Thank you. Sane voice finally. Yes you make very valid and lucid point.
That's fantastic description "leverage equation". I would give positive rating if I could. Yes, your right direct confrontation is not even on the table and should not be unless we have gone crazy with Mad Cow disease.
So what are we left with? The leverage equation you allude to. The
million dollar question is has our government extracted the maximum out of that equation using every
lever it has available? IOn other words could we still extract more out of that equation that slightly tilts things in our favour. We know even with the best will in the world the final equation is going to be loaded against us simply because they are superpower and we are not.
My feeling is that we probably have extracted the most out of this equation. We will never know for sure because we are not privy to the heated discussions tat take place behind closed doors between US and Pakistan.
The Pakistan public instead of wailing and crying should in fact use these cases of what indeed is humiliation to work to fix the problem and that definitely is not by showing two fingers to US. The solution lies in the hands of Pakistani public. Unite, build, educate and remove the structural weakness in the country. That in the long term will give us the strength to extract more from the "leverage equation". The army is not some miracle machine. It is just reflection of Pakistan society. When you blame it or you see warts in it well that is you and me. Those are warts on our faces.
I want Pakistani's to consider another very proud and very martial race. The Japanese. In 1850s Japan was closed off and insular society living in the middle ages. They did not want to talk, engage or have anything to do with outside world. Then in 1853 US Navy warship under Commodore Perry arrived in Japan. Effectively the warship pointed the guns at Japanese and told them "agree to open up or we blast you to hell".
Link >
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Expedition
I show these picture illustrate how backward they were in 1850. However the Japanese were not stupid. Realizing that their swords were no match for US Navy ship they accepted US demands to open up. However they were utterly humiliated. The Japanese code of honour is very unforgiving. Far more demanding than anything we have.
Now this is where Japan proved it's mettle. Humiliated they were. But reaction. Quitely resolve that it was never going to happen again. Orders were given to copy the "barbarian" Westerners in everything. Copy, copy and copy. Within two decades Japanese had given up their traditional clothing. They changed their manners. They tlearn't to think like Western's. They built industry. Japan went through transformation from middle ages to being a Western country in less than 50 years. American gunboat diplomacty had led to entire country and culture transforming themselves.
Barely 50 years after Commodore Perry's humiliation the Japanese had learn't how to make ships, trains, modern industry and almost looked any any regular Western country. Then when ready they decided to show the world what they were. In 1905 they had war against Russia and utterly defeated that country and sank most of the Russian Pacific fleet. Japan was recognized as a great power that year and joined as honorary member of the Western world. It was accorded full respect.
Link >
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Japanese_War
There is a lesson in this for Pakistan.