />
morning of 21st October 1947, while<br />
our author states that the tribal<br />
invasion commenced on 22 October<br />
1947.<br />
On the same page 16 the author<br />
makes broadbrushes like he states<br />
that proxy war precedent was a<br />
Pakistani innovation:&#8211;</p>
<p>16</p>
<p>He totally ignores or forgets or is not<br />
aware that proxy wars was a British<br />
inheritance of Pakistani state.<br />
The British regularly used proxies for<br />
their military purposes as in 1929<br />
when they planned and executed a<br />
huge operation with base in North<br />
Waziristan to assemble a tribal<br />
lashkar very similar to Kashmir 1947<br />
to remove Bacha Saqao in Kabul.<br />
The writer is bad and sloppy with his<br />
sources also.He could have quoted<br />
Colonel Yahya Effendis book<br />
published in 2007 to reinforce his<br />
elaboration of proxy war in<br />
Kashmir.Effendi in his book examines<br />
in detail how Pakistan Army<br />
supported the war in Kashmir.</p>
<p>17</p>
<p>The writer could have inserted a<br />
major Pakistani intelligence failure in<br />
his book if he read all the available<br />
sources carefully.<br />
Like in late 1947 many days before<br />
Indian Army arrived in Kashmir the<br />
Indians by mistake sent the whole<br />
war plan to Lahore by mistake.The<br />
plan was sent to Pakistans Director<br />
Military Intelligence Brigadier Sher<br />
Khan in Pakistan Army Headquarters<br />
but Sher Khan as per General Musas<br />
narrative in his book “From Jawan to<br />
General” just sat over the crucial<br />
information.</p>
<p>On page 17 I started having serious<br />
doubts about our authors research<br />
when he totally falsely states that<br />
Pakistans first Intelligence Bureau<br />
boss G.Ahmad was a Bengali !</p>
<p>18</p>
<p>I am perplexed why on earth<br />
American authors have to get<br />
involved in such unnecessary and<br />
fallacious matters.<br />
The fact of the matter is that<br />
G.Ahmad was a diehard Punjabi and<br />
had no connection with<br />
Bengal.Interestingly G.Ahmad was<br />
brother of Aziz Ahmad and both<br />
brothers had the unique precedent of<br />
serving as Pakistans ambassadors to<br />
USA one after the other.<br />
On page 21 the author again starts<br />
making nonsense statements like<br />
elevating Sahibzada Yaqub to an<br />
Indian ruling family while he was a<br />
small time younger son of an Indian<br />
nawab.</p>
<p>19</p>
<p>On page 22 , again the writer starts<br />
making uninformed and naieve<br />
statements like below :&#8211;</p>
<p>As a matter of fact Pakistans official<br />
history of Kashmir war, published in<br />
1970 , contrary to our brilliant<br />
adjunct professors assertions states<br />
that Pakistan wanted a ceasefire and<br />
the very strategic aim of Pakistans<br />
Operation Venus was creating<br />
conditions where India should accept<br />
a ceasefire.<br />
But our brilliant author claims that<br />
both Pakistan and India were<br />
unhappy with ceasefire.</p>
<p>20</p>
<p>On page 50 our brilliant analyst<br />
promotes Aziz Ahmad who was<br />
Pakistans Foreign Secretary to the<br />
rank of Minister of State !</p>
<p>The worst part of the book is the<br />
authors sloppy handling of Pakistans<br />
greatest strategic intelligence failure<br />
in 1965.<br />
Here he most unimaginatively quotes<br />
Shuja Nawaz whose book was only<br />
published in 2008 and gives a totally<br />
“false and misleading picture of<br />
Pakistans greatest intelligence<br />
failure”.<br />
In endnote number 6 our brilliant<br />
author quotes Shuja Nawazs<br />
books dumb passage below but<br />
fails to explain what actually<br />
happened and who failed in<br />
Pakistans intelligence set up ?</p>
<p>21</p>
<p>The above is page 222 of Shuja<br />
Nawaz’s book Crossed Swords<br />
which our author quotes.<br />
Shuja in turn quotes Major<br />
General Shaukat Razas book<br />
which also conveniently<br />
hoodwinks who committed the<br />
intelligence failure.<br />
As Shaukat Riza meekishly and<br />
evasively made a very round<br />
about statement :&#8211;</p>
<p>22</p>
<p>Our brilliant adjunct professor leaves<br />
the reader who hardly knows<br />
anything into total darkness !<br />
Major General Shaukat Riza in above<br />
passage committed the worst<br />
possible act of intellectual dishonesty.<br />
He passed the total blame to<br />
Pakistans foreign office whereas it<br />
was Pakistans Director Military<br />
Intelligence Brigadier Irshad Ahmad<br />
Khan who had actually failed.</p>
<p>23</p>
<p>This I discovered only in March 2001<br />
when I met and interviewed Major<br />
General Naseer ullah Khan Babar who<br />
explained as below :&#8211;</p>
<p>. Did the standard of training of the Army<br />
improve after 1965 or not?<br />
I would say that very few lessons were learnt. The<br />
Army was run on personal likes and dislikes. Thus<br />
Brigadier Irshad who was one of the principal<br />
characters responsible for the intelligence failure as<br />
Director Military Intelligence was promoted whereas<br />
in terms of justice he should have been retired.<br />
Characters like A.A.K Niazi who had nothing to do<br />
with any fighting were awarded Hilal-i-Jurrat for<br />
some action which never took place at Zafarwal<br />
simply because he was from Ayub Khan’s unit. Thus<br />
Niazi was promoted to General rank and we finally<br />
saw him in East Pakistan. That is history. In 1962<br />
while writing a.a k Niazi’s acr for the year 1960-61<br />
Major General Atiq ur Rahman had written that<br />
“This officer had reached his ceiling and should not<br />
be promoted to Brigadier rank”. Unfortunately, it<br />
was an Army run on personal likes and dislikes.<br />
Niazi was from Ayub Khan’s unit! Ayub Khan<br />
ignored Atiq ur Rahman’s report and promoted Niazi<br />
to Brigadier rank.</p>
<p>24</p>
<p>22. Please describe this intelligence failure on part<br />
of the dmi in greater detail ?<br />
The ssg captured a despatch rider of the Indian<br />
Army on the Jammu Samba Road on night 3/4<br />
September 65 carrying the mail of the Indian 1st<br />
Armoured Division. This mail bag was taken by<br />
Director Aviation Brigadier Mahmud to the dmi<br />
Brigadier Irshad who dismissed it as an Indian<br />
deception plan! Thus the dmi insisted that the Indian<br />
1st Armoured Division was at Jandiala Guru, East of<br />
Amritsar while in reality it was in Samba area right<br />
next to our jugular vein in Sialkot sector! Thus once<br />
the Indian 1st Armoured Division attacked us<br />
opposite Chawinda on 8th September we were<br />
caught off balance. And then kept reacting to<br />
situations. The initiative had been lost, thanks to<br />
intelligence. The move of the formation takes 7-10<br />
days, which acts as warning time.<br />
Refers this scribes interview<br />
published in Defence Journal April<br />
2001 issue.<br />
This interview was available on<br />
internet and the so called brilliant<br />
writer and chronicler on ISI could<br />
have found it and quoted it .</p>
<p>25</p>
<p>Shuja Nawaz’s book was published<br />
only in 2008 and also hoodwinked<br />
like Shaukat Riza, Pakistan Army<br />
Military Intelligence and not ISIs<br />
greatest strategic intelligence failure<br />
in history.<br />
Brigadier Irshad the greatest<br />
intelligence failure culprit in Pakistans<br />
military history was given clean chit<br />
by both Shaukat Riza in 1984 and<br />
Shuja Nawaz in 2008 and now by our<br />
brilliant author in 2017.<br />
In chapter titled ISI at War I agree<br />
with the writers analysis that ISI was<br />
a total strategic failure in 1971 war.<br />
A major failure of the author in this<br />
chapter is the fact that ISI managed<br />
to get hold of complete Indian plan to<br />
attack East Pakistan in December<br />
1971 but Pakistans military<br />
leadership failed to tailor Pakistans<br />
counter offensive plans .</p>
<p>26</p>
<p>This is a major failure of this book in<br />
the sense that obtaining this Indian<br />
plan was a major ISI coup.<br />
Indian Western Command chief<br />
Candeth in his book The Western<br />
Front states that if Pakistan Army had<br />
launched a pre emptive attack before<br />
26 september all Indian plans to<br />
attack East Pakistan would have gone<br />
to winds.<br />
So ISI had done a major intelligence<br />
task by getting hold of this plan but<br />
Pakistans military leadership failed,<br />
not the ISI ,but our brilliant author<br />
remains highly biased against ISI.<br />
Certainly one quality he severely<br />
lacks is intellectual honesty.<br />
The writers knowledge about ISI role<br />
in Afghan war is faulty for example<br />
on page 114 he mentions a very<br />
junior major Tarar but totally forgets<br />
about the real ISI pioneer of Soviet<br />
Afghan war Brigadier Raza Ali .</p>
<p>27</p>
<p>The authors sources about Akhtar<br />
Abdul Rahman are incomplete . I<br />
interviewed Colonel Salman of 2<br />
Commando and ISI in 2000 and he<br />
described Akhtar Abdul Rahman as a<br />
mediocre and singled out Brigadier<br />
Raza Ali as the real architect of ISIs<br />
Afghan covert war.</p>
<p>Colonel Salman on extreme right.</p>
<p>28</p>
<p>The authors claim about suicide<br />
bombings in Afghanistan is non<br />
factual .<br />
Below map from this scribes book<br />
illustrates the point :&#8211;</p>
<p>29</p>
<p>On page 232 , evasive and tactful to<br />
the point of being intellectually<br />
dishonest our writer gives a light<br />
touch to USAs total strategic<br />
intelligence failure in Afghanistan in</p>
