Secretary of State Ms. Hillary Clinton is saying all the right words in this AP story. However her acts don’t clearly jive with her actions. Most Pakistani analysts are skeptical of her words, because of several reasons. Firstly, she is not consistent in her statements. She says one thing in Delhi, another in Beijing, and something else in Washington. Her statements in front of the Senate and the Congress are usually very Anti-Pakistan. Her statements in front of the US media are vitriolic and her comments to other world leaders are enigmatic. Then she wonders why Pakistanis don’t trust her.
There has been no movement for the creation of the Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs). There has been little progress in the signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the US and Pakistan. The trickle of military hardware sent to Pakistan is a joke. How can Pakistan fight the war without Chinooks, Apaches, UAVs, F-16s, F-22s, F-35s, and AWACs. How can the Frontier Constabulary and the Frontier Corps bring positive results without 100,000 M-16s, 150,000 night vision glasses, 150,000 bullet proof vests, and 50,000 Humvees? When will the hardware arrive? When will actions match words?
The international and domestic press in Pakistan continues to publish stories about the Xe/Blackwater/DynaCorp operations in and around Pakistan. Major media sources in Islamabad have documented the agents who rumble through Pakistani customs and immigration as if they ruled the planet.All this pours water over the possible good intentions that Ms. Clinton may have about or for Pakistan.
Blackwater's founder Erik Prince contradicted this statement in a recent interview, telling Vanity Fair that Blackwater works with US Special Forces in identifying targets and planning missions, citing an operation in Syria. The magazine also published a photo of a Blackwater base near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
The previously unreported program, the military intelligence source said, is distinct from the CIA assassination program that the agency's director, Leon Panetta, announced he had canceled in June 2009. "This is a parallel operation to the CIA," said the source. "They are two separate beasts." The program puts Blackwater at the epicenter of a US military operation within the borders of a nation against which the United States has not declared war--knowledge that could further strain the already tense relations between the United States and Pakistan. In 2006, the United States and Pakistan struck a deal that authorized JSOC to enter Pakistan to hunt Osama bin Laden with the understanding that Pakistan would deny it had given permission. Officially, the United States is not supposed to have any active military operations in the country.
‘We are launching initiatives to help strengthen Pakistan’s infrastructure, especially in energy and water … so you can have the resources you require in your homes, schools, and businesses,’ said Clinton in a message meant to allay misgivings of the Pakistani people about the US. - File photo
All of the above is fine and dandy—but Pakistanis can point to a dozen concrete projects that China has constructed and built for Pakistan. Most Pakistanis cannot point to any American project of value. If the US had built 50 world class universities, there would be millions of pro-American Pakistani graduates. If the US had built 1000 American hospitals, there would be tens of millions of healthy Pakistanis risking their lives for America. If there had been 5000 US sponsored schools in Pakistan, hundreds of millions of Pakistanis would be respecting the Stars and Stripes. If the US had eliminated tariffs on Pakistani textiles, millions of Pakistanis would be employed by the textile industry and not be loitering about street-corners discussing the root causes of extremism.If Washington had allowed a Free Trade Agreement with Islamabad, the Pakistani and American business community would be taking advantage of the inner strengths of Pakistani labor—hard work, a good ethic and English peaking skills. If the US had supported Pakistan in building the dozen or so dams that it needs.
WASHINGTON: Renewing US commitment to a long-term relationship with Pakistan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Obama Administration has requested a significant increase in economic development assistance for the country, a key partner in curbing violent extremism in the region.
‘We are committed to Pakistan’s security, stability, and sovereignty for the long term,’ said Clinton.
The last time we heard this sentence was from President Richard M. Nixon who said “Pakistan is the cornerstone of US policy”. I distinctly remember the year—it was 1971—somehow the 7th fleet never made it to the Bay of Bengal. We also remember the tall pronouncements made to Pakistan when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan—all Pakistan got was the Pressler and Symington amendments. Pakistanis in general are scared of Greek Trojans bearing gifts.
