Israeli-Pakistani Relations? Probably a Good Idea.
Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf has decided that he is ready to recognize Israel. And when Musharraf decides something, it often somehow finds support in the rest of Pakistan:
Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf feels encouraged after finding a multitude of backers and no violent opposers in any significant number of his initiative on Israel. Its supporters sprang into action after Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri’s historic meeting with his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom in Turkey last week.
If ties deepen, this would make Pakistan the fifth Muslim country to recognize Israel (Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Mauritania being the other four). The accomplishment would further isolate Iran and already seems to be spiraling to other Arab countries.
Israel has two main security allies in the world - the United States and India. Not coincidentally, increased Israeli-Pakistani relations present two potential problems:
First problem, the United States: Caroline Glick raises the specter that increased Israeli-Pakistani ties are just US pro-Palestinian pressure by other means:
News reports of it claimed that the Bush administration was the primary architect of the summit which the Israeli press effusively praised as the result of the expulsion of the Jews of Gaza and northern Samaria... a senior Bush administration official explained to the Times that at next week's UN General Assembly meeting the administration will "be saying to anyone who asks us, that if your goal is Israeli-Palestinian progress, you're not going to get there by misunderstanding the Israeli political situation."
At the risk of sounding ineloquently frank, we really don't see a problem with this. Is the US pushing disengagement as a pretext to get Arab and Muslim leaders to consider ties with Israel? Good. Is the US trying to prevent the toppling of the Sharon government? Good.
And for what it's worth, this isn't interference in Israeli internal affairs. Interference was when Madeline Albright intentionally snubbed Israel to weaken then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the eve of an election. This is the opposite - the United States is negotiating with, giving concessions to, and securing aid for a sitting Israeli government. That's not called interference - that's called having a successful foreign policy.
Second problem, India: Naresh Raghubeer, Manoj Pundit, and Ajit Someshwar lend their names and pens to a blistering anti-Pakistan editorial addressed to Israelis at large:
Dear Israeli friends: As you extend your hand of friendship to Pakistan, your friends in the Indian Diaspora are shaking their heads and wondering if Natan Sharansky was correct when he suggested that Israel has lost its moral compass...
[F]or many Indians the feeling of betrayal by America's alliance with Pakistan, our nearest threat, remains deep-rooted. In this early phase of courtship Israel must be careful not to raise among its Indian friends a feeling of betrayal as it engages Pakistan. For most Indians the greatest threat to our country comes from Pakistan, a rogue neighbor armed with the nuclear bomb and governed by a military dictatorship...
Before rolling out the red carpet and inviting snakes into their chambers, Israelis should ask their leaders what is in this relationship for them... The Knesset should think of Israel's own security and examine closely the role played by Pakistan and Gen. Musharraf in aiding and arming Iran with the nuclear bomb.
Assess the harm such a relationship will do to your efforts to continue to win the world's one billion Indians to your cause. Finally, evaluate your new relationship, and ask yourself whether you are betraying your friendship with India, your natural ally, and what you hope to gain in return.
Here, we might pause to ponder why, on the morning that India is considering partial redeployment from the Kashmir, pro-Indian lobbyists would be so shrill in their opposition to Pakistan. But such a pause would only delay consideration of how flat out wrong their analysis of India's domestic situation is:
Competing with India in befriending Israel is at best a secondary or minor motive in this calculation. But the pro-Israeli lobby in India has seized upon this to demand that New Delhi adopt a warmer approach towards Israel and build even closer relations.
It accuses the Indian government of "twiddling its thumbs" while Pakistan seizes the moment. It is pressing for a visit to Israel by the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh... If Pakistan consolidates friendly relations with Israel, these sections will mount a hyperactive campaign for outmanoeuvring (sic) Pakistan in building an exclusive strategic partnership with Israel which could produce a peculiar side-show to the already intense India-Pakistan rivalry.
We're not advocating that Israel flirt with Pakistan just to make India jealous - international geopolitics is not a high school dance, but it remains the case that countries who play hard to get often find themselves very lonely. The point is that Israeli-Indian relations are so overwhelmingly in both sides' interest that even partially damaging them is almost impossible.
Israel should deepen its relationship with Pakistan because Israeli normalization with Muslim countries is good for the entire world. It should deepen its relationship with India because, after the United States, India is probably Israel's most natural ally. And as Israel tries to do both, everyone who cares about stability and democracy is lucky that Israeli-Indian ties are already so deep and so warm that the alliance will inevitably continue to thrive..
