Happy-Happy in Hope and Voluntary Servitude



Happy-Happy in Hope and Voluntary Servitude
Zahir Ebrahim
September 10, 2008
Revised September 18, 2008


© Project HumanbeingsfirstTM. Permission granted to use freely as per copyright notice.
Introduction
In response to a felicitous greeting received from my good old college professor in Pakistan, I wrote back:
Best wishes for you and your family too in this month of blessings [Ramadan] – the election of such a distinguished president must also be a source of tremendous joy all around – “happy-happy!” [0]
And then, almost as an after thought, I composed the following monologue in the postscript to further elaborate upon my cryptic use of “happy-happy”! I had borrowed that phrase from another close friend in Pakistan whom I had called right after Mr. Zardari's election, and upon asking him how he felt, he had sardonically replied: “happy-happy”! That phrase captures and hides a wellspring of emotion and resignation to fate for an average Pakistani, and after I had written the phrase down, I felt I had to intellectualize it in order to lend a bit greater comprehension to the human condition which trivially seems to cause silent acceptance, or acquiescence, to that hope filled state. In fact, I have always found the similarities between the Pakistani and the American public to be rather striking in the state of their voluntary servitude, despite their vast disparity in affluence, life-style, and “modernity”. So I expounded upon my humble take on my friend's “happy-happy” to my respected professor – and all as a postscript, for indeed, ironically, intellectualizing any human condition is but a mere postscript in its impact on ameliorating it. The history of mankind is evidence of this truism.
Is man even worse-off than even the lowly animal born free, in the best of circumstance? Wherefore the “Ashraf-ul-Makhluqat” [the best of creation – an attribution by the Qur'an to man]? I see scant evidence of this lofty Islamic theory in practice. As a scientist, theories are only as good as their ability to explain the empirical evidence – right?
Please see this book written by a 22 year old in 16th century France (1552 AD) named Etienne de La Boétie if you have the time: “The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude”. You can find its translation in English on the Mises Institute website [1]. It's only 81 pages long and can be read in one afternoon. Here is an extended excerpt from the introduction [not written by its author], and the one main concluding observation reached by the young author in his own words:
Begin Excerpt
The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude is lucidly and coherently structured around a single axiom, a single percipient insight into the nature not only of tyranny, but implicitly of the State apparatus itself. Many medieval writers had attacked tyranny, but La Boétie delves especially deeply into its nature, and into the nature of State rule itself. This fundamental insight was that every tyranny must necessarily be grounded upon general popular acceptance. In short, the bulk of the people themselves, for whatever reason, acquiesce in their own subjection. If this were not the case, no tyranny, indeed no governmental rule, could long endure. Hence, a government does not have to be popularly elected to enjoy general public support; for general public support is in the very nature of all governments that endure, including the most oppressive of tyrannies. The tyrant is but one person, and could scarcely command the obedience of another person, much less of an entire country, if most of the subjects did not grant their obedience by their own consent.
This, then, becomes for La Boétie the central problem of political theory: why in the world do people consent to their own enslavement? La Boétie cuts to the heart of what is, or rather should be, the central problem of political philosophy: the mystery of civil obedience. Why do people, in all times and places, obey the commands of the government, which always constitutes a small minority of the society? To La Boétie the spectacle of general consent to despotism is puzzling and appalling:
"I should like merely to understand how it happens that so many men, so many villages, so many cities, so many nations, sometimes suffer under a single tyrant who has no other power than the power they give him; who is able to harm them only to the extent to which they have the willingness to bear with him; who could do them absolutely no injury unless they preferred to put up with him rather than contradict him. Surely a striking situation! Yet it is so common that one must grieve the more and wonder the less at the spectacle of a million men serving in wretchedness, their necks under the yoke, not constrained by a greater multitude than they..."
And this mass submission must be out of consent rather than simply out of fear:
"Shall we call subjection to such a leader cowardice? ... If a hundred, if a thousand endure the caprice of a single man, should we not rather say that they lack not the courage but the desire to rise against him, and that such an attitude indicates indifference rather than cowardice? When not a hundred, not a thousand men, but a hundred provinces, a thousand cities, a million men, refuse to assail a single man from whom the kindest treatment received is the infliction of serfdom and slavery, what shall we call that? Is it cowardice? ... When a thousand, a million men, a thousand cities, fail to protect themselves against the domination of one man, this cannot be called cowardly, for cowardice does not sink to such a depth. . . . What monstrous vice, then, is this which does not even deserve to be called cowardice, a vice for which no term can be found vile enough . . . ?"
It is evident from the above passages that La Boétie is bitterly opposed to tyranny and to the public's consent to its own subjection. He makes clear also that this opposition is grounded on a theory of natural law and a natural right to liberty. In childhood, presumably because the rational faculties are not yet developed, we obey our parents; but when grown, we should follow our own reason, as free individuals. As La Boétie puts it: "If we led our lives according to the ways intended by nature and the lessons taught by her, we should be intuitively obedient to our parents; later we should adopt reason as our guide and become slaves to nobody." Reason is our guide to the facts and laws of nature and to humanity's proper path, and each of us has "in our souls some native seed of reason, which, if nourished by good counsel and training, flowers into virtue, but which, on the other hand, if unable to resist the vices surrounding it, is stifled and blighted." And reason, La Boétie adds, teaches us the justice of equal liberty for all. For reason shows us that nature has, among other things, granted us the common gift of voice and speech. Therefore, "there can be no further doubt that we are all naturally free," and hence it cannot be asserted that "nature has placed some of us in slavery." Even animals, he points out, display a natural instinct to be free. But then, what in the world "has so, denatured man that he, the only creature really born to be free, lacks the memory of his original condition and the desire to return to it?"
La Boétie's celebrated and creatively original call for civil disobedience, for mass non-violent resistance as a method for the overthrow of tyranny, stems directly from the above two premises: the fact that all rule rests on the consent of the subject masses, and the great value of natural liberty. For if tyranny really rests on mass consent, then the obvious means for its overthrow is simply by mass withdrawal of that consent. The weight of tyranny would quickly and suddenly collapse under such a non-violent revolution.
Thus, after concluding that all tyranny rests on popular consent, La Boétie eloquently concludes that "obviously there is no need of fighting to overcome this single tyrant, for he is automatically defeated if the country refuses consent to its own enslavement." Tyrants need not be expropriated by force; they need only be deprived of the public's continuing supply of funds and resources. The more one yields to tyrants, La Boétie points out, the stronger and mightier they become. But if the tyrants "are simply not obeyed," they become "undone and as nothing." La Boétie then exhorts the "poor, wretched, and stupid peoples" to cast off their chains by refusing to supply the tyrant any further with the instruments of their own oppression. The tyrant, indeed, has nothing more than the power that you confer upon him to destroy you. Where has he acquired enough eyes to spy upon you, if you do not provide them yourselves? How can he have so many arms to beat you with, if he does not borrow them from you? The feet that trample down your cities, where does he get them if they are not your own? How does he have any power over you except through you? How would he dare assail you if he had not cooperation from you?
La Boétie concludes his exhortation by assuring the masses that to overthrow the tyrant they need not act, nor shed their blood. They can do so "merely by willing to be free." In short,
