Time ran with a necessary cover story in most of the world, entitled, ‘Pakistan’s Despair: Through Hell and High Water’. The parallels with recent natural disasters and those who in turn benefit throughout the world are uncanny. Furthermore, in Pakistan’s case, Murphy’s Law appears to hold true, “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”. A multitude of factors: The flood, inept leadership, militants, terrorism and Kashmir, have fractured what little of the failed state’s very fabric remains. The greatest challenge that has plagued aid organizations dealing with a flood stretching from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to Karachi, or the size of the entire U.K., is delegating funds, getting to those districts hardest hit, and in effect, determining triage for 20 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). It was not long ago, in 2005 and extending into 2006, that Muzaffarabad was hit by an incredibly powerful earthquake, wiping out the lives of an estimated 100,000 in the harsh wintry conditions. The ‘x’ factor was perhaps the various terrorist networks that saved many more from perishing. They saw it as an incredible opportunity to become benevolent and in the process, extort support from the common population for their cause. Essentially, the U.S. and Pakistani terrorist-cum-humanitarians entered into a popularity contest for the hearts of the country’s citizens. So what does this mean for the great deluge of 2010? The probability that a similar response will occur is high. Currently, Pakistani militants and ISI-funded Jihadists are moving along the indistinguishable and mostly unrecognized Durand Line. However, they are now desperate for funds and support. Granted, the flood has already turned into a perfect opportunity to initiate a public relations campaign. As Western aid trickles in and anti-American sentiment remains high, the time for recruitment directed towards those in waiting is now. As is the case for IDPs in most of the world’s conflict zones, returning to life as an illiterate, low-skilled worker or a farmer performing monotonous work, the promise of fighting for a cause and grasping an AK-47 is a refreshing breath of air. The trade-off of learning the Qur’an at a madrassa pales in comparison to the exciting life of what is surely ahead. The threat of a cholera outbreak, 50 degrees Celsius weather and living in a squalid camp for refugees is no lifestyle for a freedom fighter. For the time being, militants erect tents, supply food and medication, and prey on victims. And so the flood of 2010 becomes a struggle for the hearts of the people. In its Sept. 9 issue, The Economist reported that even the ETA – the Basque separatist terrorist group operating within Spain, are grappling with its members’ foundational support. In the Middle East, Hezbollah utilized the 33-day war against Israel to expand the social services it provides in order to launch political initiatives. As an aside, and truth be told, lost among the Lebanese population, however certainly not the Winograd Commission, was Hezbollah’s certain war crimes when blending in within the civilian population – fronting them as human shields. Farther south, controlling the Gaza Strip, it would be a revelation that Hamas, according to an Israeli scholar, devotes more than 90 per cent of its organization’s work to social and welfare programs. All in return for launching Molotovs and Katyushas. Before we start adjusting halos on top of the heads of the various terrorist leaders and their goons, one must be cognizant that a lot of ‘bad’ comes out of all this ‘good’. In fact, bad is an indirect cause of good. What all these organizations have in common is that they have a solid grassroots support network and have been the recipients for a long time. This gives a Hassan Nasrallah or an Abdul Rashid Dostum a platform to exorcise their mandate. It is no different in Pakistan, and exhibiting psychological warfare on those most susceptible to change, a “Yes we can” attitude if you will, the courage to move mountains, or in this case, through them. The legacy of the great flood of 2010 may take many forms, however the cause, disaster will unleash the indirect effect of recruitment – a cause worth dying for, is ostensibly better than dying for nothing.