pkpatriotic
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Obama vs Osama
During his recent visit to meet US troops stationed in Afghanistan, US presidential hopeful Barrack Obama, who also held talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, has once more made it clear he intends to adopt a tougher tone with Pakistan when it comes to dealing with terror. Whereas Obama somewhat softened his tone in an interview on his return to Washington, emphasizing that the US needed to 'work with' Pakistan rather than go in for unilateral action, he did not rule out the possibility of this. He also spoke of using military and economic leverage to ensure Pakistan dealt with the terrorist camps the US believes are based on its soil. In one sense at least, Obama's tough language is not unexpected of a man on the campaign trail. The 'war on terror' remains a big issue in the US and Obama is clearly determined to show he is willing to take on Osama bin Laden and his outfit. For many in America, bin Laden and Al Qaeda personify evil. The tough language used by Obama, and his evident eagerness to develop a working relationship with the US-propped Afghan president, is, for Islamabad, rather worrying.
The prospect of an Obama presidency, which now looks very possible, is already a source of considerable apprehension in the Pakistani capital. Islamabad's best bet of course is to, more effectively, tackle terror on its own for the sake of its own people not those in the US and thus reduce the risk of direct action from the US in the months ahead, possibly after its election at the end of the year.
During his recent visit to meet US troops stationed in Afghanistan, US presidential hopeful Barrack Obama, who also held talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, has once more made it clear he intends to adopt a tougher tone with Pakistan when it comes to dealing with terror. Whereas Obama somewhat softened his tone in an interview on his return to Washington, emphasizing that the US needed to 'work with' Pakistan rather than go in for unilateral action, he did not rule out the possibility of this. He also spoke of using military and economic leverage to ensure Pakistan dealt with the terrorist camps the US believes are based on its soil. In one sense at least, Obama's tough language is not unexpected of a man on the campaign trail. The 'war on terror' remains a big issue in the US and Obama is clearly determined to show he is willing to take on Osama bin Laden and his outfit. For many in America, bin Laden and Al Qaeda personify evil. The tough language used by Obama, and his evident eagerness to develop a working relationship with the US-propped Afghan president, is, for Islamabad, rather worrying.
The prospect of an Obama presidency, which now looks very possible, is already a source of considerable apprehension in the Pakistani capital. Islamabad's best bet of course is to, more effectively, tackle terror on its own for the sake of its own people not those in the US and thus reduce the risk of direct action from the US in the months ahead, possibly after its election at the end of the year.