“Resolve to serve no more, and you are at once freed. I do not ask that you place hands upon the tyrant to topple him over, but simply that you support him no longer; then you will behold him, like a great Colossus whose pedestal has been pulled away, fall of his own weight and break in pieces.”
--- End Excerpt
And to comprehend how La Boétie's insight has been cleverly employed to checkmate the common man in the West by the same tyrant and his exponents, who in these times, conveniently install the despot as the front-face of a secretive oligarchy, see “Weapons of Mass Deception – the Master Social Science” [2]. It is the profound lack of understanding of this latter discourse that today enables "Voluntary Servitude" in the affluent West. No amount of rehearsing Boétie's commonsensical platitudes, the profound Ten Commandments, or even the Biblical Golden Rule “Do unto others as you have others do unto you”, is going to empower Plato's “Prisoners of the Cave” [3]. For indeed, “none are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” Only astute political science can effectively counter devilish political science! See for instance “How to derail 'imperial mobilization' and preempt the crossing of the Nuclear Rubicon” [4].
But what about the “Voluntary Servitude” in the East and the Global South that is egregiously loaded with almost 3/4th of all the natural resources of the planet and is yet also home to 3/4th of the world's poverty stricken humanity? Surely the hungry man unable to feed his family knows the price of “cake” quite well? And yet, he continues to persist in enabling his own servitude? What prevents La Boétie's prescription today when the same principle exemplarily brought down the majesty of the British Empire in its own Jewel in the Crown less than four score years past?
The answer must remain the same as during La Boétie's time – the threshold of the masses' tolerance hasn't been crossed yet – the poor among mankind having been endowed with infinite patience and eternal hope! It is this “hope”, and man's misplaced optimism due to it, that primarily enables one's “Voluntary Servitude”. Therefore, despite the simple mechanism of overthrowing it – albeit only collectively – being quite naturally available to man as rationally demonstrated by Boétie, “hope” perniciously incapacitates him.
The omission of this empirical observation of eternal “hope” in man – also a key to his survival by averting despondency during misfortunes – in La Boétie's political discourse can perhaps be attributed to the author's youthful inexperience at the time when he composed his remarkably astute treatise, and for which, he may surely be forgiven! Perhaps this is why Boétie did not publish the discourse as he may have intuitively felt its incompleteness (although some others have offered more exoteric reasons for it such as concern for his own personal safety from the tyrants of the day).
As with the surfeit of anything, man's natural affinity towards “hope” becomes his enduring anchor into his own long-term “Voluntary Servitude”. It is a natural “opiate” that apparently only exists in humankind. It is far more universal in its sedative effect than any imagined by Karl Marx when he mistakenly blamed man's tolerance for his own exploitation, upon his obsession with “religion”! Far transcending the realm of social inculcation, but often exploited by it, “hope” appears to be innate in every individual human being!
Lest one might be mistaken that this opiate is only for the backward humanity of the Global South, the miserable poor in the religion and spirituality imbued East that is perennially “waiting for Allah” or “Karma”, the recent statistics for the United States, the exemplar of advanced civilization out to teach the rest of the world how to live, exposes that misconception [5]:
“A recent survey of this group by the Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University conducted this past June looked at the beliefs of adults ages 18 to 64 working 30 or more hours a week, not self-employed and who earned no more than $27,000 in 2007. The results show a fascinating dichotomy. Though there is widespread pain and discontent there is also a stubborn faith in the American dream despite little help from government.
Ninety percent of this group sees the current economy negatively, either not so good or poor, with 52 percent feeling financially insecure and 50 percent feeling less secure than a few years ago. The fractions saying they have difficulty affording basic things are severe, including: 88 percent that cannot save money for college or other education for their children, 82 percent paying for gasoline or other transportation costs, 81 percent saving money for retirement, 65 percent paying for health care and health insurance, 65 percent handling child care, close to 60 percent paying credit card bills, monthly utility bills and rent or mortgage costs, and 47 percent buying food. Three quarters say it has gotten harder to find good jobs and nearly that fraction for finding affordable health care, and 68 percent finding decent, affordable housing.
In the past year this group has had to take many actions to make ends meet, including 70 percent that cut electricity use and home heating; 62 percent that took an extra job or worked extra hours, 51 percent that postponed medical or dental care and 50 percent that took money out of savings or retirement funds.
All this sounds pretty bleak. But are these people mad and pessimistic? Not exactly.
An amazing 69 percent are hopeful about their personal financial situation, 59 percent believe they are more likely over the next few years to move up in terms of their social class, 59 percent believe that their children will have a standard of living much or somewhat better than theirs, and 56 percent think they will achieve the American dream in their lifetime.
[...] The unmistakable conclusion from all these data is that no rebellion against the power elites running the two-party plutocracy seems likely. If the bottom 40 percent of Americans in terms of income still believe in the American dream and change-spouting politicians like Obama, it is hard to believe that the more affluent middle 40 percent of the population are ready to support more radical change through political rebellion.
[...] Forget all that nonsense about the proletariat. Most Americans use their faith in God or religion or conventional politicians to cope, even in some of the most insecure economic times in American history. They remain overly confident in voting as the path to change. The ruling class has successfully used propaganda to dumb down and manipulate most of the public because delusion has become the opiate of the masses.”
And what appears to hasten or preempt man's natural threshold for bearing infinite pain due to his infantile lingering “hope” for better times, is always inspiring leadership! Leaders courageous enough to boldly assert “enough”, with a vision and a plan, before that inevitable turning-point can be naturally reached when only the uncontrolled mob with nothing more to lose takes over – as it did in the French Revolution which subsequently spawned the tyranny of Napoleon!
Which is also why, the devilish hectoring hegemons, well versed in political science based state-craft and Machiavelli, Orwell and Huxley, also purposefully cultivate and promote the corrupt and the co-opted feudals to serve as false leaders of any plebeian peoples. These leaders are carefully manufactured to only serve their own larger class interests as client-states of higher authorities – the puppetmasters. If a genuine leader emerges who can mobilize a nation towards un-servitude, who can inspire and energize, he is assassinated as an example to all others.
Pakistan remains exemplary in this – see Project Humanbeingsfirst's February 2008 prescient report “Who Killed Benazir Bhutto? In her own words!” [6], and its November 2007 solutions recommendations “Open Letter to a Pakistani General” [7]. The election of Mr. Asif Ali Zardari as the new President of Pakistan confirms the setup by the Hectoring Hegemons for devilishly re-architecting Pakistan's borders – as predicted in the series of reports on Pakistan's Destabilization by Project Humanbeingsfirst – through increasing economic oppression [8] [9] [10] [11] and tyranny [12] upon the common man [13] already unable to make ends meet [14].
And then, the 'ubermensch' will come on their white horse wielding “shock and awe” to “save” the “the very petri dish of international terrorism” [15] from becoming the new “Terror Central” [16] and threatening the civilized world due to its instability and civil war! That ominous “saving” [17] is already in its advanced setup stages [18] even as I write this. Many front-faces have been lined up who will retain and maintain the core-lie to continually enable the 'ubermensch' quest for “full spectrum dominance” – that of 'war on terror' – and the present incarnation with Mr. Zardari is just another “happy-happy” ever-smiling face! [19] But a more insidious face than the Generals' before, in order to present the more acceptable illusion of freedom and democracy as that is what is being demanded by the constituency to be controlled. Well, let's give it to them under the praetorian tutelage of a re-incarnated seasoned Godfather who can be relied upon to obediently do the master's bidding on account of natural inclination [20] to usurp [21] and plunder [22], with plenty of skeletons in the closet to keep a strong check on the desired strategic direction when necessary! [23]