She said President Obama’s strategy, announced this week, reflects the American nation’s commitment to building a broad partnership with the Pakistani people.
This partnership, she remarked, is based on common values and a shared commitment to democratic rule, robust economic development, safety and security of all Pakistanis and the defeat of militants and terrorists who, she claimed, hide along the country’s western border.
‘We’ve already begun to implement elements of President Obama’s strategy. We have requested a significant increase in economic development assistance, including through the landmark Kerry-Lugar-Berman legislation,’ Clinton said in a message to the Pakistani people.
A General who has lost a war, can do only two things—he can ask for more troops and he can blame others. General Petraeus has done both. He has gotten 30,000 more troops and he has been blaming others for his own incompetence, and the inefficiency of this leadership. The blame others phenomenon includes the Pakistanis and the Iranians. His ephemeral Quetta Shura does not exist with a building and a flag on it. There are however Afghan refugee camps in Baluchistan, which are a hangover of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Then, as now, millions of Afghans ran from the oppression and the occupation in Afghanistan.
They live in refugee camps in and around Quetta. Pakistan has repeatedly asked the Afghan government to take back the refugees. It had also planned to mine the and fence the border. All these Pakistani proposals have not only rejected by Mr. Karzai, he has vehemently opposed them.
Admiral Mullen is wrong about Pakistan
Admiral Mullen is wrong about Afghanistan. The rude Admiral Michael Mullen is still wrong on Afghanistan
Admiral Mullen is wrong asking for additional troop “trainers” for Kabul. He has got some–what will be do with them.
Bluster before Exit: Obama’s last hurrah—30,000 troops “for 18 months” then withdrawal by 2011 
Mullah Omar stays most of the time in Pakistan: Petraeus
- US commander says Haqqani network in North Waziristan a ‘big concern’ * Washington helped create extremist organisation
Daily Times Monitor
LAHORE: Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar stays most, if not all, of the time in Pakistan, US Army General David Petraeus told the National Public Radio (NPR) on Friday.
In an interview with NPR, Petraeus said Pakistan had taken important steps against the Taliban in the last nine months. “I think there was a major development there about nine months ago that is very worth discussing. And that is a recognition by the Pakistani population, by virtually all of the political leaders, including the major opposition figure, Nawaz Sharif, and the bulk of the clerics that the most pressing threat to the very existence of Pakistan is the extremist syndicate, again, and, in particular, the Pakistani Taliban,” he said. He particularly mentioned the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as an existential threat to Pakistan.
If US Generals continue to spew vitriolic venom against Pakistan and continue to issue veiled ultimatums to the Pakistan Army and overt threats to the Pakistani state, then all the nice words coming out of the mouth of Ms. Hillary Clinton are words that have no meaning.Unless Ms. Clinton can halt the public lashing of Pakistani institutions and the state, there she cannot expect to be taken seriously.
The chief American diplomat said the US looks forward to strengthening and continuing the partnership not only between the governments, but between the Pakistani and American people in the months and years to come.
‘We are launching initiatives to help strengthen Pakistan’s infrastructure, especially in energy and water, which is what the Pakistani people have told us you need, so you can have the resources you require in your homes, schools, and businesses.
President Obama’s strategy is the product of broad consultation, including with many of the partners in Pakistan, Clinton said.
‘We join the people of Pakistan in our deep concern about the threat posed by al-Qaida and its extremist allies. We condemn the violence that has been inflicted on innocent Pakistani people in recent months with bombings and other brutal assaults targeting civilians, your military, and other important aspects of your country and society,’ said Clinton.
The United States and Nato forces, numbering around 100,000 are trying to contain Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, eight years after September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States which led to the US invasion of Afghanistan. Nato allies have also pledged to increase their troops presence in Afghanistan by 7,000 after the American announcement of 30,000 additional troops.
