Suggested Answers to the Short Quiz

[johnkarls]

.
Question 1

Are America’s primary foreign-policy objectives vis-à-vis Pakistan anti-nuclear-proliferation and anti-terrorism?

Answer 1

Yes.

Question 2

Has Pakistan’s mountainous Northwest Tribal Region been home to Al Qaeda’s top brass since the American invasion of Afghanistan in 2001?

Answer 2

Yes.

Question 3

How long has Pakistan had nuclear weapons?

Answer 3

On 5/28/1998, Pakistan detonated five nuclear devices.

Between May 11-13, 1998, India also conducted 5 nuclear tests. (India had tested a nuclear device in 1974, generally thought to be in response to the 1962 invasion by the Peoples Republic of China over a border dispute in the Himalayas, followed by inaction until the nuclear-arms race with Pakistan in the 1990’s.)

Neither country has conducted any further tests since 1998 though both have deployed scores of nuclear weapons.

Question 4

Did North Korea acquire its nuclear-weapons technology from Pakistan?

Answer 4

Yes.

Question 5

Did Libya acquire its nuclear-weapons technology from Pakistan? Did Libya “chicken out” after the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 and renounce its nuclear-weapons program?

Answer 5

Yes. Yes.

Question 6

Did Iran acquire its nuclear-weapons technology from Pakistan? Did Iran “freeze” like a “deer caught in the headlights” after the American invasion of Iraq in 2003? But after a pause, resume its nuclear-weapons program?

Answer 6

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Question 7

Have there been news reports that Saudi Arabia has already paid Pakistan for a “turn key” nuclear-weapons program, to be delivered as soon as Iran goes nuclear?

Answer 7

Yes.

Question 8

As we have studied in the past, will Turkey, Egypt and The Gulf State Six (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman) each go nuclear as soon as Iran goes nuclear?

Answer 8

Yes.

Question 9

As we have studied in the past, is this because Turkey, Egypt and The Gulf State Six are following the philosophy of French President Charles de Gaulle who took France out of NATO and developed French nuclear weapons because he believed America would never risk a nuclear holocaust to save France?

Answer 9

Yes.

Question 10

Do 50% of the world’s oil supplies originate in the Persian Gulf OR DOWNWIND from the P.G., meaning that since agricultural fertilizers come from petrochemicals, HALF OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION WILL NO LONGER BE SUSTAINABLE following a nuclear war in the Persian Gulf?

Answer 10

Unfortunately!!!

Question 11

For our 3/13/2008 meeting 6 years ago, did we focus on “Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West” by Benazir Bhutto?

Answer 11

Yes.

Question 12

Like her father, former Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and like two of her brothers, was Benazir Bhutto (who had served as Pakistani Prime Minister 1988-1990 and 1993-1996 and who had just returned to Pakistan on 10/18/2007 to run again for Prime Minister) assassinated by (per widespread belief) the Pakistani military?

Answer 12

Yes.

Question 13

Had Benazir Bhutto been in exile in Dubai during the Pakistani reign of General Musharraf 10/12/1999 – 8/18/2008?

Answer 13

Yes.

Question 14

Following her assassination on 12/27/2007, did Benazir Bhutto’s husband become the head of the Pakistani government?

Answer 14

Yes.

Question 15

Had Benazir Bhutto graduated from Harvard U. in 1973 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa? And did she receive her PhD from Oxford U. in 1977 after being the first Asian woman to be elected President of the prestigious Oxford Union Debating Society?

Answer 15

Yes. Yes.

Question 16

Was our current author, Prof. Husain Haqqani of Boston University, interviewed by the MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour (aka PBS Newshour) following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto?

Answer 16

Yes.

Question 17

Did Prof. Haqqani’s 1999-2008 exile at Boston University parallel Benazir Bhutto’s exile time-wise?

Answer 17

Yes.

Question 18

Had Prof. Haqqani been a high-ranking adviser to 3 non-military Pakistani Prime Ministers? Was he Spokesman for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (1992-1993) and Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (1993-1995)? [NB: Nawaz Sharif became Pakistani Prime Minister once again 6/5/2013.]

Answer 18

Yes. Yes.

Question 19

Did Prof. Haqqani serve as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the U.S. 4/13/2008 - 11/22/2011 during the Prime Ministership of Benazir Bhutto’s husband?

Answer 19

Yes.

Question 20

In a nutshell, what is the thesis of Prof. Haqqani’s “Magnificent Delusions: Pakistan, the United States, and an Epic History of Misunderstanding”?

