Unbeknownst to India, China and the rest of the countries in the region, not to mention the world, a new nation has taken birth on India’s northwestern border. It is called “the Pakistani country.”
Had it not been for the geographically sharp eye of Texas Governor and the man who would be U.S. president Rick Perry, we would not have known about this insidious development.
But before I get to “the Pakistani country”, a quick question to anyone who can enlighten me. What is so significant about the wee hour of 3 a.m. that US presidential aspirants get ritually asked about a call in the White House at that time? How would they deal with it if the 3 a.m. call indeed came? Why 3 a.m.? Why not 2.17 a.m. or 1.34 a.m. or even 4.26 a.m.? Could it be because men of a certain age are known to go to pee in the wee hour of three. (That was a long set-up to get in this rhyme in. Alternatively try this, Weewee in the wee hour of three).
During last Thursday’s Republican presidential debate hosted by Fox News, Bret Baier, one of the moderators, asked the candidates how they would deal with a 3 a.m. call telling them that the Taliban had taken over Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.
Perry’s responded “Well, obviously, before you ever get to that point, you have to build a relationship in that region.” He then went on to say, “And that’s one of the things that this administration has not done. Just yesterday we found out through Admiral Mullen that Haqqani has been involved with — and that’s the terrorist group directly associated with the Pakistani country — so to have a relationship with India, to make sure that India knows that they are an ally of the United States.”**
In calling it “the Pakistani country” Perry might have unwittingly resolved the severe identity crisis that Pakistan is facing. What Mohammad Ali Jinnah founded was “the Pakistani country” but all along the generations of leaders that followed ruled it as if it was Pakistan. No wonder things have not worked out so well for them.
All that the United States needs to do in the event that the Taliban take over Pakistan’s nuclear weapons is “ to have a relationship with India, to make sure that India knows that they are an ally of the United States.” That’s right, Barack Obama has not made sure that India knows that she is an ally of the United States. Can you imagine that the president went to New Delhi and Bombay in November, 2010, without letting India in on the secret that she is an ally?
** I have taken the direct quote from The New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd’s column yesterday. I could not see the debate because I was at the United Nations General Assembly, where real countries and those which have just formed, are found. I found Pakistan but not “the Pakistani country.”