[Cross-posted at IsraPundit]
Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf feels encouraged after finding a multitude of backers and no violent opposers in any significant number of his initiative on Israel. Its supporters sprang into action after Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri’s historic meeting with his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom in Turkey last week.
If ties deepen, this would make Pakistan the fifth Muslim country to recognize Israel (Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Mauritania being the other four). The accomplishment would further isolate Iran and already seems to be spiraling to other Arab countries.
Israel has two main security allies in the world - the United States and India. Not coincidentally, increased Israeli-Pakistani relations present two potential problems:
First problem, the United States: Caroline Glick raises the specter that increased Israeli-Pakistani ties are just US pro-Palestinian pressure by other means:
News reports of it claimed that the Bush administration was the primary architect of the summit which the Israeli press effusively praised as the result of the expulsion of the Jews of Gaza and northern Samaria... a senior Bush administration official explained to the Times that at next week's UN General Assembly meeting the administration will "be saying to anyone who asks us, that if your goal is Israeli-Palestinian progress, you're not going to get there by misunderstanding the Israeli political situation."
At the risk of sounding ineloquently frank, we really don't see a problem with this. Is the US pushing disengagement as a pretext to get Arab and Muslim leaders to consider ties with Israel? Good. Is the US trying to prevent the toppling of the Sharon government? Good.
And for what it's worth, this isn't interference in Israeli internal affairs. Interference was when Madeline Albright intentionally snubbed Israel to weaken then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the eve of an election. This is the opposite - the United States is negotiating with, giving concessions to, and securing aid for a sitting Israeli government. That's not called interference - that's called having a successful foreign policy.
Second problem, India: Naresh Raghubeer, Manoj Pundit, and Ajit Someshwar lend their names and pens to a blistering anti-Pakistan editorial addressed to Israelis at large:
Dear Israeli friends: As you extend your hand of friendship to Pakistan, your friends in the Indian Diaspora are shaking their heads and wondering if Natan Sharansky was correct when he suggested that Israel has lost its moral compass...
[F]or many Indians the feeling of betrayal by America's alliance with Pakistan, our nearest threat, remains deep-rooted. In this early phase of courtship Israel must be careful not to raise among its Indian friends a feeling of betrayal as it engages Pakistan. For most Indians the greatest threat to our country comes from Pakistan, a rogue neighbor armed with the nuclear bomb and governed by a military dictatorship...
Before rolling out the red carpet and inviting snakes into their chambers, Israelis should ask their leaders what is in this relationship for them... The Knesset should think of Israel's own security and examine closely the role played by Pakistan and Gen. Musharraf in aiding and arming Iran with the nuclear bomb.
Assess the harm such a relationship will do to your efforts to continue to win the world's one billion Indians to your cause. Finally, evaluate your new relationship, and ask yourself whether you are betraying your friendship with India, your natural ally, and what you hope to gain in return.
Here, we might pause to ponder why, on the morning that India is considering partial redeployment from the Kashmir, pro-Indian lobbyists would be so shrill in their opposition to Pakistan. But such a pause would only delay consideration of how flat out wrong their analysis of India's domestic situation is:
Competing with India in befriending Israel is at best a secondary or minor motive in this calculation. But the pro-Israeli lobby in India has seized upon this to demand that New Delhi adopt a warmer approach towards Israel and build even closer relations.
It accuses the Indian government of "twiddling its thumbs" while Pakistan seizes the moment. It is pressing for a visit to Israel by the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh... If Pakistan consolidates friendly relations with Israel, these sections will mount a hyperactive campaign for outmanoeuvring (sic) Pakistan in building an exclusive strategic partnership with Israel which could produce a peculiar side-show to the already intense India-Pakistan rivalry.
We're not advocating that Israel flirt with Pakistan just to make India jealous - international geopolitics is not a high school dance, but it remains the case that countries who play hard to get often find themselves very lonely. The point is that Israeli-Indian relations are so overwhelmingly in both sides' interest that even partially damaging them is almost impossible.
Israel should deepen its relationship with Pakistan because Israeli normalization with Muslim countries is good for the entire world. It should deepen its relationship with India because, after the United States, India is probably Israel's most natural ally. And as Israel tries to do both, everyone who cares about stability and democracy is lucky that Israeli-Indian ties are already so deep and so warm that the alliance will inevitably continue to thrive..
[Cross-posted at IsraPundit]