<p>30</p>
<p>correctly assessing ISIs true strategy<br />
in Afghanistan :&#8211;</p>
<p>I wish he was more blunt and<br />
truthful.<br />
On page 237 the author states that<br />
by 2009 all westerners thought that<br />
no military solution in Afghanistan<br />
was possible but has little to say<br />
about Obama,Bruce Riedel,Mc<br />
Chrystal and Petraeus pointless and<br />
totally unnecessary so called surge of<br />
2009-11 and the resultant massive<br />
US casualties:&#8211;</p>
<p>31</p>
<p>On page 239 the writer repeats the<br />
age old US nonsense about Haqqani<br />
group but forgets that the real ISI<br />
proxy which inflicted maximum<br />
casualties on US army was Mulla<br />
Omar group.</p>
<p>32</p>
<p>The writers assertions about ISI CIA<br />
cooperatiuon in drone strikes is<br />
interesting but fails to note that ISI<br />
only allowing drone strikes in north<br />
and south Waziristan created a huge<br />
pashtun insurrection in Pakistan :&#8211;<br />
(pag-271)</p>
<p>And the worst part is that the author<br />
has nothing to say about the fact that<br />
the so called CIA drones he<br />
fallaciously calls successful failed to<br />
target the real killers of US troops in<br />
Afghanistan based in Pakistani<br />
Baluchistan.</p>
<p>33</p>
<p>The writers criticism of ISIs wars in<br />
Afghanistan is without substance :&#8211;<br />
(page-291)</p>
<p>He has nothing to state about why<br />
USA failed in Afghanistan and why<br />
USA lacks the strategic resolution to<br />
confront the Pakistani state and the<br />
ISI ?<br />
On page 296 our evasive and non<br />
committal author gives the ISI a<br />
clean chit :&#8211;</p>
<p>34</p>
<p>But he fails to analyse that the real<br />
issue is not that ISI is not a state<br />
within a state but the fact that<br />
Pakistan is not an army with a state<br />
but an army with a state.<br />
More seriously all along the author<br />
fails to analyse why the CIA failed as<br />
an agency in judging true ISI<br />
intentions in Afghanistan war that the<br />
USA waged inconclusively .<br />
I agree with the last paragraph of the<br />
book :&#8211;</p>
<p>35</p>
<p>The book is interesting and thought<br />
provoking.<br />
Writing intelligence history of an<br />
intelligence agency is no easy task ,<br />
so Mr Owen deserves credit for that<br />
.However he could still have done<br />
better if he had been more careful<br />
with his sources and more blunt and<br />
truthful in his analysis.</p>
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		<title>Pakistan and Afghanistan &#8211; What To Do</title>
		<link>https://www.brownpundits.com/2025/11/02/pakistan-and-afghanistan-what-to-do/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[theselongwars]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 02 Nov 2025 06:10:44 +0000</pubDate>
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		<title>Major Amin on Pan-Islamism and Afghanistan, etc</title>
		<link>https://www.brownpundits.com/2025/11/02/major-amin-on-pan-islamism-and-afghanistan-etc/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Omar Ali]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 02 Nov 2025 06:10:43 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Omar Ali]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[Of historical interest. An old letter to the editor that Major Amin wrote in 2001 before 9-11 happened. At the end I have also added an excerpt from his book (written in 2012) about the grand American strategic failure in Afghanistan. Letter to the Editor, from Major Amin (in response to some story about Chechens &#8230; <a href="https://www.brownpundits.com/2025/11/02/major-amin-on-pan-islamism-and-afghanistan-etc/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Major Amin on Pan-Islamism and Afghanistan, etc</span></a>]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Of historical interest. An old letter to the editor that Major Amin wrote in 2001 before 9-11 happened. At the end I have also added an excerpt from his book (written in 2012) about the grand American strategic failure in Afghanistan.</p>
<p><strong>Letter to the Editor, from Major Amin (in response to some story about Chechens and our Islamic duty to help them). </strong></p>
<p>The Afghanistan analogy is not applicable to Chechnya. TheRussians withdrew from Afghanistan not because they weremilitarily defeated but because Gorbachev rightly assessed thatstaying on was not cost effective (Pages-207 &amp; 208- Out ofAfghanistan-Cordovez and Harrison-Oxford-1995). Chechnya is analtogether different case because Russian presence there is costeffective because of Chechen oil! The political situation in Russia isonce again stabilising. The Communists are once again regainingstrength while Putin is likely to emerge as a strong statesman. Noamount of statements from the OIC can change the situation. If theRussians are ignoring the OSCE and USA why should they botherabout OIC! Why should Iran surrounded by three hostile or potentially hostile neighbours and one super power which every yearallocates funds to destabilise Iran antagonise the Russians ; theironly trustworthy ally!</p>
<p>Where is Islam in case of Kurds! How many Kurds have diedfighting Iranian Iraqi and Turkish armies since the last one hundredyears! I think ten times more than total number of Chechens killedfrom January 1999! Where is the Islam of the Islamic Contact Groupin case of Kurds who are condemned for eternity to be subjects ofIran, Iraq and Turkey. The first modern Chemical Warfare attackwas carried out against the Iraqi Kurds during the Iran-Iraq war!Where was Islam when genocide was committed in 1971 by aMuslim (a misconceived misnomer!) Army against the BengaliMuslims! Religion, ideology etc is nothing but cheap toolsemployed by the ruling elite to galvanise and drug the masses! Themiddle class and the feudal clique of UP and Punjab becameinterested in Muslim separatism only once their class interests werethreatened with competitive examinations and concepts of Britishdemocracy! The same was true for the Hindu middle and businessclasses that joined the congress! They thought that they would</p>
<p>succeed the British Viceroys in ruling entire India! Hinduism wasonly a slogan, just as was the case with the Muslim elite! Religion isa good slogan but only a slogan! Democracy ends immediatelywhen Muslims leave the Mosque! Lip service is paid but that iswhere Islam ends!</p>
<p>It will be good for our intellectual health if we forget about PanIslamism and try to set our own house in order! So far we havemiserably failed even to stay as one nation in case of East Pakistan!Today we have the smaller ethnic group&#8217;s issue which is intricate aswell as genuine and demands good statesmanship which is sadlylacking both in India and Pakistan ! Both have been termed as &#8216;failedstates&#8217; by political scientists ! Both have a history of using coercive power of a modern state against smaller ethnic groups e.g. Kashmir1989-2000, East Pakistan-1971 , Balochistan 1958-64, Balochistan1974-77 etc etc. Both the states have been steadily involved in anarms race that will end only once a war limited or total is finallyfought . A dispassionate study of history proves that men are butvictims of currents of history and cannot change the tide of history!Europe learned its lesson after two world wars and is saner ! Chinalearned its lesson from 1911-1949 and is now saner ! UnfortunatelyPakistan and India have fought small wars ; petty skirmishes bywestern standards in which total casualties of each side was less than10,000 killed. That is why both have hawks; theoretical hawks Iwould say; arm chair strategists; Don Quixote&#8217;s who think thatKashmir can we won (Pakistan) or retained (India)! The motivationof the ruling elite on both sides is ulterior! Its not ideology Islam orsecularism but ego, powers, lusts for glory! Bismarck&#8217;s does not leadthem or Churchill&#8217;s but myopic men with limited vision, short-termgoals and personal agendas advised by dark horse adventistintelligence agencies! Sundarji called them blind men of Hindustan ;a better name may be &#8216;Blind men of Hind-o-Pak&#8217;! These are</p>
<p>shortsighted men who have not understood what General Shermansaid at Atlanta after the US Civil War i.e. &#8216;there are many a boyshere who think of war as glory, but it is hell!&#8217; As a soldier I wish that both the countries should either fight it out so that we at leastdiscover (I would say rediscover or confirm as far as ex soldiers areconcerned!) The qualitative efficiency of our general officers orarrive at a settlement! Otherwise it&#8217;s a never-ending game of musicalchairs, which the ruling elite of both the countries is making thecommon man play! The qualities of generalship and mediocrity inhigher ranks on both sides have been well proved in 1947-48, 1965and 1971! 2000 if it proves decisive will inshaallah prove as noexception.</p>
<p>And lastly Pan Islamism is dangerous . It is better if we concentrateon setting our own house in order.</p>
<p>Major A.H Amin(Retired)</p>
<p>An excerpt from <a href="https://www.amazon.com/QAEDA-TALIBAN-Anatomy-Strategic-Failure/dp/1481007645/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=undefined&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=US+ISI+AL+QAEDA+TALIBAN">Major Amin&#8217;s book: </a></p>
<p><img decoding="async" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51kSZc+HprL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" /></p>
