Chan Lowe: Patching it up with Pakistan
The part of the world into which we decided to stick our noses operates on a pretty simple principle: Money talks, tribalism rocks. Since we don’t belong to any of their tribes, the best thing we can do is wave a gallery of our own “tribal leaders,” lovingly engraved on our currency, under their noses.
The difference between a tribe and an “investment in loyalty” is that when you mess with a member of somebody else’s tribe, it can start a vendetta that lasts for generations. With the latter, the fealty only endures as long as money keeps coming, so the idea is to collect as much of it as you can before the benefactors throw up their hands, declare victory and eventually pull out, as they always do.
While Pakistan’s leaders have a certain respect for Americans such as Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Franklin, Grover Cleveland and Salmon P. Chase (who?), particularly when they arrive in multiples, the love doesn’t run very deep. And when Pakistani soldiers with families and loved ones get rubbed out by the same folks who have been sending over the shipping containers full of “investments,” the rank and file start asking uncomfortable questions. Since the power structure is none too stable over there, it’s going to take some fancy diplomacy plus a lot more grease get things back to their previous dysfunctional status.
In other words, Hillary is going to have her hands full, in more ways than one.
CHAN LOWE has been the Sun Sentinel’s first and only editorial cartoonist for the past twenty-six years. Before that, he worked as cartoonist and writer for the Oklahoma City Times and the Shawnee (OK) News-Star.
Comments
I'm reminded of an old children's song,"There's a hole in the bucket,dear Henry"....
There also seems to be "a hole in the bucket" with our pouring in as much as $12 Billion in overt aid & another $10 Billion in covert aid to Pakistan...It just keeps pouring out & into the cupped hands of the corrupt Pakistani Army & government...
The worst part being, is that it hinders Pakistan's ability to fight any terrorist..
I went to the link & saw I left a comment there...Well- that's 6 months ago & the "hole in the bucket" is getting bigger...
Posted by: Lorraine Wagner | November 30, 2011 1:52 PM