Observing the events of the day (September 10, 2008) [24] being rehearsed with all the pomp and majestic show – complete with horse-drawn buggy and kisses on the cheeks and all – before the applauding world with Mr. Zardari taking the highest oath of office in Pakistan, reminded me of the opening wedding scene from Mario Puzo's movie the Godfather, attended by the motley of morality-challenged, all dressed in their finest Sunday outfits. The only thing that appeared to be missing during the festivities in the non-movie version was the camera zooming into private meetings in beautifully shuttered oak and mahogany paneled darkened rooms behind closed doors on how the “territory” was to be divided up, who would get what loot, and who would be assigned to make which offer that couldn't be refused! Even the fictional Michael Coreleone could not go so “legit” as the real life enactment! Once made “legit” and cleansed into a “virgin”, is it slanderous to recall the past? None of the afore-stated staid recollections from newspaper reports even begin to scratch the real surface of the actual experiences of many Pakistanis under Asif Ali Zardari during the two short hereditary reigns of his beloved wife. His popular nom de guerre of “Mr. ten percent” among the general public hardly did him justice. And neither could Al Capone ever be charged for anything other than tax evasion! Even that opportunity no longer exists – so long as the godfather dutifully continues America's “war on terror”!
The earnest columnist Ardeshir Cowasjee of the Daily Dawn had repeatedly noted in his many weekly columns that the former President, General Musharraf, was the best among the worst of the lot, and while I never agreed with the famous octogenarian of Pakistan on the notion of choosing the lesser of two evils from a carefully constrained artificial choice forcibly inflicted upon the suffering populace, I do agree with that sentiment. But not because of anything Ardeshir Cowasjee ever observed. [24a]
But because, with President Zardari at the helm, and aided in his mission by the mindlessly silly and horrendously greedy Parliamentarians who turn on a penny, Goethe's notion of servitude – “none are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free” – is being attempted in Pakistan under a godfather-civilian ruler as an alternative to the brute servitude under a military-general that was beginning to wear thin with the people! The latter however, in comparison, was surely a superior option to serve under, as there was at least no illusion of freedom! The cycle of false-leaders is quite revealing even as it continually fosters only the imperial agendas.
Let's snapshot from the setup that began this “imperial mobilization”: The democratically elected Nawaz Sharif being replaced by Musharraf in 1999 to acquire a “unity of command” over the client-state, and the pubic showing enormous relief at being rescued from their misery by a military dictator who seemed to wanna fix everything for them – for the people wanted someone strong to lead them after all the previous debacles under “democracy”; 9 years later Musharraf now being replaced by Zardari and the people once again showing even more relief because they wanted to be led by democracy once again after all the debacles under military dictatorship that has brought the country to the brink of bankruptcy and dismemberment! The new “democratic” leader now appears to be equally keen on fixing everything for the people, but marches quickly in lock-step to the same beat as his autocratic predecessors!
While the people are kept busy in these 'katputli tamashas' [puppet shows] expertly crafted for them by the Rand Corporation and the Pentagon in America, no element of “imperial mobilization” is ever left to chance. It is just as precision an operation in Pakistan as 911 was in New York! If a military strongman is needed to enable the 'war on terror' by nurturing “jihadis” with the attack on Afghanistan, the climate is created to install him. If destabilization is needed to enable dismemberment of a former frontline client-state which has outlived its usefulness on the 'Grand Chessboard' in its present configuration, faux democracy is crafted to bring the destabilization to its critical mass. The concept of years of planning and long consistent execution times, as is political science based state-craft, is entirely alien to the impetuous Pakistani mind. Brought up over the past sixty years to only expect uncertainty, loot and plunder, disappearances and oppression, a Pakistani has become mentally attuned to going to sleep at night not knowing who will be in-charge the next morning (or where one might wake up)!
Thus, the notion that a devilish multi-year precision planning, and such state-craft sophistication as the 'dialectics of deception' described by Project Humanbeingsfirst in many of its reports, is even possible, is entirely foreign to the relatively simple, feudalistic Pakistani genius. Therefore, 'katputli tamashas' and frequent change of Acts and actors is great for the masses – for many couldn't care less who is in power, tied as most have become to their daily bread and hope for miraculous deliverance!
The exuberance shown by the world's leaders in rushing to congratulate the new Mr. 100% Pakistani President into their fold – one who had candidly noted: 'The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), if it comes into power, must persuade the people that the fight against militants is “our war”, not just America’s war' [25] – and all of them together agreeing to maintain that enabling core-lie of “imperial mobilization” intact, amply demonstrates this.
This coddling of a person who was further reported brazenly proclaiming “Asif Ali Zardari told a British TV that political agreements were not words of Qura’an which could not be changed with the changing political scenario. According to the TV, he was asked about his shifting positions and not fulfilling his promises to which he said there was nothing final in politics and positions could change with the changing situations.” [26], makes President Zardari actually the best qualified among the lot for the job of presiding over the dismembering of Pakistan! One who need not, by one's own admission, honor any agreements one may sign, or the deals one may make, with one's own countrymen in order to gain their trust! Wow! What an egregiously blatant mocking of a peoples quite accustomed to “Voluntary Servitude”. Notice that there are no riots in the streets in Pakistan, no protests, and while the nation's ruling elite is politically and visibly united in celebrating the victory of democracy over dictatorship, the poor man is kept busy trying to barely survive!
Finally, one can rightfully claim, that there is little difference between the peoples of America, and the peoples of Pakistan – united they do stand in “hope” and inaction for a better tomorrow, as the rich plunderers laugh their way to the bank!
Indeed, I hate to suggest once again that all this was plainly manifest when Musharraf had issued his own proclamations paving the way for PPP and Bhutto to come to power with the NRO and the sacking of the judges by crafting his unilateral Executive Orders, which like in America, once made into law, become effectively irreversible. I had plainly written on December 21, 2007 in Project Humanbeingsfirst's warning to the Pakistani peoples “Wakeup to the grotesque reality of the 'Grand Chessboard'!” [27] (while most of the Pakistani and Western press appeared not to have ever been students of political science, history, or even forensic science – the only reason most among them are likely called journalists, the press, the newsmedia, is surely only because they carry suitably designed business cards or are rich enough to own the media – there are a few exceptions of course, as shown by this oped in the Nation of February 22, 2008 [28]; and I have no idea why the rest of the respected columnists like Ardeshir Cowasjee remained silent, despite my urgent and repeated pleas to them to at least comment on the warning in their own soap-boxes in order to draw attention to it, as no English newspaper in Pakistan was willing to publish it or any of the letters to editor [29] that I sent them before I gave up on further wasting my time; I had also, in my earnestness, foolishly apprised two newly retired 3-star Pakistani Generals in Islamabad of these matters over a long private lunch conversation, with obviously little impact and much wasted effort):
“#2. The present 'elections' in Pakistan are a manifest fraud under the orchestration of the 'hectoring hegemons' themselves, and must be abandoned in the greater national interest of the peoples of Pakistan themselves.