<p>The Mullah who was at the lowest rung of the society was elevated and the traditional leaders of Pashtun society eliminated and destroyed. Basically the Pakistani leadership likethe usurper Zia comprised of men with humble origins preferred pliable Afghans withhumble origins who would obey the third rate ISI major again from lower middle classhumble origins.</p>
<p>Afghan resistance in Pakistan was thus led by Panjsheri puncturemen previously repairingtyres in Kabul , obscure and humble Mullahs like Haqqani and failed engineering universitydropouts with no tribal standing like Hekmatyar. It suited the Pakistanis and their Americanfathers to deal with non entities who could be moulded and manipulated.The Americans were funding people like Zia who was selling eggs to survive with 250 and400 milion dollars annually. It is a white lie to think that the Americans stepped in after theDecember 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.US and British assistance to the bastardchild Zia military regime started in 1978 and early 1979. The Pakistanis and Americansbrought all types of mad dog Islamists to Pakistan for the so called Afghan Jihad.Nowpeople like Bruce Riedel are blaming and attacking the same characters patronized by theUS in 1980s as Al Qaeda and Islamic extremists. Islamist volunteers were brought by theISI,CIA and Saudi GID to Pakistan because the Afghan mercenaries enlisted by the ISI werenot fighting as ruthlessly as their ISI handlers wanted them to fight. It is ironic that IslamicJihad was transformed into a global cause under CIA stewardship. Characters like HafizSeed , today topping the US hate list were groomed and gained prominence during the CIA-ISIGID Afghan war. HAMAS was established in 1987 with Abdullah Azzam as one of itsideals.</p>
<p>After 1989 Jihad in Afghanistan degraded into a Pakistani version of Jihad. The JihadsAmerican fathers had abandoned Jihad in 1989 after the Soviet withdrawal. The Iraq war of1991 was a watershed event. From 1991 Afghan war assumed a more Pakistani and Saudishape. Mujahideen were increasingly patronized and were replaced with Taliban who weremore rabidly Islamist Pakistani Saudi proxies.Again from the lowest and humblest sectionsof AfghanPashtun society.Men who would readily obey their ISI handlers without anydissent. Pakistans civilian prime minister Nawaz Sharif was an ISI creation and a man withlimited vision.The other civilian prime minister Benazir Bhutto was a subject of ISI blackmail thanks tosome scandalous material gathered by the ISI cheap operatives in the Zia era. BenazirBhuttos handpicked Interior Minister Naseerullah Babar was spiritual Godfather of the maddog Islamist Talibans in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Benazir Bhutto had no control on Pakistans intelligence in both her tenures and the ISIdid as it pleased in Afghanistan and India.A sad reflection on a supposed secular andeducated prime minister who claimed that she was the best guarantee against Islamicextremism in the region. Hafiz Saeed now much hated by the CIA grew in stature inBenazirs two tenures as prime minister ! It is hilarious when one reads about Benazirsclaims as the wests best bet against Islamic extremism in her last book !</p>
<p>When the Americans ditched the ISI after 1989 , the ISI found a new patron in theKashmir Jihad in shape of China. The Chinese feared that an independent Kashmir would bea US base against China and had decided in late 1980s to support Kashmiri separatists whowanted accession with Pakistan.</p>
<p>The period 1988-2000 was the golden period of ISIs Kashmir War. Ex DG ISI LTG Ziauddinnarrated to this scribe that Pakistan Army regulars and ISI regulars were fully involved inthe Kashmir Jihad and participated in deep penetration raids in Indian Occupied Kashmir.Meanwhile the 8 years of Bill Clinton in the USA from 1992 to 2000 were a total foreignpolicy disaster and during these 8 years the US had literally no Afghan policy. MonicaLewinsky no doubt was a high priority for Bill Clinton. While Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaedatrained and regrouped in Afghanistan the Americans were just sleeping .But now theiranalysts like Riedel brand Pakistan as worlds most dangerous country. It is an ISI and CIAachievement that characters like Mulla Omar became Afghanistans key leaders.Humble menwith no political status were elevated to Afghanistans power brokers just because they weregood sons of some ISI major commanding an ISI detachment ! This is history ! Charismaand power comes when a man sells his soul and works for some one.No tribute to MullaOmars personality.The very word Mulla signifies a mans lowest social status in Pashtunsociety. A large part of what analysts like Riedel now define as Islamic terrorism wascreated by the CIA in its notorious partnership with ISI and CIA in 1980-90. While the USabandoned Afghanistan and Pakistan in the period 1990-2001 , the Pakistani ISI sawAfghanistan as a giant training camp to train ISI proxies for the war in Indian occupiedKashmir.Thus the rise of the Taliban from 1994 to 2001. American policy makers weresimply sleeping during this period and today the Americans are simply paying the price fortheir naive complacency.</p>
<p>A.H Amin</p>
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		<title>Browncast: Major Amin on the Ukraine Crisis</title>
		<link>https://www.brownpundits.com/2025/11/02/browncast-major-amin-on-the-ukraine-crisis-2/</link>
					<comments>https://www.brownpundits.com/2025/11/02/browncast-major-amin-on-the-ukraine-crisis-2/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Omar Ali]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 02 Nov 2025 06:10:43 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[BrownCast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Omar Ali]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Open Thread]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Global]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islamic civilisation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[military]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.brownpundits.com/?p=16639</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Another Browncast is up. You can listen on Libsyn, Apple, Spotify, and Stitcher (and a variety of other platforms). Probably the easiest way to keep up the podcast since we don’t have a regular schedule is to subscribe to one of the links above! In this episode I talk to our regular guest, Major Amin. Major sahib has a long association with &#8230; <a href="https://www.brownpundits.com/2025/11/02/browncast-major-amin-on-the-ukraine-crisis-2/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Browncast: Major Amin on the Ukraine Crisis</span></a>]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Another Browncast is up. You can listen on <a href="https://brownpundits.libsyn.com/">Libsyn</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brown-pundits/id1439007022?ls=1">Apple</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/5DrpAOxTWTdyxlrbuBr6z5">Spotify</a>, and <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/razib-khan/brown-pundits-podcast?refid=stpr">Stitcher</a> (and a variety of other platforms). Probably the easiest way to keep up the podcast since we don’t have a regular schedule is to <strong>subscribe</strong> to one of the links above!</p>
<p>In this episode I talk to our regular guest, Major Amin. Major sahib has a long association with Afghanistan and with Russia and as a fan of military history is a huge admirer of the country that brought us such earth shat operation Uranus and</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>00:00.00</p>
<p>Omar</p>
<p>Hello good evening, everyone and welcome to a new episode of the brown pundits browncast we have with us again today major a mean well known to our listeners. We have chatted with major amin before. About various topics related to military history and history in general and we are very lucky to have him again with us on this historic day when the russian federation has launched a major military operation against Ukraine. Mayor I mean has a long association in the region has been closely associated with has worked in Afghanistan has been worked a lot with the Soviet Union and then later with the russians so it&#8217;s very familiar with this whole. But the people involved in this business so we will start by asking him. Yeah, amaze up. What is your assessment what is going on in Ukraine right now. Ah Dr what has happened is that. Geopolitically there are 2 camps 1 camp as defined by a very eminent geopolitical erist professor van pigeon. From the netherlands teaching at susex university he defined 2 major contenders in geopolitics one is the atlantic name led by the Usa and basically Neto and one is the vast. Asian Heartland the euro asian greatest power foreign history which we call Russia so this power revelry is going on and has not ended. And as you know I will just give you in a short ah capsulated view that the ah atlantic grim at that time the western allies they made the Ussr fight the germans and the ussr suffered. 90% casualties in the second world war but the major ah geopolitical benefits were reved by the attack technique that by the Usa and with the charttle known as Britain at that time a charttle whose back was broken by the car first and by Hitler.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>02:42.55</p>
<p>Omar</p>
