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End of the love affair with Pakistan : washingtonpost

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End of the love affair with Pakistan

By David Ignatius, Thursday, June 16, 7:57 PM
It’s always painful to watch a love affair go sour, as the unrealistic expectations and secret betrayals come crashing down in a chorus of recrimination. That’s what’s happening now between the United States and Pakistan, and it has a soap-operatic quality, in Washington and Islamabad alike. “How could they treat us so badly?” is the tone of political debate in both capitals.

If this were a feuding couple, you’d counsel a cooling-off period, as they recover their wounded pride and balance. And that’s probably the right advice for America and Pakistan, too. These two countries have been bitterly disappointed in the relationship — with each seemingly incapable of understanding what upsets the other — but they have overriding common interests, too.

“There are points of friction, but there is no breakdown,” says Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington who has worked hard to avert a crackup, even when that has meant challenging his own military. Most senior U.S. policymakers would agree with his assessment.

After the cooling-off period, the relationship will be different — with a greater show of respect for Pakistani independence. That’s a good thing, even from the standpoint of U.S. interests. The old embrace had become suffocating, with the Pakistani military looking to its public like a lackey of the United States. This was producing growing national shame and indignation, similar to the anger that toppled Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak.

When looking at recent events in Pakistan, it’s important to remind yourself of some basic realities:

l  It’s not surprising that the Pakistanis arrested people suspected as CIA informants on the Osama bin Laden raid and other operations. Working with a foreign intelligence service (even a “friendly” one with good motives) is a no-no in any country. Just ask Jonathan Pollard, who spied for Israel and is still in a U.S. prison more than two decades later. I’m told that four of the five informants arrested in Pakistan have now been released.

l It’s not bad that Pakistani corps commanders (and some leading Pakistani journalists and politicians) are questioning the army chief of staff, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. This dissent frightens Americans who worry about proto-jihadists in the army, but that fear is overdone. Pushback against the military leadership is healthy, and Pakistan needs more of it, not less.

l It’s not wrong for Pakistanis to bristle over what they see as threats to their sovereignty. In any nation, the military is a symbol of independence and national pride. When national sovereignty is seen to be compromised — as by the raid on bin Laden’s compound and regular Predator drone attacks — people get upset. The United States should continue to take unilateral military action against threats (we have our sovereign interests, too). But secrecy in such matters is important to avoid humiliating our partner.

What should we expect from the “odd couple,” going forward?

First, the two countries this month created what they’re calling a “joint counterterrorism task force” to oversee operations. One goal will be quicker action to avoid tipping off the enemy — as seemed to happen between the May 19 delivery of CIA intelligence about two Taliban bomb factories in the tribal areas and the June 4 Pakistani assault. This joint group is intended to satisfy Pakistani demands that the United States curb its unilateral intelligence operations.

Second, the Pakistanis plan to end the CIA’s use of the Shamsi air base in southwest Pakistan as a staging area for Predator drone attacks. But they can’t (and won’t) stop Predator missions that originate in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the United States will keep supplying F-16s and may replace two P-3 Orion surveillance planes destroyed in a terrorist attack in Karachi last month.

Third, Pakistani cooperation with U.S. Special Forces will continue but on a less visible scale. The Pakistanis will take over what had been a joint training mission for the Frontier Corps at Warsak, northwest of Peshawar. But over the next few months, the overall U.S. Special Forces presence will probably return to roughly what it was before the recent flap.

Fourth, the United States will consult Pakistan as it seeks a political settlement in Afghanistan. A team working for Marc Grossman, the U.S. special representative overseeing those negotiations, recently visited Islamabad to brief officials there.

These arrangements aren’t ideal from the U.S. standpoint, but they should allow continued cooperation against a terrorist adversary that threatens both countries. And over the long run, this new framework is better than a domineering U.S. approach that has the effect of blowing up Pakistan.

davidignatius@washpost.com

End of the affair with Pakistan - The Washington Post
 
Pentagon: Relationship with Pakistan is critical !

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. must keep working to salvage its relationship with Pakistan in order to preserve security in the region and protect against potential proliferation of that country's nuclear weapons, top Pentagon leaders said Thursday.

Amid escalating tensions with Islamabad, Capitol Hill lawmakers have complained that Pakistan is not doing its part to go after terrorists within its borders, and they have pressed for cuts in U.S. aid to the country.

But Thursday Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that the U.S. cannot afford to let its relationship with a key nuclear-armed country deteriorate.

"Those things that I fear in the future," Mullen told Pentagon reporters, are "the proliferation of that technology, and it's the opportunity and the potential that it could fall into the hands of terrorists, many of whom are alive and well and seek that in that region."

Anger and frustration with Islamabad has escalated in recent days amid reports that Pakistani intelligence officials arrested informants who helped the U.S. in its May 2 raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

Mullen, who has made repeated trips to Pakistan in an ambitious effort to build relations, said he has delivered no message to Islamabad warning that aid will be cut unless cooperation improves.

And Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that U.S. and Pakistan need one another, and that the lines of communication must stay open. And both he and Mullen repeated assertions that the bin Laden raid caused much consternation among the Pakistan leadership, and they must be given time to work through it.

Gates said Pakistan has 140,000 troops on the Afghan border and they have worked to go after insurgents in South Waziristan and the Swat Valley. Their presence alone, he said, creates uncertainty among terror groups who think the Pakistanis played a role in the bin Laden raid and are worried they may be betrayed next.

If the relationship with Pakistan crumbles or "were we to walk away, I think it's a matter of time before the region is that much more dangerous and there would be a huge pull for us to have to return to protect our national interests," Mullen added.

On a similar issue, Mullen said that aid to Yemen is still stalled, as the country wrestles with violent unrest and government upheaval. He said the aid program was interrupted by the chaos there, and once that ebbs the U.S. will consider what next steps to take.

Last year as officials worked to counter the growing terror threat in Yemen from al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the U.S. approved more than $150 million in aid to Yemen. And there were suggestions that the total would grow to as much as $250 million this year.

But budget constraints trimmed the military assistance program, and the unrest in Yemen has further stymied plans to provide additional aid, including more helicopters, equipment and training.

In one other announcement, Gates said Adm. Jon Greenert will become the next Navy chief. Greenert is currently serving as the vice chief of naval operations.

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The Associated Press: Pentagon: Relationship with Pakistan is critical
 
US vows to 'capture and kill' Ayman al-Zawahiri
Zawahiri had been widely anticipated to replace Bin Laden at the helm
Continue reading the main story Bin Laden killedHow raid happened Revealing The US will hunt down and kill new al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri as it did Osama Bin Laden, Washington's top military officer has vowed.

Adm Mike Mullen said al-Qaeda still posed a threat to the US.

"As we did both seek to capture and kill - and succeed in killing - Bin Laden, we certainly will do the same thing with Zawahiri," he said.

Zawahiri's appointment was posted on a militant website and attributed to al-Qaeda's General Command.

"There is not a surprise from my perspective that he has moved into that position," Adm Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told journalists.

Zawahiri has for a long time been the militant group's second-in-command. Osama Bin Laden was killed by US special forces in Pakistan in May.

'Lacking charisma'

Continue reading the main story Analysis Frank Gardner BBC security correspondent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ayman al-Zawahiri was always going to be the default choice to succeed Osama Bin Laden.
A highly intelligent Egyptian extremist, he was the man who got Bin Laden to "think global" in the 1990s, broadening his message from just complaining about US troops on Saudi soil to a whole range of Muslim grievances from Kashmir to Palestine.
But experts say Zawahiri lacks the personal charisma of his predecessor. There are also doubts as to whether, as an Egyptian, he will command full authority over al-Qaeda's operatives from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.

The al-Qaeda statement vowed that that under Zawahiri, it would pursue jihad or holy war against the US and Israel "until all invading armies leave the land of Islam".

"Sheikh Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri, may God guide him, assumed responsibility as the group's amir [leader]", it said.

An unnamed US official said earlier that Zawahiri had "nowhere near" Bin Laden's credentials.

"His ascension to the top leadership spot will likely generate criticism if not alienation and dissention with al-Qaeda," the Obama administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

He added that Zawahiri, 59, would find it difficult to lead while focusing on his own survival.

"The bottom line is that Zawahri has nowhere near the credentials that [Osama Bin Laden] had," said the official.

Analysts say Egyptian-born Zawahiri is intelligent but lacks the charisma of his predecessor.

He is claimed by some experts to have been the "operational brains" behind the 9/11 attacks on the US.

For years Bin Laden's deputy, with a $25m (£15m) bounty on his head, he had been widely anticipated to replace Bin Laden at the helm.

Zawahiri, whose 60th birthday is believed to be this Sunday, warned just over a week ago that Bin Laden would continue to "terrify" the US from beyond the grave.

Divisions?

The BBC's Middle East correspondent, Jon Leyne, says priorities for al-Qaeda's new leader may include attempting to mount a big attack to show the organisation is still in business.

In addition, he says, Zawahiri will want to turn the wave of unrest in the Middle East to al-Qaeda's advantage - perhaps building more of a power base in Yemen and working to intensify the instability there.

Continue reading the main story Ayman al-ZawahiriBorn in Cairo, Egypt, in 1951Trained as an eye surgeon Helped found the Egyptian Islamic Jihad militant group Known as Osama Bin Laden's right-hand man and the chief ideologue of al-Qaeda"Operational brains" behind the 9/11 attacks$25m (£15m) bounty on his headFull profile: New al-Qaeda leaderAyman al-Zawahiri in his own words
In his message last week, Zawahiri applauded the Arab uprisings against "corrupt and tyrant leaders" and urged those involved to continue their "struggle until the fall of all corrupt regimes that the West has forced onto our countries".