This mantra of elections is replete with red herrings craftily synthesized to maintain Pakistan as a servile client-state in order to carry on with the same bold 'imperial designs' on the 'Grand Chessboard'. It is merely the rebottling of the same old wine in a different bottle. It will surely be legitimately conducted, with no apparent riggings, and duly approved by all the impartial international observers to give the artful elections an official international legitimacy.
It is quite immaterial who wins in these elections. The laws and the judiciary of the nation have already been reconstituted under the umbrella of 'emergency' to enable the nation to carry on unfettered in its primary objective of fighting the 'War on Terror' as an obedient patsy client-state – and hence to carry on in its own devilishly crafted suicide!
These elections will conveniently 'elect' a legislature whose leaders have also been deftly primed by the 'hectoring hegemons' themselves! And the highest executive office in the land is already retained in the hands of the same old 'wine' drinker.
Thus all the 'ducks' are still lined up perfectly in a row, just as they were on the very eve of 911.
#3. The people of Pakistan must fully reconcile with the Military of Pakistan immediately - the reconciliation being of the type that was witnessed by the surprised world between the oppressors and the oppressed in South Africa.
Not the type that is being pushed through the NRO to legitimize looters, plunderers, and rapists of the nation in order to staff the legislature with the made by 'CFR in the USA' and made by 'RIIA in the UK' Pakistani politicians with at best criminal credentials, and at worst, treasonous ones!
The military of Pakistan, as an institution, is indeed also the only hope of Pakistan as we must survive on the 'Grand Chessboard' and only they hold the cards. What is about to befall the nation can also only be averted by them. The civilians and the Military must unite – immediately – for overarching national considerations that far transcend individual grievances, ego trips, and past transgressions.
Thus the civilians must abandon all meaningless and mindless protests which are in any case devoid of any fundamental comprehension of the reality du jour on the 'Grand Chessboard' – none of them seek fundamental changes to our fate, nor do they appear to fathom what such changes are even supposed to be - and are merely only chasing red herrings that have been deftly crafted as perhaps per the Machiavellian 'technique of infamy'. ...
These protests are needlessly continually giving the Western public the impression of 'instability' which only adds to the credibility of the various pretextual mantras to come 'deliver' us from ourselves! There is much more at stake than to usher in a thin veneer of faux 'democracy' which is all that these protests are unwittingly accomplishing as can be empirically witnessed by anyone with half a brain.
#4 Instead of the faux 'democracy', the Pakistani Military rulers on their part must now rise to the challenge of genuine patriotism and as genuine guardians of the nation and help carve a genuine Democracy, with the capital D and without the quotes, as briefly outlined in “Re-Imagining Pakistan's Defenses – Open Letter to a Pakistani General”, and as explored in “Saving Pakistan from Synthetic 'Terror Central' ”.
Briefly, that entails crafting a genuine Constitution under a bilateral 'social contract' between the people and the state, that is subsequently ratified by the people of Pakistan through a direct referendum vote. This can be accomplished within a few short months if there is the national and military will that understands the urgency of the matter and executes on it by gathering the right peoples to craft it!”
Item 2 above, in bold, appears amazingly prescient – right? The new “wine drinker” makes little impact on the journey however. And we observe that Musharraf withdrew [30] without rectifying any of his own power-shenanigans in favor of the new “wine drinker” whom he had himself enabled and pardoned with the NRO that has lent new meaning to the adage 'steal only in millions and billions, for generous pardon in the name of national security, national interest, or national reconciliation is the only outcome for monumental crimes when all loot'.
The new “wine drinker” in turn was, and is, being guided by the same hectoring hegemons [31] [32] [33] [34] who crafted and led the American foreign policy in the decimation of Afghanistan and Iraq, as expected – and so brazenly at times that there is no need to even hide that fact from the public – when Musharraf very well could have implemented all of the afore-stated recommendations for the genuine protection of Pakistan, as he enjoyed absolute power and the public would have welcomed his moves against the hectoring hegemons with open arms! Therefore, the lame surprise as demonstrated in this news report, aptly titled “Benazir's promise remains unfulfilled” [35], is at best – well what can one say that hasn't already been said about the press! Pakistani media is now but a distant reflection of the American media eagerly galloping down the same path. See Chapters 4, 6, and 7 of my book “Prisoners of the Cave” for a better understanding of what one is likely to see more and more of in Pakistan! [36]
If all this prescience is such advanced rocket science, how is it that an ordinary plebeian, with only a computer and an internet connection, can figure it all out, including the solution space, and none of the profound intelligentsia and the press in Pakistan can? The answer must be that we are a well deserving nation ready to be replaced by a better peoples – as per the promise of the Qur'an! But wait – I am not ready to be replaced, nor am I willing to accept that verdict, and neither are the 200 million Pakistanis suffering under the yoke of the handful of co-opted praetorian ruling elite of Pakistan! “Voluntary Servitude” may indeed be our failing due to excessive misplaced hope, but is that as criminally culpable as the tyrants who criminally rule over us by exploiting that failing? Being a victim is not a crime, even if being a foolish one repeatedly is reprehensible!
Under such a torpid existence of the patiently servile populace forever controlled by different flavored praetorian tyrants serving only the larger geopolitical interests under Machiavellianly crafted, political-science based, Western state-craft, it is only the perverse insanity of "Balance of Terror" [37] that can “free” the common man without him expending his own efforts to break his “hope” driven “voluntary servitude”! For at least, under the “balance of terror” doctrine, he becomes as “free” to survive as the poor beetle enslaved between two hungry scorpions. The astute beetle can construct some space to still breathe and live in that precariously balanced time-space continuum! In a world where one's very existence is anathema to the 'ubermensch' hectoring hegemons, and one's extinction is their planned endgame for population control and elimination of a vast majority of “useless eaters” from the planet, physical survival by hook or by crook must first rationally precede any freedom from servitude. The latter struggle in these times appears to be next to impossible task, with expert and sophisticated global masters deftly managing “hope” driven populations into a permanent state of “Voluntary Servitude” – by trickling some minimal level of sustenance down their throats to not cause all loss of “hope” and the concomitant violent riots when it's not needed – while cleverly inhibiting the rise of any popular leadership (or dissemination of knowledge of what's in store for them) that can genuinely lead them to the contrary!
Therefore, “balance of terror” forms an imperative doctrine of urgent survival conveniently not examined in political science discourses, never mind the global press, but is the only realizable and efficacious solution-space taught by nature itself for the times when 'ubermensch' hectoring hegemons rule the roost. See Project Humanbeingsfirst's August and September 2008 reports “Georgia-Russia: It's a Classic Brzezinski Project!” [38] and “Hegemony is as old as mankind” [39] respectively, for how aggressive (i.e., non-passive) posturing between titans can temporarily reprieve an almost sure to be decimated nation on the 'Grand Chessboard! And if played astutely – as Russia appears to be doing by announcing the stationing of its largest nuclear armed warship in the Caribbean waters [40] and its anti-submarine aircraft at the Venezuelan airport [41] – permanently reprieve it, and all others as well.