<p>So the main of course player with the usa now we start with the cold war as soon as the and british and the american achieved their objectives they threw Russians The Uss are into the dustbin of. And geopolitics like Icondo and it was the most heartless betrayal and so-called cold war started and here I want to clarify to the apalridges and the so-called white version of history. But you find in very large numbers in University Like Yale Howard Berkeley Oxford Cambridge questions of intellectual dishonesty in all west european universities barring sussex and few universities now they started a false. The that they had waged the second world war based on ethics just imagine that eventually after second world war the americans the british and the late Nato which was formed adopted the same tazi philosophy of anti-reianism is. Slav batting and anti-communism and hidere the same nazis against the Ussr. So these things are very very clear to us. But till now the if you go to American University Or A British University or any best european university they are whitewashing this you know, ah claiming you know they are very you know they are very ethical people. They are very very they principal people which is total nonsenseensor and they are worse than the the deepest gutterent you know world. You know as far as intellectual honesty is concerned now coming to Ukraine state. But the uss are what resolved there was agreement between the atlantic them and the russians that Nato is not going to expand eastwards but the western allies they violated this principle this ah unwritten promise and they you know. Got the whole warsaback countries barring and maybe 1 or 2 into the Neto. So this was a dangerous enc encourageachment on the shia and Ukraine now which you know is the is the backyard of the russians ah most strategically important to russians. Last you know, um the the biggest brand of the americans and network comment was trying to bring network and this Ukraine into network. So Naturallyri Putin had no choice left but to react react.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>05:24.57</p>
<p>Omar</p>
<p>Ah, regarding my assessments of americans and Neto in scratches. How I form these opinions based being based on the Afghanistan town from 2002 till almost two ah 2021 and also having participated. Ah the subcontractor in the so-called. Disgraful evacuation mismanaged evaquation by natural americans the most disgraceful evaqui industry I saw the Nato and the american army closely me and I saw that they were strategically clueless operationally totally incompetent. Yes, brave at the load level. I don&#8217;t blame the younger ranks I don&#8217;t blame the union commanders but characters like Patrias Mcquiel and all these people they were totally incompetent people having seen them in Afghanistan and knew that these people they just cannot fight that was the most hopeless bunch. Look at the disgraful way the germans behaved in Afghanistan they oppos caveards that they will not fight in any area where there is one bullet fired in anger just see how disgraceful the turkish behaved all the natural countries how they behaved the presence of the casualties was suffered by the us army. The 95 % casualties and some british muskets also suffered casualties but you know the only power which foughtd in Afghanistan alreadylthough they also suffered 2000 puny casualties and in 20 years hardly a war for the americans so based on this assessment. Ah I was very clear. Putin is going to have a clean run and is going to knock out Ukraine and this is the dividing line. This is a watershed in history in geopolitical history as you know it was a long time ago that a book was written and of the west. This now sir is the decline of the west juility. Thank you? So um, what do you think is happening operationally right now what was Putin&#8217;s plan and just sort of in military terms. What is he doing and what is it likely to what is likely to happen in the coming days. Ah, Putin&#8217;s plan was very simple and the russians had been wargaming it since the last um 10 years basically Ukraine. Is indefensible because the ukrainian Heartland Ki and harkov they are very close to the russian border so they are indefensible. So kif and Harco are a gone gone case in oppressa the main new UraPort russians have landed.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>08:05.76</p>
<p>Omar</p>
<p>And it&#8217;s a matter of time. The russians are going to mop up and naturally they have to totally crush Ukraine and brutal. You know they have to over and it ruthlessly you know because you know they must not give the Atlantic Rem who are the successor of the tragedy Germany you know. Na Germany gave birth to the nato 1945 so this is there. They are the new nazis and the russianians as you know 19% sacrifice in Second World War against nazis and fascism all done by the Ussr not by Britain or Usa or any of these. Bike Mouse Miskeier so I think he&#8217;s going to over and Ukraine is going to consolidate and it is a good thing and I think if he place his cards carefully ah ce submitting the alliances with China with Iran even with countries like Pakistan. Ah. Already. He&#8217;s controlling the vast mass of the eurationian heartland as becon defined it and these Mickey Mouse characters on on the on the peripher these people who never fought of war whose women are not ready to produce children when there is minus grew growth decades people you know. Important cheap labours from turkey and ktan and from North Africa and from Syria these hopeless totally you know decadent west europeans they have no right to leave the word as per aggressive we can I am sure many listeners will argue. Or against these positions but just in terms of ah, the military capability. Do you think the ukrainian army is going to put up any fight at all. Ah Ukrainian um, the only. Ah. Thing you will find in Ukraine and is a Ukrainian proitutkrain and an army is totally useless in the hopeless bunch I have seen them very closely in Pakistan and trials and totally decadent hopeless bunch and not capable of putting any fight and. And they are the worst people you know as far as military effectiveness is concerned or ah, you know military virtues concerned totally hopeless enough. They have no military effectiveness. No military virtue and yeah, you&#8217;ll see that god willing our poses. Mr. Putin will have his day. Ah, okay, so if he does have his day and then they have conquer they reconquer or conquer all of Ukraine. Ah they will set up ah sort of a puppet ukrainian regime or they will incorporate it into Russia or what will be the next step and I think potan will.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>10:58.81</p>
<p>Omar</p>
<p>Lay his cars carefully as the russians have always done. You know they will have some sort of a you know on the old style soviet ssr you know as they they were called. You know the soviet socialist republic you know something like that with a different name and naturally. Ukraine present Lee is a usa puppet Ukraine is not an independent country at all. It&#8217;s a usa ne puppet and now it will become a russian puppet so puppet say as far as the puppet is concerned only the masters of the prophetpe ukraine is a policy of a state it&#8217;s not a state you know it&#8217;s a it&#8217;s a po it is a fairly large country and it&#8217;s very likely that a majority of the population may not want to be ruled by Russians as far as I see I visited Ukraine in Ninety five and ninety six as far as I see. Statistics and the sensors are cooked up and my impression was that almost half of Ukraine is russian number one. The second impression is that Ukraine is culturally economically logistically politically so close to Russia that it was hard to call it a country. Ah, as you know in second world War Stalin was able to gain a vote for Belaria and Ukraine and that is how this fiction was created but culturally politically. It is very you know. Naive to say that Ukraine is a has been a separate country yes separatism has been there. The russian civil war also they were Ukraine and separatists but Ukraine is so close to Russia geographically politically historically that I would not call it a separate country. So if you if as you say they are going to militarily they&#8217;re not going to have a problem they are going to sort of brush them aside and establish. Whatever puppet regime they want in in Ukraine once they have done that do you think they have other objectives. Beyond ukraine at this time. Ah, suddenly yeah, they will you know, bring back. Ah, the older republics put the fold geor has been creating a lot of problem affecting Georgia needs to be. You know, given a proper dose Azerbaijan yes, also playing. Between Israel and americans and you know so many people azerbaja um, certainly yes central asia is fully in their control. So no problem Poland yes Poland they are going to you know, sort of given them a minor rubbing you know which is not difficult so I think geopolitically.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>13:50.26</p>
<p>Omar</p>
