Dark Brightness

The  UN cannot act as a policing agency. Full stop.  They require those nasty marines and brits to bleed and die.

The United Nations is temporarily pulling about a third of its international staff from Pakistan because of the deteriorating security situation, despite Pakistani objections to the move, U.N. and Pakistani officials said.U.N. officials said only “nonessential” staff were being moved out and the withdrawal would not affect operations to aid people displaced by fighting between Pakistan's army and the Taliban in the country's northwestern mountains, and refugees who have fled three decades of conflict in Afghanistan.”Our main priority is to continue all critical operations and to ensure that all our staff in Pakistan can operate in a safe manner,” U.N. headquarters in New York said in a written response to questions about the withdrawal. “We are also in the process of relocating a limited number of international staff for an interim period, many of whom will continue to support our operations in Pakistan from other locations.”

via U.N. Pulls Part of Staff From Pakistan on Safety Concerns – WSJ.com.

So what should one’s response be? Firstly, it is immoral to put troops into a position when they can die if there is no political will for them to complete their mission. The UN defines the term “wak horse”.

Secondly, the Pakis do have a bunch of allies. The Chinese. The US (sort of). India may have to allow the Chinese in — who have many years practice in dealing with insurrections — for the alternative is terror in India.

And Obama has to decide whether to stay in and accept that this war will be dirty, or get out, and stop being the world’s policeman — which is what his base wants. However, Obama is aware that the very base he is talking about cannot keep him in power.

In the days of the Empire, we recruited lots and lots of Pakistani men to fight and ide for the Empire. Anywhere but Pakistan.

Can anyone in the region play realpolitik as cold bloodedly as our Victorian forefathers?