An effective counter to the IMF/WB/NATO and the dollar-hegemony, by SCO for instance, under an uncompromising leadership from Russia, China, India, Iran, Venezuela, et. al., while simultaneously enabling the United States to actually bring her coveted SPP into fruition through her own crafty shenanigans, can give reprieve to all servile client-states of the Global South without a masses' destructive uncontrolled revolution when the “hope” threshold is finally breached. The SPP prematurely being forced to create the North American Union, by other nations outside the Pax Americana forcing a dollar crisis upon it before it is ready, can be the best reprieve for the world. Provided of course, the rest of the planet is empowered to astutely dump the dollar before the dollar dumps them! The guns at China's and Middle East nations' throats remain there mainly to prevent that very act of defiance. America's creditors are targeted to remain patiently holding onto their dollar reserves until the opportune time for the United States, as the new North American Union, to adopt the new yet to be introduced Amerio. Thus in one fell swoop, the richest nation on Earth intends to not only write off all its debts, backed with big guns, but also (selectively) crash all the Asian creditor nations' economies. Much use is Confederate currency today, except in a museum.
This is the un-stated purpose behind Iranian President Ahmadinejad's bold suggestion in the last SCO meeting on August 28, 2008 “Iran's suggestion is to use the currencies of the SCO states in transactions between members of the organization, ... Such a measure will help maintain and strengthen the value of the foreign exchange reserves of member states. The organization can also devise a long term plan to study the feasibility of using a single currency in the future”, in order to preempt these nations' growing supply of future toilet-paper! [42]
This gambit of prematurely forcing the Hectoring Hegemons' already pre-planned “revolutionary time” to make possible what would otherwise be “inconceivable in normal times” – in other words, turning the tables on the Hectoring Hegemons with their own devilish weapon – is now perhaps the only realistic way to motivate the “Prisoners of the Cave” out of their “Voluntary Servitude” to standup for the sanctity of their own nation.
The same patriotic fervor which indoctrinates the public into “United We Stand”, can also create active resistance among the same peoples who love their country so blindly that they are willing to acquiesce to the merciless killing of other 'lesser' humanity in the absurdity of preemptive 'self-defense'! No patriotic public in the entire pluralistic multicultural America, no matter how indoctrinated, will voluntarily accept a North American Union, a loss of their beloved America that was hitherto fully defined by the Monroe Doctrine of four well defined borders. And forcing this union upon the peoples through martial law remaining the only choice available to the hectoring hegemons, will finally align the American public's patriotism with the rest of the world's interests! In that reprieve scenario – a ransom from extinction through full spectrum alliances by the rest of the world – new leaders among the hope-driven populace all across the world might yet be born under these “revolutionary times”, who can eventually lead their servile populations into aborting their “Voluntary Servitude”! While one might perhaps call this logic perversely “hope” based, the history of the world, as is the history of the American Revolution (see Patrick Henry's speech below), is also testament to courageous leaders often arising among a fed-up public mainly at crises times when there is no “hope” left.
In a calculated play of astute political science against the devilish one, the same manipulative tools can serve both masters on the 'Grand Chessboard', not just the hectoring hegemons! Unfortunately, its efficacy lies solely with state-actors, institutions, and apparatus. Therefore, ordinary masses under astute political leadership can actually directly play in that space by efficaciously engaging the state in order to throw-off the yolk of their “Voluntary Servitude” as explained by Project Humanbeingsfirst in its numerous [43] reports [44].
“Hope” – the eternal friend and the perennial enemy of man! Hope is what empirically subverts us from becoming the so called “Ashraf-ul-Makhluqat”, and lulls us into inaction even as it enables us to survive the darkest of times without despondency! Like a snake's venom, both a poison and an antidote, “hope” is what co-opts us to become less than animals by falsely leading us into losing our basic instincts to be free from servitude under some fuzzy higher cerebral function of optimism that we seem to have acquired from who knows where over the eons of supposed evolution of our species! There are however no vestiges of such an abstraction in the Darwinian worldview of how man might have descended from the lower beings. No other living creature possesses it, in any amount. It is characteristically a human trait! Where does “hope” spring from? Did god implant it in us? Or did the devil? When is it god's work, when is it the devil's, and how is it an evolutionary gift that leaves no trace in other species, but is present in all of humankind on all continents? Is there a “hope” gene?
Regardless, it is quite evident that it is mainly the deprivation of “hope” that enables one to abandon “Voluntary Servitude”. Be it towards the despondency of the weak, and hence they perish. Or be it towards the assertion of fight-back by the strong – who have had it up to their neck and are not willing to take it anymore as they are going to perish anyway, who are left with no hope of being rescued by anyone else and have nothing further to lose by standing up – by their minimally copying the instinctive behavior [45] of the free animals! The courageous history of mankind is evidence that it is only when there is no hope of rescue, or of the suffocating conditions ameliorating, that “Voluntary Servitude” ends!
This was indeed the premise behind the famous speech given by Patrick Henry on March 23, 1775 [46] when he hath proclaimed: “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” A fuller quote would be more instructive:
“There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free--if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us! They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger?
Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength but irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?
Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone.
There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.
The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.
Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.
It is in vain, sir, to extentuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms!
Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have?
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?
Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”
Only a year later, the intimate realization that “There is no longer any room for hope”, led to a Declaration which today, surely still resonates, albeit mutely, in the hearts of some, and sends a winter's chill down the spine of every despot and demagogue:
“When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
Wherefore such a people? Only whence bereft of hope, and only when courageously led! Or at least, that is what the empirical history of mankind suggests.
Epilogue
Elevating oneself to man's ultimate destiny of “Ashraf-ul-Makhluqat”, i.e., the highest spiritual state of “Irfan”, which Islam axiomatically teaches is the ultimate “khud-muktar” man of God's creation, wherein – as artistically put by that famous 'Poet of the East' – the Creator too favors the “best of creation” by asking the “khud-muktar” man what might he desire as his destiny before apportioning the same to him, is a far cry! Muslims apparently are forever dreaming of “Irfan” – at least the ones in our beloved 'Land of the Pure', with every Pakistani serf awaiting a savior, every oppressed “waiting for Allah”, all patiently bearing their burden resigned to their destiny of toil and hunger, but still full of hope for some miraculous rescue, and seeking comfort in the vision of a rewarding after-life for their stoic forbearance in this ill-fated one – while we, the egotistical us, cannot even live up to the level of exercising the innate desire to be free as shown by the animals! Forget about other useful self-defense [47] taught us by the supposed lower order beings! Whence “Ashraf-ul-Makhluqat”?
Surely it must have been a metaphor for some other man yet to be born! A man who will finally understand the gift of “hope” – to protect one from despondency – and yet not be unduly saddled by it into “Voluntary Servitude”, as beautifully and succinctly spelled out for him in the last two of the four short verses of Surah Asr in the Qura’an! While the Western Hegemons [48] cleverly hijack the concept of jihad to create “militant Islam”, “radical Islam”, and “Islamism”, and mindless “native informants” par excellence continually bleat it for multiplied effect in asinine writings such as “Between Imperialism and Islamism” [49] that keep the core-lie of “Islamism” intact in dutiful service to their higher masters (or perhaps only serving them in pathetic ignorance as patsies), its real meaning becomes imprisoned in La Boétie's “Voluntary Servitude” until hopelessness, with little possibility of parole [50] during our lifetime!
Yes, “happy-happy” indeed on the long road of voluntary serfdom into oblivion.



