“The Pakistanis will lose,” says ex-CIA officer warning against war with India
Pakistan would lose any conventional war with India, and open conflict holds no positives for Islamabad, former CIA officer John Kiriakou said, calling the US-Pak strategic relationship over the decades a “transactional” one. “Nothing, literally nothing good will come of an actual war between India and Pakistan because the Pakistanis will lose… And I’m not talking about nuclear weapons, I’m talking just about a conventional war. And so there is no benefit to constantly provoking Indians,” he said in an interview to ANI. Kiriakou, who spent 15 years at CIA and led counterterrorism operations in Pakistan, also admitted that post 9/11 strike (followed by the Dec 2001 Parliament attack and India-Pak standoff), US was so engaged with al-Qaida and Afghanistan that “we never gave two thoughts to India”. The former CIA officer also recalled that during his posting in Pakistan in 2002, he was unofficially told the Pentagon exercised control over Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. He noted that views have since hardened, with Pakistani officials publicly insisting their generals retain sole control. Asked if the Americans informed India about the alleged US role, Kiriakou said he doubted it.