If Pakistan can trust Obama and Holbrooke, we can too…
Pakistan, our President and State Department say you are Sovereign and No Troops… and, they back it up with their word!
Obama said U.S. ally Pakistan needs to be more accountable, but ruled out deploying U.S. troops there. “Our plan does not change the recognition of Pakistan as a sovereign government,” the president told CBS’ Face the Nation in an interview broadcast Sunday.USATODAY.com. 3/29/2009
Holbrooke: “No American Troops in Pakistan”
‘We have members of our intelligence services in every country in the world,’ Mr Holbrooke told PBS Television (Charlie Rose) when asked if the United States had troops in Pakistan.
‘No members of the American military or CIA are in Pakistan, is that what you’re saying?’ he was asked.
‘I only said there are no American troops in Pakistan,’ said Mr Holbrooke. DAWN.COM 23 Dec, 2009
PBS NewsHour Reports:
Holbrooke: “the facts are the facts… There’s nothing secret about their presence there.”
The confusion must be because we just started the operation… 18 months ago?
At least 12 other American service members have been killed in Pakistan since Sept. 11, 2001, in hotel bombings and a plane crash, according to the United States Central Command, but these were the first killed as part of the Special Operations training, which has been under way for 18 months. NYTimes.com.
Well, at least our State Department is straight forward on the Drone attacks mentioned by PBS… Pakistan is OK with them… right?
Pakistan officially objects to the strikes against suspected al Qaeda and Taliban militants along its northwest, saying they violate its sovereignty.
The attacks have also created fierce anti-American sentiment in Pakistan, a key ally Washington sees as a front-line state in its war on militancy.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said after meeting U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke that some very clear “red lines” were discussed.
“I said despite the partnership that we enjoy, Pakistan cannot, and Pakistan feels that it will undermine our relationship, if there’s expansion of drones and if there are operations on ground,” he told a news conference.Pakistan says U.S. drone attacks could hurt ties | Reuters.
Gwen Ifill asks: “Saima, there’s quite some sensitivity about the presence of U.S. troops on the ground in Pakistan. So, what has been the reaction to this news?”
SAIMA MOHSIN: Exactly. As you say, Gwen, there is hostility to the presence of be it U.S. aid workers or U.S. military personnel. We all know of that controversy of U.S. boots on the ground in the tribal areas last year.
But, at the moment, there’s all sorts of speculation. There’s been a huge scandal over the presence of Blackwater. There’s been issues as to what projects are being conducted by U.S. And, of course, we also know the controversy surrounding the Kerry-Lugar bill — so, a lot of hostility towards U.S., be they aid workers or military personnel operating in these areas. PBS NewsHour.
OK, so it’s all attacks on our way of life and just because we are free people or maybe because Ben Stein is right and “They are terrorists and murderers because they’re psychos“…
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility Thursday for Wednesday’s deadly attack, now thought to be a suicide bombing, in northwestern Pakistan that killed three U.S. military service members.
Taliban spokesman Azim Tariq said the strike was retaliation for an October attack by American security contractors on civilians in a Peshawar market.CNN.com
Really, Taliban say it’s retaliation… anyone else besides Ron Paul have this crazy thinking?
Juan Cole Comments:
In an opinion poll done last summer, 64% of the Pakistani public said that they saw the US as an ‘enemy,’ and only 9% saw it as an ally.
Pakistan was born out of the Freedom Struggle against British colonial domination, which aimed at securing independence for what had been branded as ‘British India’ and an end to control of the place by foreign Western white Christian troops. The return of such troops to Pakistani soil under an American guise will be highly unwelcome to most Pakistanis. Now that Pakistan is having parliamentary elections again, moreover, it matters what the public thinks, because they could well vote for anti-American parties in the next polls, as part of a backlash against US intervention.Informed Comment
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