<p>This will be the start of the dissolution and the collapse of Netu as an alliance as far as I see netto is not totally irrelevant already. They have proved. They were totally hopeless in Afghanistan hopeless people and now I would say this is the end of Neto is is a. A matter of time that you know we you know ah a can the founder of Neto A we you know they should be buried in a very deep gutter. They don&#8217;t deserve a funeral. If you are saying they want other republics back does that mean also the Baltic Republics Estonia latvia Lithuania they will not attack the baltic republics but you know they are going to apply apply other cosive I just. You know, sort of you know, arms them to you know, sort of reduce them to their size because birthex republics you know again traditionally but part of Russia. It is very hard to say that they are separate countries. They were literally a part of Russia for more than you know, ah starting from the time of p the great. Hundred nine or so these republics were part of Russia and I think Mr put will be a wise man if he sort of armed to them rather than directly attacking them and directly attacking is not possible because they are part of Netu and. As far as I see and as far as I can assess nato is going to be you know dead within a year or two I think this alliance is not going to survive this fisco in Ukraine and Neto does not deserve to exist because they have proved totally useless. You know. Hiring hiring blondes andpronettes and ah buts. You know for their lust. You know, but totally hopeless people. You know if you go to the ne headquarters in Brussels you&#8217;ll find blondes and bruettes you know that&#8217;s about all but ne is militarily completely hopeless now the other. People on the other side will say that actually Neto will sort of revive because of this because the threat of the russian bear will sort of bring them back to their senses or or that even that they will expand that maybe Sweden will join neto as short as I see. Was a very famous book written by russian author gogo which was titled dead souls as far as I see europe is dead soldier with minus growth with you know women saying that our figures will be spoiled if we have children.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>16:36.66</p>
<p>Omar</p>
<p>And you know a decadeant civilization and importing all kinds of characters. You know from Syria North Africa and you know East Europe you know Europe is dead you know it is very difficult that ne can be ever revived because their de people basically I saw them I saw ne and Afghanistan closed. Were protect people. They did not have that burning desire to fight. They did not have that you know that spirit that resolution which is required to fight even a third rate you know country with Peggy Trousers you know they could not even fight those of paths you know they were imposing caviars. They were hurting in kundul they were hiding in bajis. They were hiding in Kabul totally hopeless if you study the natural casualties in Afghanistan you will have to agree that Uto was a total failure in Afghanistan and Ricky Mouse western european new nazi power who could not fight in Afghanistan how can they fight and look how can they face Russia if they could not face the aghans were militarily farfer to Russia. How can they to face the russians. But you also included Poland in those who are going to be chastised Poland is a serious country. They have a history they have ah identity and they are as proud sort of of their polish identity and freedom as as the russians are of Russia you think they will just hold on. And again is ah also a fiction because you know, starting from 1770 s and 80 S Poland was a part of Russia and Germany and there was no poland for a short time after the french revolution the Poland was created but that also was a total you know french spawn. And Poland was not really a country if the revolution had not broken out of Russia in 1917 they would have been no poland so Poland again is ah very close to Russia and Russia cannot afford to have american or natural duke nuclear wars in and Poland. Poland is also hardly a country I would say I would not call Poland a country Germany yes is a country Sweden yes is a country even Finland was part of Russia, not a country and great period after the you know after after after the first world war. So all these historical things have to be seen russian history is very complicated and the ah rather myopic people in Brussels and Pentagon and bunching burglars and having blondes and brunus around. They did not study russian history probably if they had studied russian history probably they would</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>19:22.00</p>
<p>Omar</p>
<p>Not have suffered this massive classicco and tobacco in Ukraine. But if you are you know as you are saying if Russia is such a strong power with such a strong asabia. What do they fear from Poland why is it a big deal if Poland is in Nato what will they do to them. It&#8217;s a question of dominance. It&#8217;s a question of geopolitics and how can you answer the biggest question history. What the great powers want for what they have been fighting to study the first world war second world war they have their childish games what is dominance what is power what is the lust for power. These are questions difficult to answer brother. So. But other than that lust for power or whatever there doesn&#8217;t seem to be like a rational reason why they should fear Poland Latvia Sweden if they leave them alone. They will probably be left alone by these people. They will not bother rashia. Traditionally the burtex republics were part of Russia and when the Soviet Union on disintegreted they became independent so traditionally the russians regard the russian establishment regards I don&#8217;t regard my this is my impression of the russian establishment when i. Occupation of Russia Ninety five ninety six the russian establishment regards the british publics as their lost provincevincis and they don&#8217;t regard them as the country if letto collapses and neto it becomes inoperational. Even now it is hardly operational. You know except you know, ah playing pushy games that who is not capable of anything you know and except you know talking about hollow threads and bluffs. Ummartonian Bluffs you know why much suddenly you know was a british prime minister famous for bluff and the russians called but is Amerson&#8217;s bluff in 1863 when the there was a polishris palmersan said that Britain will you know do this and that and russians simply marched to Poland and palmusson was nowhere. And Parmason was only good in siu pushing the sister of the british minister or the wife of some other british count or lord a minister that it was all parmusan was voted just like the Nato characters in bruss no but towns and prunettes. That&#8217;s all.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>21:58.39</p>
<p>Omar</p>
<p>Right? But the british had the largest empire in the world after all, they had some military capability to back it up. They could not when when russian forces the March into Poland in 63 Britain did not oppos the the nations and all the british threats came yeah thrown into the gutter. Because it was a but sodian bluff if you study the european history you will find that there&#8217;s a very famous ah section on on the parsonian bluff and all but the british are masters of bluff. They hardly fought any war or if you study the british history let&#8217;s say let&#8217;s go back to british history to study british history. British never fought a major war in europethey always financed Russia pressure austro-hungary to fight against Napoleon in the first world war. Yes, the british were forced to fight a war and what happened the British Army totally was yet not destroyed. In the battle of Ees and in the first battles of first world war. It was totally destroyed and the british bag was broken after first world war Britain never fought, a major war. They were always made others fight and shape as the case with americans they have never fought a major war but the royal navy that is the last major war americans. But the civil war after that americans are made um the european powers fight especially the russians and if you study the casualties the russian casualties were the highest in first world war and in second world and even against Napoleon it was the russians who broke the back of Napo Napoleon um ah but Atroer or anybody you don&#8217;t want any depressions. You don&#8217;t want to give any credit to the royal navy after all they they maintain dominance all across the globe for 200 years yes I give royal the navy full credit but as far as the land war is concerned. land warfare the british strategy was that to finance the you know the european armies and the as far as the land warfare was concerned if decisive victories like lii like you know in moshco if the sassiveies were achieved in 1812 1813 and 14 in which the russians and the prussians played the major role. The British Army had no road Waterloo was they you know was a sideline battle when Napoleon&#8217;s defeat was a forone conclusion even if Napoleon had won at whattleloo he would have been defeated because whole europe and mobilized. Ah, huge russian army was coming depressions were there the austrohung erran was there so british as far as the land warfare concerned they are nowhere very they were never they were never go on land warfare and the last major battles they fought was in first world war in which you know, um, their back was broken.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>24:49.91</p>
<p>Omar</p>