Answer 20

It is captured beautifully in an answer during the PBS Newshour interview of Prof. Haqqani which is posted on http://www.ReadingLiberally-SaltLake.org under Reference Materials for the 1/8/2014 meeting --

“I think that a shared interest or a common enemy is absolutely essential for an alliance. Now, you can be useful to each other. You don't have to have 100 percent symmetry in your interests. But the usual range of asymmetry and interest is 30-70. For example, Britain may have 30 percent interests that are not those of the Americans. In the case of Pakistan and the United States, Pakistan's primary interest, as defined by its elite, which I question, is to become India's military equal and to wrest control of Kashmir. Those two interests are not America's interests. And yet America has built up Pakistan's military potential over the years and continues to arm Pakistan, assuming that Pakistan will eventually use those arms for agendas the Americans set for them. That is not going to happen. That has not happened in the last 66 years.”

Question 21

In a nutshell, what was the thesis of Benazir Bhutto’s “Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West”?

Answer 21

Benazir Bhutto argued that Radical Islam is a perversion of true Islam and the solutions = (A) a First (sic*) Marshall Plan for Islamic countries; (B) a "Reconciliation Corps" modeled on the Peace Corps; (C) direct foreign aid that by-passes governments and NGO's so that like Osama bin Laden's picture hanging over the community stove from which residents of the notorious Pakistani Tribal Areas obtain their free food, the U.S. could impose its imprimatur and thereby obtain proper credit; (D) an "Association of Democratic Nations" to nurture democracy in Islamic countries; (E) increased exchange programs (foreign students, cultural, etc.); and (F) solving the Palestinian/Israel imbroglio (as if Bill Clinton's Peace Plan to which Arafat agreed but then decided duplicitously that he didn't want to "sell" to his followers should be warmed over and served again -- though her point is valid that the festering has propaganda value for Radical Islam).

* Benazir Bhutto’s “First” Marshall Plan for Islamic countries would actually be the second as explained in “The First Marshall Plan for the Middle East by Pres. Truman” posted on http://www.ReadingLiberally-SaltLake.org under “Critiques of Benazir Bhutto’s “Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West” for our 3/13/2008 meeting.

Question 22

For those of us who studied Benazir Bhutto’s book for our 3/13/2008 meeting, is it more valuable than Prof. Haqqani’s “Magnificent Delusions” for our future relations with Pakistan?

Answer 22

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

Question 23

What should our future relations with Pakistan be like from a perspective of Real Politik?

Answer 23

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

[Think piece = don’t we have it about right??? In other words, all of Benazir Bhutto’s recommendations are desirable to the extent we can afford them (keeping in mind that we also have pressing domestic needs). And, even though Prof. Haqqani is probably right that we shouldn’t think of Pakistan as an “ally” (which may be merely a nomenclature problem), we should continue to try to engage Pakistan vis-à-vis anti-terrorism and anti-nuclear-proliferation with, to put it crassly, bribes (aka “foreign aid”) comprising conventional weapons.]

Question 24

Isn’t the reaction of the American media silly when it focuses on the quality of the American relationship with any recipient of American aid (not just Pakistan but also, for example, Egypt) and trumpets that the foreign government receives, say, $3 billion/year in U.S. foreign aid???

Answer 24

Of course!!!

Question 25

In other words, wouldn’t $3 billion be considered by the U.S. government to be a “rounding error” in its annual budgets which are characterized by TRILLION dollar DEFICITS (don’t even think about how much total spending there is!!!)???

Answer 25

Of course!!!

Question 26

What is the size of Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)??? And, for that matter, Egypt’s GDP???

Answer 26

Per http://www.cia.gov > World Factbook, Pakistan’s GDP (purchasing-power parity) for 2012 was $523.9 billion (27th in the world) and Egypt’s was $548.8.

So $3 billion/year is less than 1% of GDP in both cases.

Question 27

Isn’t the real significance of American foreign aid, despite its insignificance as what would otherwise be considered a “rounding error” by the recipient governments, that it takes the form of military aid???

Answer 27

Of course!!!

Question 28

And that American military aid comprises the world’s most advanced conventional weapons???

Answer 28

Of course!!!

Question 39

And that America carefully calibrates the sophistication of the military hardware that it will supply to each recipient government???

Answer 39

Of course!!!

Question 30

For example, wasn’t Tom Hanks’ character, U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson in the movie “Charlie Wilson’s War” about Afghanistan, severely criticized by Pakistan’s President 1978-1988, General Zia-ul-Haq, for America’s refusal to supply Pakistan with the advanced radar for American military aircraft given to Pakistan that would permit the aircraft to achieve their full potential???

Answer 30

Yes.

Question 31

So isn’t America merely following the thesis of William Manchester’s “Arms of Krupp” that virtually all wars throughout history have been determined by which side had superior technology???

Answer 31

Of course!!!

Question 32

Is “Pax Americana” which is based on nuclear non-proliferation and careful balancing of the sophistication of American-supplied conventional weapons to the world’s protagonists, about to be destroyed by a nuclear-arms race in the Middle East???

Answer 32

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!