The Billion Dollar Question

Thomas Friedman asks the 110 Billion $ question:

When one looks across the Arab world today at the stunning spontaneous democracy uprisings, it is impossible to not ask: What are we doing spending $110 billion this year supporting corrupt and unpopular regimes in Afghanistan and Pakistan that are almost identical to the governments we’re applauding the Arab people for overthrowing?

Urging for a pullout from the Af-Pak quagmire, Friedman suggests a use for the 110 Billion USD:

The truth is we can’t do much to consolidate the democracy movements in Egypt and Tunisia. They’ll have to make it work themselves. But we could do what we can, which is divert some of the $110 billion we’re lavishing on the Afghan regime and the Pakistani Army and use it for debt relief, schools and scholarships to U.S. universities for young Egyptians and Tunisians who had the courage to take down the very kind of regimes we’re still holding up in Kabul and Islamabad.

PS: While on Pakistan, also read this hard-hitting piece by an op-ed editor at Pakistan’s Daily Times. Ms. Sarfaraz, the author of the piece, hopes for sane voices to arise from Pakistan.

Lest we Indians gloat over Pakistan’s descent into anarchy and chaos, let us remember that the killers in the various riots (1984 New Delhi, 1992 Bombay riots and 2002 Gujarat pogrom) not only roam free, but hold important central and state level posts. As a version of old wisecrack goes: if you kill one person, you might be arrested (assuming you are not a politician or related to one). If you organize the killings of thousands, you get to be a minister.