Drawing Blood

This is a Pakpotpourri Exclusive

Used as cross post by Philosophers Stone blog founded by Steve Seymour.LINK:http://philosophers-stone.co.uk/wordpress/

By : Yasmeen Ali   

Pakistanis want facts. There is shock at the attack of 1/5. Questions are being raised at the ease with which US was able to attack Pakistan, allegedly, without the knowledge of Pakistan Government. Many media people and organizations are asking retribution. They want heads to roll. Demand for someone to resign is being raised. Someone must accept responsibility for the shocking failure. The Beast reported that resignation by the ISI Honcho Lt. General Pasha is a matter of time.

The issue as I see it is not this, one, particular attack. The question is the very policy of allowing drone attacks, thereby accepting another nation to attack within our borders. Once this policy is in place, it becomes difficult to object to one particular attack, may it be by means other than the drone. The question is more broad based than the one posed by the demand of resignation. The question revolves around the international acceptability of a policy that will be immediately rejected by every country of the civilized world.

USA, today blaming Pakistan for failed intelligence, herself failed to detect the attack on 9/11. On September 11th, there were fighters in the air less than five minutes away from the Twin Towers when the first was hit, 25 minutes after Flight 11 was believed to be hijacked. There were a number of air stations with combat-ready fighters within ten minutes’ flying time from the New York City and Washington targets. There were well-established automatic procedures for intercepting aircraft that were either off course or had lost communication.

Transponders are receiver/transmitter devices installed on planes for the purpose of tracking their location.  Sometimes called “secondary radar,” transponders tell Air Traffic Control the latitude, longitude, altitude, and speed of the aircraft as well as the plane’s identification, airline and flight number. Compare transponders with conventional, or “primary radar,” which detects distant objects and determines their position, velocity, and other characteristics by analysis of very high frequency radio waves reflected from the surface of the aircraft.  Conventional radar shows the latitude and longitude of the aircraft, but, unlike transponders, will not reveal the airline, flight number, nor altitude of the aircraft. For years, air traffic controllers have relied on conventional radar, and it still works.  YET, USA failed in detecting the oncoming attackers ?

Likewise, in Mumbai attack, the terrorists, entered western port city of Mumbai by boat. Not only did they breech the security, the police initially passed it off as a “gang war”. To add to intelligence failure, India displayed miserable incompetence, when the Russian IL 76 military transport aircraft that was to ferry the 200 commandos was stationed at Chandigarh, 152 miles north of Delhi, and by the time it arrived in the capital it was already nearing 2am.

The purpose of the narration is, clamoring for resignations at this point in time, for 1/5 is a knee jerk reaction. The facts need to be known and policy devised to counter the lapse for future. If the very policy of allowing a foreign nation to attack within the borders of Pakistan is condoned by the Government in Pakistan and the world in general, one or more resignation, will not make any difference. Whether or not anyone should resign, must wait till full facts are disclosed.

(Yasmeen Ali is a lawyer, currently teaching in a Lahore based University. She may be reached at: yasmeen.a.9@gmail.com).