Footnotes
[0] The News, September 10, 2008, 'The president, his massive support, the big disappointment' http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=17140

President-Zardari-Happy-Happy'ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari began his tenure as a popular head of state in an ideal setting, with all his political friends and foes strongly supporting him and the entire bureaucratic and military establishment ready to give him a chance.

For him it was a great day, the best day of his life, but somehow the new president did not let the people of Pakistan celebrate the day with him, as he chose not to make any major announcement, did not address any of the burning issues which have divided the society and offered them no hope on his debut, though he may try to do so later. ...

[T]he country and the nation are waiting for President Zardari, PM Gilani, Speaker Mirza, their chief ministers in Sindh, Balochistan and NWFP, to come up with something which the people can celebrate. They say Zardari has got his Big Day, when will the people, in whose name he rules, get their break.'


[5] Joel S. Hirschhorn, 'Working Poor Unready to Revolt' http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2008/08/09/p27615
[8] Daily Times, September 08, 2008, 'Pakistan could be next big IMF customer' http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\08\story_8-9-2008_pg1_6
[10] The Nation, August 28, 2008, ‘Industry suffering due to power shortage’ in Lahore http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Business/28-Aug-2008/Industry-suffering-due-to-power-shortage
[11] Business Recorder, August 29, 2008, 'Business activities come to a halt: power outages in various parts of Faisalabad' http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=801230
[12] Daily Times, September 08, 2008, 'Military unlikely to pressure new president' http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\08\story_8-9-2008_pg1_7
[13] The News, September 01, 2008, 'An endless struggle for survival' http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=133206
[14] The News, September 01, 2008, 'People going to bed hungry due to record price hike' http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=133205
[18] AP, September 11, 2008, 'Officials: Bush OK'd US raids in Pakistan' By PAMELA HESS and MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writers, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080911/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_pakistan ; and 'Bush secretly approved free hand to US troops in Pakistan' http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=468185&sid=WOR
[19] The News, September 10, 2008, 'The president, his massive support, the big disappointment' https://web.archive.org/web/20080912213539/http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=17140
[20] John F. Burns, NYT January 9, 1998, 'HOUSE OF GRAFT: Tracing the Bhutto Millions -- A special report.; Bhutto Clan Leaves Trail of Corruption' http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0CE5D91F30F93AA35752C0A96E958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print
[21] Anjali Mody, Indian Express April 14, 1998, 'Graft charges against Benazir lead to UK' http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19980414/10450284.html
[23] Zee News, November 01, 2007, 'Pak ready to give Swiss courts proof in Bhutto's graft case' http://www.zeenews.com/print_articles.asp?rep=2&aid=404772&sid=SAS
[24] The News, September 10, 2008, 'Pakistan enters Zardari era' http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=17139

"A horse-drawn black chariot, decorated with the national flag, then carried the new president a short distance before he disembarked to inspect the troops. Zardari kissed his son Bilawal - the chairman of the PPP - and bowed at the feet of his father, Hakim Ali Zardari, before being embraced by his daughters, Bakhtawar and Asifa. ...

The president was given a guard of honour by a smartly turned out contingent of the three services at the main gate of the Presidency when he arrived for the ceremony in the traditionally decorated buggy. Present at the gate was his father Hakim Ali Zardari, son Bilawal, daughters Bakhtawar, Asifa, sister-in-law Sanam Bhutto and personal staff received him.

Like a deferential son he touched the feet of his father Hakim Ali Zardari, an elderly politician of Sindh who kissed Asif Zardari on both the cheeks and then shook hands with him. Asif Zardari’s son Bilawal was clad in dark blue shalwar and long kurta while both his sisters were wearing shalwar kameez. President Zardari kissed his son and daughters affectionately. Pakistan High Commissioner in the United Kingdom Wajid Shamsul Hasan was also present at the main gate of the Presidency. Asif Zardari inspected the guard of honour gracefully with confidence visible on his face."


[24a] Dawn, December 02, 2007, 'Finite wisdom' By Ardeshir Cowasjee, https://web.archive.org/web/20071212190749/http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20070212.htm

'IN his finite wisdom, the most powerful man in the world, President George W. Bush of the USA, has maintained, as I and a few others have done for over eight years, that the president of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, under the given circumstances, is the best of the worst available lot to lead this country.

Apart from the fact that it is an impossible country to successfully lead, it has to its credit a population of some 170 millions, totally uncontrolled and galloping off into the rising sunset.

To quote once again my old friend, former police person turned historian, Zafar Rathore, to control hundreds of millions of ‘subcontinental monkeys’ is a nigh impossible task – though it has to be admitted that over our southern borders our very large neighbour has managed it to an extent that is admirable when compared with us. That success, it is universally acknowledged, lies in the fact that India has never been subjected to the slightest form of military intervention.

Now, yesterday, on a cloudy cool Saturday morning, we read that President Musharraf in an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America has informed the informed world that, as far as he and Pakistan and its elections go, “If the situation develops in a manner which is absolutely unacceptable to me, I have a choice of leaving.” He has always had the choice, and of course always will have the choice at any time convenient to him.

But at this stage of the game is this not a somewhat ridiculous statement? Under the guise of an emergency, he virtually promulgated martial law — and what is this in the words of a far greater statesman? It is “no law at all. Martial law is brute force. Of course all martial law is illegal, and an attempt to introduce illegalities into martial law, which is not military law, is like attempting to add salt water to the sea.”

The general brought in his own provisional constitution order, rid himself of the meddlesome judges of the Supreme and High Courts, deprived the people of what little law was left to them, shed them of their fundamental rights, and rode rough shod over all and sundry – and now, after he has retired from the post of chief of the army staff, become a civilian president, had himself sworn in as one, given a date for the lifting of the emergency-cum-martial law, with elections scheduled, he opts for a ‘choice’ if circumstances become more unacceptable. How much more unacceptable, one must ask?

At the moment, the legal fraternity is up in arms, some students have risen with them, and the minority that has recently become known as ‘civil society’ has joined in. The beloved awam remain supine and comatose. For them to rise the circumstances will have to be extraordinarily dire and, importantly, there will have to be some sort of leadership. Right now, there is no leadership, there is not one man or woman who can (even employing the renting, feeding, enticing, threatening methods) persuade the larger mass of the masses to get up and protest (though heaven knows they have more than enough against which to protest).

Apart from the admitted undesirability, can this country once again afford the leadership of Benazir Bhutto? Can it afford to be sat on by a man, who wishes to declare himself an Amir-ul-Momineen? Does it need the Pir of London and his strange ways, or the unintelligible Chaudhrys of Gujrat, or, heaven forbid, the Fuzzy-Wuzzies of the Frontier?

As for other remarks and home truths made by Musharraf to ABC, we must stand firmly with him. “We are fighting terrorism everywhere…We have gone through 30 years of turmoil. We cooperate very well. So if there’s a failure, it’s not Pakistan’s failure.” And on bin Laden, “Please don’t accuse us. We handled the situation up to 9/11 for 12 years all alone. Nobody else. And when the Osama bin Laden factor came in and the world wanted him to be shuttered out of the place, who was doing anything?”

