Wretchard — Pakistanis no more hate themselves than we do. Rather, it is the nature of the political struggle in Muslim lands that inevitably makes the car and truck bomb, the AK-47, and violent mass killing a part and parcel of Islam and Muslim life.

It’s the Polygamy.

The first four Rightful Caliphs were assassinated. There is no way for losers to gracefully lose without being well, dead or poor. For winners to gracefully win without well, killing all their rivals. This is the feature of all Polygamist systems. There is no cooperation. Simply winner take all, by killing the rivals.

Which means any Muslim nation is going to be shot through with factions and conspiracies, with whatever faction that can kill lots of Americans “winning” and the other factions losing. Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and indeed, Iraq until the threats were too dire at home.

The Surge worked because AQ sought to supplant the tribal chiefs, who had no choice but to ally themselves with a powerful, but distant and uninterested in ruling locally power — the US military.

That was the uniqueness of Iraq. In Pakistan, Iran, Saudi the conditions are different — there is no AQ to “rule” by supplanting tribal chiefs, rather to organize them.

I seriously doubt that Pakistan’s nukes are secure. Very likely it’s only a matter of time before some non-com gives a few to a cousin, for the only security and stability and support that people in Muslim nations have is clan and family.