Can Ms. Clinton explain the presence of Xe/Blackwater in Pakistan? Can she put a halt to constant US carping about Pakistan Nuclear weapons? Can US generals quit blaming Pakistan for their defeat in Afghanistan? Can they quit finding excuses for their incompetence in Kabul? Can US politicians halt their aggressiveness by mentioning “existential threats” to Pakistan. Obviously, these subtle threats are not so subtle in the light of the blatant and overt threats on the eve of September 11th, 2009? Will America continue to tolerate the Indian RAW offices disguised as Consulates along the Pakistani-Afghan border? Will the US begin treating Pakistan at par with Bharat (aka India) in terms of respect on Nuclear Technology and arms? If the answer is no to any of these questions, then no amount of nice talk can be taken seriously.
ISLAMABAD – Much before the terror attack on the Naval Headquarters in E-9 sector of Islamabad, the complex was being monitored by the US embassy. TheNation has learnt that on November 18, a gentleman working for the US embassy in Islamabad, (see photocopy of ID card) Mr Abdul Ghafoor, was stopped by Naval police and intelligence personnel in the morning as he was suspiciously monitoring the entry/exit of Zafar gate (at Zafar Chowk) and doing reconnaissance work of naval installations.
Suspicions were further heightened when it was discovered that he was using a motorbike with a number plate that was found to be fake when checked. The chassis of the bike also seemed to have been tampered with. He offered a flimsy explanation to the effect that he was checking the route on which the ambassador had to travel.
The US and its Nato allies depend on Pakistan not only for transportation of supplies for their mission in landlocked Afghanistan but also to curb militant activity along the porous Pak-Afghan border.
Meanwhile, Pakistan, which has launched major anti-militant operations in its north-western areas, is confronting a wave of retaliatory bombings and is concerned about any spill-over effect of fighting in the Afghan provinces bordering its tribal areas.
Pakistan remains host to the largest population of refugees in the world, with over two million Afghans still living on its soil.—APP Clinton seeks to reassure Pakistanis on ties, Sunday, 06 Dec, 2009, Tags: clinton,US,pakistan,aid,obama,afghanistan,economy,energy,water,security
The US waive the Pakistani debt and build the Indus Highway—which it has been using with impunity as if it was funded by the US government. The Indus Highway was built for the Pakistani people not ISAF, NATO or US forces. The Indus Highway was built for Pakistani commerce not American military occupation.
Pakistan suffers from drone attacks on a daily basis. Pakistanis face a 911 everyday. Every drone attack shakes the nation. They get imbedded in the national conscience. No self-respecting nation on earth can tolerate this sort of abuse. The continued bombardment of Pakistani territory does not win the US any friends in the land of the Indus. The American wink-wink-nod-nod game of connivance with the Pakistani leadership, further alienates the rulers from the masses, and works as a recruitment poster for the militants who then paint the leadership as American lackeys working for US interests and not interested in protecting Pakistani lives. No amount of aid can overcome this seething hatred.
The more of more aid comes with more strings and more threats—eliminating the efficacy of the goodwill gestures. The current aid levels are a joke and a half. While the US spends $143 Billion in aid to Afghanistan, Pakistan gets a miserly $1.5 Billion (three fourths of which is spent on US consultants and logistics—and the rest doled out the US Ambassador’s favorite NGO). Pakistan has been a US ally since the 50s, a founding member of SEATO, CENTO, a frontline state against the USSR, the arrowhead that destroyed the Soviet Union. It is a Major Non-NATO-Ally (NMMA), but it remains the most abused “friend” of the US. It has lost more soldiers than any other country in the world in the war on terror—yet is is threatened on a daily basis by the US or its other coalition partners. Pakistanis have stood by Americans in Vietnam, Korea and since 911—however it is Bharat (aka India) that gets the Nuclear deal, state dinners, the latest planes, and invitations to the G-20. It is ironic that Ms. Clinton talks about “long term relationships” while admiral Mullen has Quetta in his gun-sights.
Without concrete steps on the ground, all words are useless!
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