<p>Is all you know indians you know board independence you know first and second world war because 2 great men at Kaer William to and adollf hitler they broke the back of grit it was not Mr Gandhi or jiha or any character who gave and india freedom it was Hitler. That some that many people might agree with but anyway what is the what is the equation between China and Russia right now China and the shia have to come close. They already are Joe Political clothes but now the currents of history. The the pressure of geopolitics will force these 2 giants to come together and if they don&#8217;t come together. There is no survival. But I think chinese are very clear and they are going to play the cards correctly and you will see a major. Ah. Shana Rahia lands and of course russiahi after all this you know they will have to turn eastward you know it will always isiatic country and now Russia is going to become more asiatic for will survival the joeo political survival and I think ah. Ah, China rahia alliance in a major way. The the fourgo rule as far as but you kind of when you say that the western europeans are decadent and will not be able to do anything. They have a low fertility rate fertility rate is not much higher in Russia either. Now Russia&#8217;s original population is much bigger than west europe that you have to see their real population. Their actual population is much bigger. They they have got a far larger army landmas and all that all these things have to be seen my question to you is that if netto was so. Marshal them such a great power why they was you know so beak and covered in Afghanistan what was there? no zero two why Why us and had to fight the whole of 1 war and was not willing to fight if ne was not willing to fight in a third grade environment like Afghanistan where they had. Massive superiority massive superiority of laws had nothing and yet this narrow this hopeless network was a total failure and um understand if we to you told team if you study the operations will find that ne one was the I would say the height of cowardice. As far as the real battle was concerned in Afghanistan they fight they did not fight they did not fight well the british other than the british I guess nobody fought, really the americans did the bulk of the fighting but did a more an 80% of the fighting right? British yes were there but you know british casualties are much smaller right? I mean.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>27:39.80</p>
<p>Omar</p>
<p>But um, but but wanted but somebody could argue that in Afghanistan they were you know this was really a mission of that american mission in which they are just showing the flag and going there are they are not really interested in this mission but when they are defending Poland or let we are whatever they are closer to home. Ah, is not like is maybe a different situation. You don&#8217;t think that that&#8217;s going to be a consideration law. You see your you have to see your cortex from a very wide angle and probably you have to take a long view if you study the cold war the Ussr collapsed not because of neto but because of the so. Ah, the oil price havinging to 50% which but broke the bag of ussr thatto never broke the back of Ussr great. All we saw the so the hoving of the oil eto has never been a credible player you see letto help and you know, ah, how can. Ah, on earth can you say that Nato had a peaceful mission you see that was ah Usa it was Usa who created Neto and created the Usa who saved western europe from Ussr Usa is the benefactor of western europe and how ungrateful. And I see these west europeans net over in a Afghanistan far their behavior in any way cannot be justified job take me morally militarily in any way. So this is ah I don&#8217;t agree with this both respectfully but now the total failure in Afghanistan right? So let&#8217;s say the western in europeans. No longer have the jews or whatever. ah but the United States still a significant power ah is there is the you feel that the United States itself is no longer capable of confronting any of these people or Russia. No United States had imposed a very very well-p planned you know, strategy on western europe that they will be part of the us camp there will be us satellites now. The danger is that with Russia emerging victorious in Ukraine. And now this strategic you know that dominance of the Usa may be challenged and even power like Germany and you know even central european powers part of Netu will think twice about being part of neu and they will sort of have have some sort of engagement with russians you know. Because it&#8217;s ah it&#8217;s power play. You know it was a sheer military power with which the uss are an over Nay Germany and it was shier and military power overall military power that the americans used to reconr western european.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>30:24.17</p>
<p>Omar</p>
<p>But that you know scenario has changed the americans are not willing to sacrifice 23 veterans have are been have been committing suicides since 9090 and over 200000 us veterans have committed suicide. It&#8217;s an internally shattered society and. It is not the same usa the same us say who was brutally willing to kill and fight the certain world war is just totally different game and cor war. They did very well even in Vietnam they sacrificed 60000 but now it&#8217;s a totally different bulk of game a decadent society not willing to fight. Certainly. Usa may go for some sort sort of isolation some sort of you know, going back to the north and south american continent something like that till first for what they were like that they you know and they were practicing as so asulliationism and all that right? So they may revert back to that. But you know they they have lost faith. Also let me tell you that the americans have lost faith in network because Neto has proved so hopeless first in Afghanistan and now in Ukraine that americans have lost faith him and you know the fear of the fear of nuclear war you know that of course you know. Americans but are so afraid of nuclear weapons that that they could not even coerce a ah thirdly country like Pakistan because of fear of nuclear weapons this fear of nuclear weapons has also altered geopolitics and now you know. Major power forms. Want to fight a war you know, even Ukraine if you study Ukraine&#8217;s newss but taken by the russians when the us are collapsed. So even ah, you know it was lack of nuclear weapons that Russia invaed Ukraine. Just imagine America has never invaed any power which has nuclear weapons. You know they are very very brave and marshal if there is iraqi or afghans you know were no new Yorks but you know as far as Pakistan is concerned they were covered in the aran war. Although although 90% of the us soldiers 2200 killed and Afghanistan were killed by insurgents based in Pakistan but Usa like the strategic resolution of moral courage to confront Pakistan so nuclear weapon weapons are also a very important part and western europe or Usa simply cannot start a conventional war and the bottom line is that. Puttan also invaded Ukraine because Ukraine had no news if Ukraine had its nukes or if they had retained the nukes stationed in Ukraine at the time of Visa Putin could never have invaded Ukraine. So all these things have to be also taken in the context of the nuclear weapons. So is it.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>33:12.96</p>
<p>Omar</p>
<p>Possible that in the coming years countries like Germany maybe even Sweden that they will try to develop own nuclear weapons. Ah Germany certainly will them up but there&#8217;s a major power and Germany as far as I see germany or. Ah, the west european countries they may they may like to form a sort of a european ah lands primarily to protect western europe yes, that is possible and german they certainly is a you but you know, um you you will see that. Um. a european alliance can emerge out of this because ne has by by and large become redirected to America has failed to provide the leadership. Basically the the the big dog in Neto was America and the big dog will proved a miserable failure as far as saving Ukraine or as far as defending Ukraine muslims. So the big dog has failed so now the small dogs might decide that they must get together and make another lance and that alliance can protect western europe from being bullied by Putin or whatever western europe certainly has new books. As yeah as but as you know the France and other powers they have Nukes Britain as nukes so they can always form and former european alliance the the the bottom line are the news western europe certainly has the nukes to counter Putin and Putin also like a Usa is very careful but he you know. Carefully calculated and invaded Ukraine knowing fully well that Ukraine had no nuclear data so western europe putin is not going to touch because yes, yes, politically you know Gepolily is you know on the rise. Certainly if you play this cards carefully and. You know as mchelley has said that it is better to act and regret battle rather than not to act and regret so putin is going to act and in action lies his survival. So Ukraine has to be fully. You know, pacified and aa and that certainly he will do. Will go for a China ah lands major lens and the survival of both China and Russia lives now in being a plants you know in me being allies, you know as you know the and very famous american leaders said that. If we don&#8217;t hang together. We&#8217;ll be hang separate so they don&#8217;t want to get hanged and so they will come very close but is as this confrontation sort of goes on. There is going to be like a cold war kind of situation that there will be ah.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>35:59.63</p>
<p>Omar</p>
