This JSOU publication affords the reader an opportunity to look into Pakistan's national security policy and strategy through the lens of a Pakistani loupe. Author Haider Mullick, born in Islamabad and educated in the United States (U.S.), provides his interpretation of Pakistani strategic behavior in terms of the geostrategic interests of that nation.Mr. Mullick's discussion of the strategic setting in Southwest Asia is particularly timely as the U.S. is diverting strategic resources from the Iraqi theater of war to the ...
Read More
This JSOU publication affords the reader an opportunity to look into Pakistan's national security policy and strategy through the lens of a Pakistani loupe. Author Haider Mullick, born in Islamabad and educated in the United States (U.S.), provides his interpretation of Pakistani strategic behavior in terms of the geostrategic interests of that nation.Mr. Mullick's discussion of the strategic setting in Southwest Asia is particularly timely as the U.S. is diverting strategic resources from the Iraqi theater of war to the effort in Afghanistan. Concurrently, the new administration of President Obama is refocusing the national security strategy away from notions of a global war on terrorism to a security policy of a "broader engagement" with the countries of the world and particularly the Muslim world. As one part of this strategic vision, a particular effort will be made to dismantle or destroy Al Qaeda and its associates.In discussing what Mr. Mullick calls "strategic spread," he relates Pakistan's national interests for protecting the nation against internal (separatism) and external (nuclear India) threats. Strategic spread is a mix of policy objectives that guide offensive, defensive, preemptive, and irregular warfare. These policy approaches include nuclear/military parity with India, quelling internal dissent, strengthening religious cohesiveness, and making foreign aid plentiful and certain. The geographic dimension of this is "strategic depth," seen as Pakistani influence in Afghanistan to counter Indian and Iranian proxies there, to hedge against a future occupying force, and to provide a base for irregular warfare against India in Kashmir. The problem for U.S. military planners is that there is no strong correlation among Pakistan's regional interests and those of the U.S. or other countries. Mr. Mullick's insights highlight the shortcoming of attempting to fight a regional war one country at a time with different approaches in interests and strategies. The ambiguity of Pakistan's security strategy generates enormous strategic angst for the would-be peacemaker: how can one achieve a regional solution when Pakistan foments insurgency in southern Afghanistan while it counters insurgency in northern Pakistan with and against people of the same mores-the Pashtuns. What makes it more complicated is that now the insurgency in Pakistan has spread beyond predominantly Pashtun areas to the country's central province of Punjab and the southern provinces of xii Baluchistan and Sindh. The situation suggests what Mr. Mullick terms, a COIN-FOIN paradox
Read Less