And one cannot deny that “You have to understand, we don’t want agitation here…Agitation means breaking down everything, burning things. That cannot be allowed. So, therefore, if anyone is trying to do that we will stop it. That is the way it is in Pakistan.”

Sensible also is his plea to the western powers that they should understand that the imposition of their mores, traditions and democratic credentials upon the nation that is Pakistan is, right now, somewhat unrealistic and impracticable. For a decade, the governments of the US paid Pakistan to train the Taliban, to produce violent bigots, and they armed them for us. Then one fine day, they upped and left us, drowned in a sea of bigotry and violence. Now, post 9/11 with a world largely in turmoil this government of the US wants turmoil ended in Pakistan and they want Musharraf and his men to transform the violent bigots into rational human beings. This is hardly an easy task.

But yes, we too want an end to violence, hatred, intolerance and all that goes with them. We want stability, economic progress and democracy. But we will not get them through street fighting, through breaking and burning, through killing and maiming. The end can only come through reasoning with each other, by talk and discussion rather than unintelligible shouting.

Like it or not, as we find ourselves today, it is the retired General Pervez Musharraf who will have to do the balancing act, not of a dictator, but also not quite that of a democrat – somewhere happily between the two until things settle down. Despite hanging up his uniform, his hold on power, whatever his detractors may say, remains undiminished and unchanged. He still, for the time being, has the support of a very powerful army. There being no visible available alternative, he needs support from somewhere.'
[25] Daily Times, February 17, 2008, 'Taliban fight is our war: Zardari' http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\02\17\story_17-2-2008_pg7_7
[26] The News, August 24, 2008, 'Agreements not words of Qura’an' http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=16803

'Accords not holy Quran or Hadith, says Zardari' http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-51713

'Agreements with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) "are not holy like the holy Quran and the Hadith" and can be modified if circumstances change, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said in an interview with BBC Urdu on Saturday.

"Political parties do not make promises, they only arrive at understandings," Zardari said, adding that political understandings are "sometimes 50 percent successful, and sometimes more than that, but are still considered successful."

To a question on the future of the ruling alliance, Zardari said Nawaz had stayed away from democratic forces for a long time and that "we will try our best to take him along." '
[31] Dawn, August 27, 2008, 'US envoy to UN questioned over contacts with Asif' http://www.dawn.com/2008/08/27/top8.htm

Also: The News, Jul 13, 2014, 'Zardari had assured US, UK, Kayani of Musharraf’s immunity' https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/639128-zardari-had-assured-us,-uk,-kayani-of-musharrafs-immunity

'ISLAMABAD: Former army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani had played the most important role in brokering an immunity deal for former president General Pervez Musharraf in 2008, according to which Asif Zardari gave a firm commitment to the US, UK and Gen Kayani that indemnity for Musharraf would be forthcoming if he stepped down.

According to at least two leaked American diplomatic cables which had made their way to the international media on December 7, 2010, a series of political and strategic blunders by Musharraf had given cause and justification to both Asif Zardari and the then army chief General Kayani to work separately for his honourable exit.

In two separate cables written by then US ambassador to Islamabad Anne W. Patterson, details were given about how General Kayani (who had just been elevated as the army chief after Musharraf took off his uniform to retain the presidency), and Asif Ali Zardari, the leader of the majority party in the new National Assembly (after the 2008 polls), had systematically started to distance themselves from Musharraf.

In a ‘brief’ and ‘talking points’ prepared for Admiral Mike Mullen during his early 2008 visit to Pakistan, Ambassador Patterson states:

“As expected, Gen Ashfaq Kayani is taking slow but deliberate steps to distance the army from now civilian President Pervez Musharraf.” In a separate cable about a meeting of US Representatives Adam Schiff and Allyson Schwartz with Asif Zardari in May 2008, the American ambassador had given details of how the PPP co-chairman (who later became president following Musharraf’s exit) advocated an ‘honourable exit’ for Musharraf.

According to the cable, “Zardari blamed Musharraf for not taking enough responsibility for the war on terrorism in Pakistan”, which resulted in a marked increase in anti-US sentiments in the country.

“Anti-US feeling will go away when the old faces go away,” the leaked cable noted, adding that the American government should no longer rely on just Musharraf in fighting terrorism. In her own assessment of Musharraf’s public standing, Ambassador Patterson wrote in the cable that a year ago, his popularity was high. But “beginning with his decision to fire the Chief Justice (Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry) in March 2007, Musharraf has made repeated blunders culminating in a state of emergency and temporary suspension of the Constitution”. A detailed reading of some of these cables suggest that by this time all three major players, Asif Zardari, General Kayani and the American ambassador, had made up their minds that time was up for the former military ruler who had already been accused of involvement in the tragic assassination of Ms Benazir Bhutto.

According to one of the leaked cables, the US ambassador wrote on August 23, 2008, during her meetings with Asif Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and General Kayani, immunity for General Pervez Musharraf was discussed besides some other issues. The US Ambassador met with Pakistan People’s Party leader Asif Zardari on August 23, 2008 with then prime minister Gilani on August 21 and with then army chief General Kayani on August 20, 2008.

“In separate meetings with Asif Zardari, PM Gilani and chief of army staff Kayani, the ambassador pressed for quick action on immunity for former Musharraf. Zardari and Gilani said flatly they were committed to providing immunity, but not until after the presidential election (now scheduled for September 6, 2008). Pushing immunity now, they believed, could jeopardize Asif Zardari’s candidacy. General Kayani expressed concern that if immunity becomes tied up with the ongoing debate over the judges’ future, it may never happen. Zardari plans to continue to slow roll action on the judges’ restoration but remains confident that Nawaz Sharif will not walk out of the coalition.

“Nawaz’s deadlines for action on the judges continue to pass unfulfilled; the next one is scheduled for August 27, 2008. The August 20 decision by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to back Zardari for president has strengthened Zardari’s hand against Nawaz Sharif. Nawaz is left with the option of walking out of the coalition, but having little prospect of forcing a new general election in the short term.

“Asif Zardari is walking tall these days, hopefully not too tall to forget his promise to General Kayani and to us on an immunity deal.”

According to the leaked diplomatic cables, “Asif Zardari told the US Ambassador that he was committed to indemnity for Pervez Musharraf.

The ambassador stressed that only the promise of indemnity had persuaded Musharraf to step down as president. We believed, as we had often said, that Musharraf should have a dignified retirement and not be hounded out of the country. Zardari (subsequently) cited a British anecdote about the Spanish empire and said: “Tell the most powerful man in the world that there is no way that I would go back on what I have said.” Zardari noted that he already had firmly committed to the US, the UK and chief of army staff Kayani that indemnity for Musharraf would be forthcoming.

As the ambassador urged him to do it quickly, Zardari said flatly that to do it before he was elected president would lose him votes, but he would pass both the legislation and a presidential pardon as soon as he was elected. Zardari then revealed that Musharraf had approached chief justice (Abdul Hameed) Dogar about issuing a restraining order against the impeachment motion, but Justice Dogar had refused. Zardari also alleged that Musharraf had planned to replace General Kayani as COAS if Dogar had blocked the impeachment. Zardari said he was trying to keep Nawaz in the coalition and was candid that he planned to tie up the judges’ issue for a long time. He added that parliament would debate the restoration of the judges; chief justice Dogar would then submit some rulings on the restoration of the judges; all this could take months. In the meantime, he was trying to persuade former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry to become Governor of Balochistan.

