Nation states are no different than computers if you think about it. The strong army and their skills and military hardware make a state’s hardware and the internal culture, the society, the people, their rights, their education and skills, and so forth make the software of a state. The strong hardware of the Soviet Union did not prevent it from imploding from within once the push was given by the CIA-backed mujahideen. I had the chance to watch the congressional hearing of Kimberly Cheatle, the now former chief of the Secret Service, this week. And while Pakistan too has a strong hardware, being a nuclear-armed state and having a large army, the software of the country should not even belong to the trash bin.

Source: The Nation July 25, 2024 01:03 UTC