I do think that when push comes to shove , Pakistan will show themselves as the mercenaries for hire which they always were.
Would be glad to be proven wrong. Let’s see. Will be better if those guys have some modicum of sense. But past history doesn’t give me enough confidence.
WTF
Monkey see monkey do.
But what does “mercenaries for hire” have to do with this ?
It’s kind of obvious that they have no interest in the war continuing. You are literally challenging their intent, but you provide no evidence that they have an interest in conflageration.
If war continues they risk getting dragged in, which is not in their interest.
Yes, but what does that have to do with this !?
That’s not going to happen.
Nobody is panicking.
I know, but rethoric aside, I found it informative.
He is probably correct about the general lack of panic though. In Europe, I would go as far as to state that 90% of citizens are completely clueless as to the coming consequences and in the US, that number is likely higher (since they are always less informed than Europeans). In poorer countries it is likely not be any better, education is after all key to understand such things, and information and media literacy in poor countries is always quite low.
You and me, @Iftikhar , who actively reads about this, we are very much in a minority.
Because what will happen, you and me both know, is that “common citizenry” will blame chiefly their individual governments for the coming shock. I doubt the common man in the street with little interest about geopolitics will blame Iran , US and Israel, much more than their own governments.
I am struggling to hold regime change and negotiation in the same sentence.
As someone that currently lives in one of these poorer countries, I think before the Iran War started this was more true, but now I’m seeing people that never talked about politics criticizing the US/Trump. Granted this is generally people that are more educated than what you would call the common man here, but I presume at least some information will trickle down, especially when we really start feeling the consequences of this war.
Yes, but it is early days. When the war is over, will the common man or woman still blame chiefly the US, Iran and israel for grotesque economic pain 6 months from now ? Maybe, but I am not so sure.
Because the damaging economic effects will come long after the war, many of them them. Unless I am mistaken and the war last a year or more, but I really don’t think it will. Imo, this is still going to be a “short war” (less than a year in lenght).
If the war were to end today, oil prices will not return to “normal” for the rest of this year at best. Lost infrastructure needs rebuilding and basically catching back up.
Many are oblivious to this thinking that once the ships start running again, everything will be fine.
Also is the fact that is that the public have shown how timid they are with their governments and comply and moan but still pay the prices …no way the Government in the uk will make the price go back down, when they’ve seen we are gullible at the pumps…it may go down by 5p..and we all think phew, but the price increase before the idiot in the white house started all this will not go back to levels pre Iranian war.
I agree that they don’t have an interest in the war yet.
But the point is that their regime is in extreme financial difficulties and Saudis hold most of their debt.
We’ve seen them time and past go against their better interests and join up with US when the money is waved at them. You can chalk it up to a lack of trust (and that feeling permeates itself across quite a lot of section of society btw)
A Pakistani journalist who’s become a mouthpiece of a military was talking about “how Pakistan would become the next Sweden / Norway if they enabled the peace treaty and get funds in return”. Liberation of Palestine and Kashmir was also mentioned.
Just search up Hamid Gul Pakistan Sweden on YouTube. This was previously a rather well respected journalist who’s become a military mouthpiece now.
This thinking permeates across their civilian and military leadership too.
I think a large portion of their military etc is too beholden to the US.
I think Pakistan is uniquely positioned because of the location to be able to play a proactive role in ending this war. But I still look at the trust deficit when it comes to Pakistan. They don’t want a war with iran , but Saudi repaid the UAE debt by pushing 4 bn to their coffers. Pakistan then went and kept some 15k of their troops and flights to defend Saudi.
That becomes a slippery slope when Iran then attacks Saudi installations.
I hope Pakistan does the right thing. But they for sure aren’t going in it with the right spirit and intent.
They are going into the talks as a broker whose loyalties can be brought. That’s what history really shows Pakistan as.
And am glad that IRGC don’t have the nuke.
Those guys are the ISI on steroids.
It’s equally possible to hate the US war on Iran and still detest what the IRGC stands for.
Even my car wash guy was saying it’s the fault of the US. I think anti US sentiment is the highest it’s ever been in India.
Yes there will be the right wing nutcases but as I’ve seen in indian news channels , even those guys are tending to Anti US positions. Except the one odd idiot here or there.
When the consequences are this colossal I think it is harder for people to forget. People still hate Blair, Bush, Cheney, etc two decades later.
People may have shorter attention spans these days, but I would be disappointed (not surprised) if people forget the damage done by Putin, Netanyahu, and Trump in twenty years.
That would be a disaster, given that we’ve already forgotten what happened in the 1930’s & 40’s.
We’re heading in the wrong direction.