A man emerges from a restaurant in Peshawar, Pakistan, after a

savage explosion that killed at least 107 on the day of Secretary

of State Clinton's arrival in the country.

 

 

The Nation, Pakistan

Hillary's 'Unfortunate' PR Stunt Falls Flat

 

"The Americans have gotten what they want from Pakistan. Our tragedy is that amid all the groveling, there's no one to speak for Pakistan."

 

EDITORIAL

 

October 29, 2009

 

Pakistan - The Nation - Original Article (English)

 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Pakistan: America is a tough sell.

 

BBC NEWS AUDIO.: Clinton must fight to win over a skeptical Pakistanis, Oct. 29, 00:05:41RealVideo

Hillary Clinton's visit has brought nothing new to the Pakistani people. In fact it seems like a PR exercise - but who would buy what the U.S. is selling? Beyond what they already own - a compliant government - it's difficult to imagine. Unfortunately, she began her visit with the usual targeting of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal when she declared how worried Washington is about proliferation and nuclear-armed terrorists. If that were really the case, the U.S. would shore up its own rather weak command and control systems, given how often its nuclear weapons go missing and are found later on unauthorized air force aircraft.

 

As for proliferation, since its accord with India, the U.S. is itself guilty of breaching the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; and then there is America's continuing proliferation to Israel that no one seems prepared to discuss. Clinton also wants Pakistan to "work with" the U.S. on the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty - despite the fact that Pakistan has strong reservations to the draft put forward by the U.S. which seeks to permanently disadvantage Pakistan in relation to India.

 

What's worse was Clinton's inartful attempt to send a "message" to the Pakistan military - not only with her nuclear diatribe, but her overuse of the word "democracy"! In terms of concrete offerings, there appeared to be little beyond 10,000 tube wells - just the usual promises of working for development and so on. Sadly, our foreign minister seems so beholden to the Americans that he goes into spasmodic displays of gratitude whenever he's in their company - and yesterday was no different. He declared the U.S. a "great friend of Pakistan," but refused to demand that this "friend" stop the flow of weapons from Afghanistan to the Tehrik-i-Taliban [Pakistani Taliban]. Given that the Peshawar blast occurred before their joint press conference, it didn't become our foreign minister when he failed to raise this critical issue. After all, since 9/11 there has been a terrorist incident in the North-West Frontier Province every 40 hours, and this wouldn't be happening without the supply of weapons and money coming from Afghanistan.  

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

 

On our energy problem, Mrs. Clinton merely declared that the U.S. is committed to addressing the issue; but if its way of addressing it is to demand that we end all government energy subsidies and abandon the Iran pipeline project, then we're better off without their help.

 

If the U.S. is serious, it should sign with Pakistan an India-like civil nuclear deal - but who of our present leadership would demand this and stick to it? And that's precisely the problem with Pakistan's relationship with the United States. The U.S. approach toward Pakistan was summed up well with the photograph of Richard Holbrooke slumped in his chair during the talks, chewing gum nonchalantly. After all, they've gotten what they want from Pakistan. Our tragedy is that amid all the groveling, there's no one to speak for Pakistan.

 

 

SEE ALSO ON THIS:  

The Nation, Pakistan: Hillary Clinton Should Mind Her Own Media!  

Pak Tribune, Pakistan: In Waziristan, Americans Must Now Stand Aside  

The Frontier Post, Pakistan: 'Rivers of Blood:' West Could Care Less for Afghan Deaths
The Frontier Post, Pakistan: Tell America to Stop Backing Terrorist Attacks on Iran
The Frontier Post, Pakistan: America Reveals Dark Side of the Human Intellect

The Australian, Australia: Before 9-11, Docs Show Split in al-Qaeda Over Attack on U.S.

Asia Times, Hong Kong: China Maps End to the Afghanistan War

The Telegraph, U.K.: Obama Reported 'Furious' at McChrystal Speech  

Gazeta, Russia: U.S. and Russia Share Responsibility for 'Afghan Anthill'

The Frontier Post, Pakistan: Americans Will Pay Dearly For 'Flirting' with Afghan War

The Frontier Post, Pakistan: This Time, the Americans Have Gone Too Far!  

The Frontier Post, Pakistan: It's Obama's Afghanistan Now

Der Spiegel, Germany: Editorial Roundup: U.S. 'Schadenfreude' Over Afghan Air Strike

Der Spiegel, Germany: Germany Pledges Full Probe as Pressure Mounts

 

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[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US October 29, 5:16am]

 

 

 







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