But our correspondent adds that the delay in announcing Zawahiri as al-Qaeda chief - coming as it does more than six weeks after Bin Laden's death, despite his being the obvious choice - may point to divisions within the leadership.

Zawahiri has for years had a bounty on his head and security analysts have suggested he is most likely to be hiding in the Afghan-Pakistan border region.

However, Bin Laden and other key militant leaders who were also believed to be concealed there have instead been discovered in Pakistani towns and cities.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13801271?print=true
 
Spy vs. spy

THE ongoing saga of deteriorating relations between the CIA and the Pakistan Army and ISI has been developing one new twist after another, and is now increa-singly being played out in the public eye. The latest development — western media reports that Pakistan has arrested local CIA informants, allegedly including an army officer, who passed on information about Osama bin Laden`s hideout to the American spy agency — has raised far more questions than it has answered. Disapproval of the arrests by the American media and some government officials is not particularly fair: any country has the right to interrogate citizens informing a foreign intelligence agency, even if it is about Osama bin Laden. But for Pakistan, this is yet another moment for self-examination. The CIA created a network of local informants who succeeding in putting together enough clues to make a case for raiding the compound of the house where Bin Laden was staying. That the Americans were able to carry out this process from thousands of miles away begs the question of why Pakistan`s own intelligence apparatus was unable to do so in its own backyard, using its own people. And while informants are being detained, what progress has been made in arresting those who enabled Bin Laden to survive inside Pakistan?

Additionally, while ISPR has denied in a press statement that an army officer is among those arrested, a statement given to the media said the detentions were part of a “cleansing process”, a phrase that suggests that members of the armed forces might also be under investigation. Like other aspects of this story, though, the truth remains far from clear. But if the American version is to be believed, it raises concerns about morale and loyalty in the Pakistan Army: why would an officer not feel the need to aid his own institution in tracking down one of the world`s most wanted terrorists?

The last few days also point to how frequently both sides are using the media to publicly shame each other into cooperation. The story about the informants` arrest followed another in the American media about Pakistani security officials having tipped off militants at bomb-making facilities after receiving information from the CIA. Meanwhile, there is no shortage of anti-American conspiracy theories circulating in the Pakistani media. Private discussions are clearly failing, and the media is perhaps being used as a last resort. But it is no substitute for honest dialogue and a sincere desire to work towards the common goal of making both countries safer, and its continued use will simply increase animosity between the two sides.

Spy vs. spy | Newspaper | DAWN.COM
 
Pakistan 'blocks supplies to American drone base' !

Pakistan is blocking food and water from reaching a remote base used by America for its secret drone program, according to a senior U.S. official.


Both sides are now briefing against the other as hostility between the two countries grows more intense and more overt.


Pakistan's military has not recovered from failing to detect an American raid last month that killed Osama bin Laden and has reduced or halted co-operation with America in protest. A senior American official said supplies had been choked off to the airbase and that Pakistan was gradually "strangling the alliance".


The drone program, although rarely acknowledged by America and repeatedly condemned by Pakistan, is credited with killing a series of high-profile targets.


Last week, senior Pakistani army officers released a statement riddled with anti-American rhetoric and threatening action against the drones.

© Copyright (c) The Daily Telegraph



Pakistan 'blocks supplies to American drone base'
 
If there is no end, there will be no new beginning. With "correct" attitude, it's not entirely unfathomable that one day American carrier can dock at Gwardar.
 
Things are getting from bad to worse

looking at the pace of the trend at which the U.S/Pakistan ties are rapidly deteriorating indicates the situation is getting seriously critical
 
The end of this affair in hostile manner may come of damn high price for Pakistan.. Not a good sign for the region to be honest.. Pakistan rather should work with US in getting rid of extremists who are causing havoc to innocent Pakistan citizen's life..
 
The end of this affair in hostile manner may come of damn high price for Pakistan.. Not a good sign for the region to be honest.. Pakistan rather should work with US in getting rid of extremists who are causing havoc to innocent Pakistan citizen's life..

No price at all. I think the Americans know better. It's not Pakistan thats trying to drive them out of Afghanistan.
 
All ' affairs' are founded on trust.

Evidently both parties didn't trust each other form the word go. Each had a secret agenda in keeping the 'affair' alive.

Prior to Abbotabad the US knew that Pak was upto no good while Pak knew what US was upto.

Only, now one party has been caught with its pants down and found in bed with the most wanted terrorist.

Such ' affairs ' should actually be called a fling or a one night stand and its daylight now.
 
No price at all. I think the Americans know better. It's not Pakistan thats trying to drive them out of Afghanistan.
Well the way events are turning out tells a lot about who wants them out of AfPak but you are right Americans know it better.. and about price my friend we will have to wait and see what time will tell..
 
hope they both work together against extremists. And personally i think the more stable pakistan will be it will be good for the entire region. They should leave behind thier enmity and work as ally.
 
It is good now we know clearly who the enemy is and how to take on him if USA want war it will get it
 

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