While it is not good to spend too much emphasis on the words and opinions of one man, there are many references here at CSE to Simon Jenkins' articles over the years. I don't necessarily actively seek to read Simon Jenkins daily however, like this morning, when I see his articles I am inclined to read them. I guess I see why my friends see Jenkins as arrogant. I see his writing style as more "to the point" than others, but there is an air of arrogance in his delivery. Nothing like listening to Hitchens, but gloriously British all the same.

Enough of the teaser for you to seek out Jenkins as well from time to time. His latest screed against the ills of western hegemony and fading imperial dream works is entitled "The west has not just repressed democracy. It has aided terror." The article is a fairly concise explanation of what is transpiring in Pakistan now and the litany of western failures thast have effected Pakistan's arrival at the current state of instability. If you have any understanding of the history of Pakistan's involvement in Afghanistan on their own behalf and supposedly in assistance of western powers, the concerns within the article will ring as utterly true. If you are unfamiliar with Pakistan, then hopefully reading Jenkins' article will pursuade you to did deeper into the matter that may very soon be of the utmost importance for every nation on Earth. A reading of Steven Coll's "Ghost Wars" wouldn't be a bad place to start, with additional information from NPR and The Washington Post.

Back to the Jenkins article, here is a tidbit to entice you:

• His [ed. Musharraf's] agents treat democrats with contempt and he funnels huge sums into his pockets and those of his generals. About 80% of US aid to Pakistan since Musharraf came to power has gone on military assistance, less than a quarter of it used even remotely against the Taliban. The virtual collapse of the state school system has followed a fall in education spending from 4% to 1.8% of GDP, one of the lowest in Asia. In its place have mushroomed the free madrasas, from a few hundred to over 10,000, financed by Wahhabist Saudi money and formerly in league with American-financed mujahideen training camps. Intended to fight the Russians in Afghanistan, they have since become a network of "faith training" for the poor, teaching little but the Qur'an. This is Musharraf's (and America's) most lethal bequest to Pakistan's political economy.

• America's clodhopping sponsorship of Musharraf drove him to renege on the treaties with the tribal states, fomenting a Pashtun insurgency. The Afghan frontier has duly proved al-Qaida's juiciest hunting ground, aided by every American bombing raid and every Pakistan army atrocity. The Pashtun mujahideen (whose American backers are well-documented in the film Charlie Wilson's War) is a Frankenstein monster that has turned its vengeance on Musharraf, Afghanistan and Washington alike.

The west has not just repressed democracy. It has aided terror, by Simon Jenkins in Lahore Wednesday January 9, 2008, The Guardian.

___________________________________

1.10.2007/ed.1.11.2008