<p>These b blocks will sort of have sanctions economic differences even separate banking system internet whatever or there will be simple cooperation between western europe and Russia then what? What do you foresee? ah. As far as I understand Rasha and China are working on a separate bank system and it&#8217;s not a very big deal. It&#8217;s a matter of fine matter of maybe two or three years that you will see a rival banking system already as you see the bitcoin and. So also many these digital currencies they have changed the ball game and already the banks are very Vari because the digital currencies you know are are a big threat to the bank and if you study carefully all the russian and iranian and chinese code operations are run on. But but on the digital currency and it&#8217;s a known thing even I&#8217;ve won insurgents were getting and getting a aid with you know, digital currency vi Dubai during the us have one war. So the whole ball game exchange yes certainty arrival to short will be created. And yes, certainly if the weapon camps will be there right? So when and if that happens in this situation. I mean this world was economically relatively integrated until a couple of years ago ah this separation and cold war kind of situation. Obviously will lead to economic disruption. Also you see the world was never integrated. The Usa had very very strong protective tariffs western europe had very very strong protective tariffs and they regarded the as and then africans as you know as third grade. You know man manyial colonies were was never integrated economic. Yes, they were claiming that you know w to you and all sort of you know facades. You know the jargons and you know false claims that we are integrated what was never integrated as it has always been the biased place. Protectionism has always been there and is going to stay and certainly you know, um, the the so-called great powers. You know the the english-speaking people basically the foundation of their greatness was piracy. Was not in trade or anything. It was piracy selling opm and you know so many things you know, but it&#8217;s a long history. So you know, let&#8217;s stick to the basics and I think I have summed up my you know my assessments if you want to ask any question please. Ah.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>38:44.73</p>
<p>Omar</p>
<p>Ask me 1 last question. 1 last question is do you think that this will also mean China taking Taiwan ah China taking Taiwan is ah just a matter of time and maybe China takes Taiwan in the next one year next five years a matter of time Taiwan is a gone case and the Usa already has proved its irresolution and incompetence and its strategic meekness in Afghanistan by just deserting Afghanistan instead of placing some forces there the partitioning the country and again in Ukraine. Ah, americans have proved their total strategic meekness. So this is ah going to be a big encouragement to China and Thiwa and is a gone case. Maybe one year five years you know but thwa certainly America also will not be able to defend because again fear of continued war Europe nuclear war is dead and. Unless unless ah unless taiwa develops its own use and decides to wipe out the eurochina communist as a state. You know it&#8217;s a it&#8217;s a difficult thing if if Taiwan does not have news which it does not have. Is a matter of time that you know is what what do you foresee? There are a couple of countries that have there are not necessarily permanent american allies but their own situation sort of forces them on the american side right now one is India and the other is Japan. Are significant powers. Ah what is their future in this new world Japan you see Japan received such a druming from the chinese who infected the maximum casualties in Japan and second world war maximum casualties on Japan were in fact. But chinese second world war and then japanese got such a traumatic shock with these 2 2 nuclear strikes that japanese also you know strategically and they are totally hopeless. You yes, there are a lot of talk that there was Ziam and all that. Yeah. But japanese have lost that you know lost that spread of crucial japanese war or the wars in China or in the second world war they are totally you know I would I would again call them decade you japanese they are not. You know, serious players. And indian as you know are as hopeless as pakistanis to totally third powers. Both of them. So don&#8217;t expect anything good from indians you know they&#8217;re as hopeless as pakistanis same race know same you know da for race. You know you don&#8217;t expect things. It is on that note.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>41:35.17</p>
<p>Omar</p>
<p>I&#8217;m sure many of our listeners will have their own sort of opinions about this but I know that they all look forward to hearing about your opinion and and it is always stimulating even if people disagree with you. So thank you very much sir and we will be in touch we will in shalla do more podcasts. As things develop and we will process in within a Div thank you congress thank you so thank you you</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>Major Amin: How the British Ruled India (and the USA failed in Afg)</title>
		<link>https://www.brownpundits.com/2024/08/04/major-amin-how-the-british-ruled-india-and-the-usa-failed-in-afg/</link>
					<comments>https://www.brownpundits.com/2024/08/04/major-amin-how-the-british-ruled-india-and-the-usa-failed-in-afg/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Omar Ali]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 04 Aug 2024 07:11:19 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Omar Ali]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Colonial modernity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indian History]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indo-Pak Relations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[military]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.brownpundits.com/?p=18250</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[&#160; Some Musings from Major Amin.  What the US could learn from the British ?  An English Private Company Conquered India and Chastised Afghanistan not by superior weapons but a superior strategy Agha H Amin What the US could learn from the British • July 2024 When I researched the English East India Companys history &#8230; <a href="https://www.brownpundits.com/2024/08/04/major-amin-how-the-british-ruled-india-and-the-usa-failed-in-afg/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Major Amin: How the British Ruled India (and the USA failed in Afg)</span></a>]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Some Musings from Major Amin. </strong></p>
<div dir="auto">What the US could learn from the British ?  An English Private Company Conquered India and Chastised Afghanistan not by superior weapons but a superior strategy</div>
<div dir="auto"></div>
<div dir="auto">Agha H Amin</div>
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<div dir="auto">What the US could learn from the British</div>
<div dir="auto">• July 2024</div>
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<div dir="auto">When I researched the English East India Companys history of conquest of India I arrived at the following conclusions :&#8212;</div>
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<div dir="auto">1. An army which was 80 % native was used to win the battles against Indians,Nepalis,Bumese,<wbr />Afghans,Iranians,Chinese,<wbr />Indonesians,Ceylon etc.</div>
<div dir="auto">2. The weapons used were almost similar although the company had an edge in superior strategy, superior tactics, better synchronisation of firepower and movement, superior naval power.</div>
<div dir="auto">3. After 1780 native states also increasingly mastered European way of warfare that were then considered the best in the world through increased use of European military instructors.</div>
<div dir="auto">4. However superior diplomacy and superior naval power to switch troops worked in companys favour.</div>
<div dir="auto">5. The elimination of French naval power after the 1789 revolution also removed the only major naval threat to the English company.This was significant as it is questionable if the Americans could ever have won their War of Independence without French naval support. It was lack of naval interdiction which enabled the British to deploy the biggest army in British history to India in 1858. An army bigger than those used in Europe or the Americas till that date.</div>
<div dir="auto">6. The companys costs of war were low as native troops constituted 80 % of the army and were very low paid as compared to private european troops or British Army regiments hired for India.</div>
<div dir="auto">7. It was superior strategy and diplomacy through which the British held India in First World War with just 15,000 troops.</div>
<div dir="auto">8. It was a superior system under which Indian Army with a large Muslim component was successfully employed against Muslim states like Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan etc.</div>
<div dir="auto">9. Brilliant employment of the old Roman strategy of Divide et Impera or Divide and Rule enabled the British to control India with a very small British military presence and a corp d elite of just 500 civilians who made key decisions.</div>
<div dir="auto">10. Various races and ethnicities and religions and sects were brilliantly pitched against each other and a healthy balance was maintained.</div>
<div dir="auto">11. Afghanistan&#8217;s government was controlled with just a small personal retainer to the Afghan king of about 15 Lakh Rupees per year by a private company. Afghanistans foreign relations were kept subservient to the British successfully from 1842 to 1919 and the Nadir Shah dynasty was also installed in Afghanistan in 1929 with British largesse.</div>
<div dir="auto">12. A small example of setting things right by attacking the centre of gravity. In the  1890s and 1900s it was seen that foreign weapons were arriving in North West India. The origin appeared to be Oman . A naval squadron was deployed and the weapons supply route cut.</div>