Going by the same leaked cable which was written by the US ambassador, Zardari said he did not think Nawaz would leave the coalition, but he admitted the Pakistan Muslim League had become increasingly testy. He said that he had already agreed with Nawaz Sharif to curtail the powers of the president and then allow Nawaz to be eligible for a third term as prime minister; both measures would require constitutional amendments. Zardari said he also had leverage over Shahbaz Sharif, who through paperwork snafus, had been technically elected illegally for a third term as the chief minister.

This, too, would have to be resolved in parliament, Zardari said. “So I can give them something they want,” noted Asif Zardari, “that’s what politics is all about.”

According to the leaked cable, after an August 20 (2008) meeting with the visiting S/CT Coordinator Dell Dailey, General Kayani asked the ambassador to stay behind and discuss his concerns that Asif Zardari was delaying General Musharraf’s immunity bill. Kayani had heard the large meeting of coalition partners (chaired on August 19, 2008 by the newly returned Bilawal Bhutto) had discussed the judges primarily. Then they decided to take a 72-hour break to consult the party members.

General Kayani said he took Asif Zardari’s commitments to now ex-president Pervez Musharraf as the most important argument in persuading him to resign. Asif Zardari made very specific commitments to Kayani. Now, for Asif Zardari to delay makes him (Kayani) look bad within his own institution “and I have to take the Army along with me.” Kayani also noted that the delay does nothing for Zardari’s reputation for trustworthiness. If this issue gets conflated with the judges and with Zardari’s own desires to be president, it will become too complicated to pass, Kayani said.

The US ambassador met with Prime Minister Gilani and Interior Minister Rehman Malik for 30 minutes on August 21, 2008. Gilani said the PPP was going to provide immunity to Musharraf, but the timing was important.

They were afraid that putting forward immunity legislation would lose them votes for Asif Zardari‘s presidential campaign. The ambassador pressed on this issue, saying that Musharraf would never have agreed to resign without the promise of immunity. He assured the ambassador that he and the party did not want vengeance. Regarding immunity, Gilani said “many will say that we have done a deal with America, but I still understand that we have to do it.”

Six years later, Gilani revealed on Friday that an understanding had been reached with the establishment that Musharraf would be given an honourable exit if he resigned, instead of going through impeachment proceedings.'


[32] Dawn, August 27, 2008, 'US defends Khalilzad' http://www.dawn.com/2008/08/27/top14.htm
[33] Dawn, September 04, 2008, 'Khalilzad denies providing political advice to Zardari' http://www.dawn.com/2008/09/04/top22.htm
[35] The News, September 10, 2008, 'Benazir's promise remains unfulfilled' http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=17163

'ISLAMABAD: The public commitment made by Shaheed Benazir Bhutto was not honoured on Tuesday when Asif Ali Zardari took oath of his office from Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, instead of Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry whom the martyred PPP leader had termed the "real chief justice of Pakistan".

After the imposition of emergency on November 3 by Pervez Musharraf, Benazir Bhutto had categorically rejected the elevation of Justice Dogar to the post of chief justice. She had declared in front of the official residence of Iftikar Chaudhry that he was the real CJ and if she returned to power she would hoist the national flag at his residence.

For many who saw a smiling Zardari taking oath from CJ Hameed Dogar, this was a breach of public promise made by Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.There were unconfirmed reports that prior to swearing-in ceremony Zardari might ask the prime minister to restore the deposed chief justice.

The message given by Asif Zardari was quite clear - that the people and the media should now forget the defiant chief justice who had actually triggered the movement against Musharraf which enabled the exiled leaders like Nawaz Sharif, Benazir Bhutto, Shahbaz Sharif and even Asif Zardari to come back to Pakistan.

In exile, Benazir Bhutto was opposed to the judicial activism as she thought it might impede her return to Pakistan through NRO, particularly when Iftikhar Chaudhry had objected to such a law. That was why Benazir Bhutto had criticised Iftikar Chaudhry in her press conference, which she addressed a day before she landed in Pakistan on October 18 last year.

But once she returned to Pakistan she swiftly changed her position as she came to know the ground realities. The same Benazir Bhutto who had blasted Iftikar Chaudhry in her press conference in Dubai was seen leading a big political rally of her supporters to the house of the deposed chief justice. In her defiant and emotional speech, Ms Bhutto had told her workers that Iftikar Chaudhry was the real chief justice and that one day she would hoist the national flag on his residence. It is hoped that those who claim her legacy would fulfill her promise.'

'Widower Of Bhutto Takes Office In Pakistan', http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B05EEDC1731F933A2575AC0A96E9C8B63

'Mr. Zardari, 53, took the oath of office from Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, a controversial start to his rule because Mr. Dogar was appointed under an emergency decree by the former president, Pervez Musharraf, and has remained in place with Mr. Zardari's support.

The role of Mr. Dogar at the ceremony appeared to definitively signal that the former chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who was fired twice by Mr. Musharraf, would not be invited back to his old job. Mr. Zardari has refused to reappoint Mr. Chaudhry despite pressure from his former coalition partner, Nawaz Sharif, who left the government over the issue.'


[36] http://prisonersofthecave.org http://prisonersofthecave.blogspot.com/
[40] Defense Tech, September 10, 2008, 'Russian Force to the Caribbean' http://www.defensetech.org/archives/004410.html
[41] Daily Times, September 09, 2008, 'Russia to base anti-submarine aircraft in Venezuela' http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\09\story_9-9-2008_pg4_2
[42] Press TV, August 28, 2008, 'Iran proposes using SCO currencies' http://www.presstv.com/Detail.aspx?id=67804&sectionid=351020101
[46] Patrick Henry, 'Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death' http://www.law.ou.edu/ushistory/henry.shtml
[47] Video 'Battle at Kruger', please watch this 8-minute inspiring video that puts “Ashraf-ul-Makhluqat” to shame, which, as of this date, has been watched at least 36,687,965 times, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM
[49] Pervez Hoodbhoy, Himal Southasian, October-November 2007 Issue, 'Between imperialism and Islamism' http://www.himalmag.com, also at: http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/14364









The author, an ordinary researcher and writer on contemporary geopolitics, a minor justice activist, grew up in Pakistan, studied EECS at MIT, engineered for a while in high-tech Silicon Valley (patents here), and retired early to pursue other responsible interests. His maiden 2003 book was rejected by six publishers and can be read on the web at http://PrisonersoftheCave.org. He may be reached at http://Humanbeingsfirst.org. Verbatim reproduction license at http://humanbeingsfirst.org/#Copyright.
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First Published September 10, 2008 | Last updated 09/18/2008 11:11:22 9367
Links fixed August 06, 2016
Links fixed, extended excerpts added to footnotes for archival, Sunday, January 14, 2018 09:00 pm 11904
Footnote [24a] with extended excerpt added for archival on Monday, March 5, 2018 01:00 pm 12974


Happy-Happy in Hope and Voluntary Servitude 31/31 Zahir Ebrahim | Project Humanbeingsfirst.org