<div dir="auto">13. In 1850-1880 the religious militancy threat was eliminated by creating new sects and religions and infiltrating 80 % of Indian Muslim religious scholars and Mullahs.</div>
<div dir="auto">14. German efforts to use Afghanistan as a base were totally defeated in Afghanistan.</div>
<div dir="auto">15. Russian efforts to woo Afghanistan were firmly checked from 1839 to 1947 with a gap of 1919-29 when Afghanistan was hostile.</div>
<div dir="auto">16. Brave enemies like Nepal were treated with chivalry and their manpower used in British Indian Army as a corp d elite.</div>
<div dir="auto">17. Brave enemies like Sikhs were specially cultivated and recruited in the army and they proved a strategic asset against any Muslim uprisings .</div>
<div dir="auto">18. Punjabi Muslims were correctly identified as politically docile and militarily useful and used as mercenaries in the army , sometimes as a counter balance against Sikhs who became increasingly anti British after 1918.</div>
<div dir="auto">19. Their government was just at non political level, financially clean, forgiving politically, but eliminating ruthlessly where their enemies were regarded as a threat. Thus they treated Afghan kings and opponents chivalrously and gave them estates in their exile in India.However where they saw an enemy who was irreconcilable even that enemys body was destroyed and his place of burial kept secret and his houses raised to ground level as with Pir of Pagara in 1942.</div>
<div dir="auto">20. Their policy was executed by administrators mostly from British aristocracy but younger sons who could not acquire the family estate ! Educated in Roman and Greek classics who understood how the Roman Empire was run.</div>
<div dir="auto">21. A relative remembers how the civil servants in the academy were taught how to deal with each man differently !</div>
<div dir="auto">22. The foundation of British rule was justice at basic level , creating good rural infrastructure , reward of lands and estates to loyal classes ,sophisticated intelligence , divide and rule,maximum use of natives , rewarding old foes if it was politically sound and exreme Machiavellianism at policy level.</div>
<div dir="auto">23. All intelligence records were destroyed on transfer of power in India leaving no clue for future analysts ! A relative in the Indian Intelligence supervised burning of some records !</div>
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<div dir="auto">DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BRITISH AND US POLICY</div>
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<div dir="auto">• THE US UNITED THEIR ENEMIES INSTEAD OF DIVIDING THEM.</div>
<div dir="auto">• THE US RELIED ON UNRELIABLE AND DOUBLE DEALING STATES LIKE PAKISTAN WHICH COMPROMISED ALL ITS STRATEGIC INTERESTS.</div>
<div dir="auto">• THE US FAILED TO RELY ON SMALLER BUT MORE SECULAR AND STRATEGICALLY RELIABLE ETHNICITIES LIKE THE KURD, BALOCH , HAZARA, UZBEK ETC.</div>
<div dir="auto">• THE US FAILED TO INTERDICT AND DESTROY THE FINANCIAL AND LOGISTIC SUPPLY LINE OF INSURGENTS.</div>
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		<title>Mr. Tilak Devasher on his book The Pashtuns- A Contested History</title>
		<link>https://www.brownpundits.com/2023/02/26/mr-tilak-devasher-on-his-book-the-pashtuns-a-contested-history/</link>
					<comments>https://www.brownpundits.com/2023/02/26/mr-tilak-devasher-on-his-book-the-pashtuns-a-contested-history/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Maneesh Taneja]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 26 Feb 2023 10:05:20 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[BrownCast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Maneesh Taneja]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Identity and culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islamic civilisation]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.brownpundits.com/?p=17494</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[&#160; &#160; Another Browncast is up. You can listen on Libsyn, Apple, Spotify, and Stitcher (and a variety of other platforms). Probably the easiest way to keep up the podcast since we don’t have a regular schedule is to subscribe to one of the links above! Mr. Tilak Devasher, Author, Member, National Security Advisory Board and former Special Secretary, Govt of India &#8230; <a href="https://www.brownpundits.com/2023/02/26/mr-tilak-devasher-on-his-book-the-pashtuns-a-contested-history/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Mr. Tilak Devasher on his book The Pashtuns- A Contested History</span></a>]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-17495" src="https://www.brownpundits.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Pashtuns-225x300.jpeg" alt="" width="225" height="300" srcset="https://www.brownpundits.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Pashtuns-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://www.brownpundits.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Pashtuns-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://www.brownpundits.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Pashtuns-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://www.brownpundits.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Pashtuns.jpeg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" /></p>
<p>Another Browncast is up. You can listen on <a href="https://brownpundits.libsyn.com/">Libsyn</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brown-pundits/id1439007022?ls=1">Apple</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/5DrpAOxTWTdyxlrbuBr6z5">Spotify</a>, and <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/razib-khan/brown-pundits-podcast?refid=stpr">Stitcher</a> (and a variety of other platforms). Probably the easiest way to keep up the podcast since we don’t have a regular schedule is to <strong>subscribe</strong> to one of the links above!</p>
<p>Mr. Tilak Devasher, Author, Member, National Security Advisory Board and former Special Secretary, Govt of India joins Maneesh, Somnath and Dr. Ali to talk about his latest book The Pashtuns- A Contested History.</p>
<p><iframe title="Spotify Embed: Mr. Tilak Devasher on his book The Pashtuns- A Contested History" style="border-radius: 12px" width="100%" height="152" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/7FCg2kXQMFQVDXHqnk3onQ?si=todYIRruTiK4QYUk4DB24w&#038;nd=1&#038;utm_source=oembed"></iframe></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>Major Amin; a few words on Pakistan, Afghanistan and China</title>
		<link>https://www.brownpundits.com/2021/11/02/major-amin-a-few-choice-words-on-pakistan-afghanistan-and-china/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Omar Ali]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Nov 2021 16:35:31 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[BrownCast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Omar Ali]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islamic civilisation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[military]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.brownpundits.com/?p=16239</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Another BP Podcast is up. You can listen on Libsyn, Apple, Spotify, and Stitcher (and a variety of other platforms). Probably the easiest way to keep up the podcast since we don’t have a regular schedule is to subscribe to one of the links above! Last time we interviewed Major Amin just after the fiasco of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. That &#8230; <a href="https://www.brownpundits.com/2021/11/02/major-amin-a-few-choice-words-on-pakistan-afghanistan-and-china/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Major Amin; a few words on Pakistan, Afghanistan and China</span></a>]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Another BP Podcast is up. You can listen on <a href="https://brownpundits.libsyn.com/">Libsyn</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brown-pundits/id1439007022?ls=1">Apple</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/5DrpAOxTWTdyxlrbuBr6z5">Spotify</a>, and <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/razib-khan/brown-pundits-podcast?refid=stpr">Stitcher</a> (and a variety of other platforms). Probably the easiest way to keep up the podcast since we don’t have a regular schedule is to <strong>subscribe</strong> to one of the links above!</p>
<p>Last time we interviewed Major Amin just after the fiasco of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. That was a relatively substantive interviey w (you can listen to it at this link: <a href="https://www.brownpundits.com/2021/08/29/browncast-major-amin-on-the-age-of-strategic-anarchy-in-afghanistan/">Major Amin on the age of strategic anarchy</a>) and proved extremely popular, so there was a lot of demand to invite Major Amin back for an update. I caught up with the Major in a less than sober mood initially (some of you may have heard that recording) when he expressed his disappointment with how badly things are going in his homeland in somewhat colorful language, but at his request we have now redone this interview (the exact same questions) in a more sober tone. Enjoy.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" style="border: none;" title="Libsyn Player" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/21033164/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/000000/" width="100%" height="90" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
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