No. I apologize for going off-topic but there was a post that discussed PAKISTAN-Iran relations...and to that extent, I think Iran becomes relevant. I do think they are "pragmatic". I saw that a US District Court ruled that Iran and Hezbollah supported the 9/11 attacks. If that is true(I have no idea what testimony was used for the judge to rule that Iran and Hezbollah supported 9/11) then the United States invaded the wrong Persian Gulf country. Personally, I am skeptical of such claims. But since a lot of this stuff is classified, it's hard to come up with a conclusion. Then this makes cooperation between Pakistan and Iran more likely. Pakistan has one of the most radical populations in the world, probably only behind Yemen. Bueller!
Some semi-details: http://news.brunei.fm/2011/12/24/u-s-district-court-rules-iran-behind-911-attacks/
You should realize how easy it is, to confuse the names of the neighboring countries. "Gentlemen, I propose that we invade Iraq." "Surely, Mr. President, you mean Iran?" "No, I'm pretty sure I mean Iraq. See, right here, on this map." "Sir, you're pointing to Iran. Iraq is next to it." "This one? Iraq? Yup, that's what I said. Iraq."
Seems like that was the final straw. Anonymous officials on both sides in a NYT article yesterday saying the relationship is getting scaled back. Pakistani official literally saying Pakistan feels like a "rainy day girlfriend," IOW they're being disrespectfully f*ked. US officials on the other hand, feel Pakistan is on the skanky side, is only after its foreign aid, and is capable of anything with her lowlife friends.
Militants execute 15 police hostages as revenge for a military operation which killed a militant commander: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/pakistan-militants-kill-15-police-captives-6285181.html
Will there be protests and demonstrations all over Pakistan to condemn this? Burning of Taliban flags?
Guess not: "the video — distributed on compact discs and peddled in street markets" Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/taliban_snuff_vid_xPRxIXH5obBvGvY2TBepQJ#ixzz1kDU8hAk0
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/magazine/bill-keller-pakistan.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=asia Interesting perspective on the US-Pakistan relationship.
Recently, the works (mainly Punjabi poetry) of Munir Niazi were republished both in India and Pakistan. I happened to get my hands on one of his books. One of his couplets beautifully sums up the current situation in Pakistan. Kuj onjj vi rehwaan okhiyan sann, Kuj gal vich ghaman da tauq vi si; Kuj shehr de log vi zalim sann, Kuj menu maran da shauq vi si.
Taliban Gaining More Resources From Kidnapping http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/w...turn-to-kidnapping-to-finance-operations.html http://www.havocscope.com/kidnapping-for-ransom-statistics-in-pakistan/
Pakistan is one of the most psychotic country in the world. I personally don't trust Pakistanis and Pakistani government. Pakistan is the origin of crazy terrorists. USA should really punish the hell out of Pakistan.
http://india.nydailynews.com/newsar...ctim-s-widow-killed-by-her-father-in-pakistan Who gets to keep the Blood Money?
Pakistan living up to their friends of the US status..... http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-pakistan-binladenbre84m0mm-20120523,0,6956056.story I am disappointed that the US didn't get this guy out of pakistan before he could be tried. The man did the world a favor and is rewarded by his home nation with a hefty fine and 33 years in jail. I hope the US wisens up soon and cuts off all aid to Pakistan and spends that money here at home on Americans who need it.
I agree with you on aid. They should cut it and not expect the Pakistanis to fight their battles for them. On this guy, he should be punished. 33 years seems excessive to me, but there is no doubt that he is a traitor. He was in the pay or control of foreign powers, and abused his position and went back on his oath as a doctor and agency surgeon of the health department in order to run a fake vaccination programme that has put back the health programme in the area and blown away any trust in such programmes. His actions also might have caused the avoidable death of a woman, boy and a courier who might have been arrested instead of killed during the assault on Bin Laden's house. Militants there are already claiming that real polio vaccination programmes there are US-led attempts to sterilise the population. Incidents such as this will only further damage the efforts to improve healthcare in the region. There are also analysts who claim that the fact he was tried under Tribal Laws and not under Pakistani laws was an attempt by the Pakistanis to avoid his execution, which would have been a real probability if he'd been tried for treason. So despite what we may think, he might have got off fairly lightly. http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-Ne...prisonment-attempt-to-save-him-from-execution
Well TBH, Pakistan was supposed to be helping us find obl, not help hide him. I really question calling him a traitor, he did not reveal state secrets, he did work with another foreign power, but not against his own Govt. In fact he was working with a Govt. that is/was supposed to be an ally of his nation to find a wanted terrorist so I just don't see the treason aspect here. As for the medical concerns, I am not qualified to determine if he broke his oath as a medical Dr. in pakistan or not, but if the people there are so poorly educated that they buy into sterilization programs and such, well that really isn't a US issue to worry about. We can't bring them out of that 8th century mentality, they are going to have to figure those things out for themselves. Now the last paragraph of what I quoted was very telling. NOT ONE person has been charged with helping hide obl in pakistan. Here he was hiding right under the nose of a major military installation and somehow no one knew he was there? But they sure didn't wait long to go after this Dr. who helped the US kill obl....... It is well past time to walk away from pakistan and let them figure out their own mess without any US funds or miltary equipment. But not only that, the US should be pursuing improved relations with India and selling modern military equipment to them. I would much rather be on good military terms with India then with a nation like pakistan that is ready to fall under sway of radicals.
We do try and we do sell them some stuff, but 1. India does not trust the USA do to the sanctions after they tested a nuclear bomb. 2 India wants more technology transfer than the USA wants to give them, they feel that if India went to war, they could not count on the USA to keep them supplied with weapons, India’s fear is China more than Pak.
Their fear of China is reasonable, though it is unlikely that they would fight anytime soon. But water is an issue between them, and I want to say it was in 62 that China really mobbed India is a brief war.
It's not far-fetched to believe that the US would do such things, to be frank. They've done far worse in other countries. And running fake vaccination programmes doesn't help. Believe it or not, the US is not seen as a benign force in vast swathes of the world, and for very good reason. Regarding Pakistan's strategic alliances, they have far more mutual interests with China than they do with the US, and they should pursue that instead of being slaves to the US.
While the US has done some harsh things, to think the US would implement a sterilization program is outlandish. While I am aware that the US is seen in a less then positive light, I would say with confidence that the US has done far more good for the World then bad. I am sure China will have pakistans best interest at heart in any relationship they have.....As for being slaves to the US, really? Seriously you think that? pakistan has harbored aq, the taliban, and other fighters fighting the US, They have stopped land supplies to NATO, they provided obl safe shelter, some slaves.....
Really? Pakistan is allied with AlQaeda? The USA is an enemy of Pakistan? He sold state secrets to a foreign power? Well, maybe he did, if you believe that Pakistan knew that OBL & his large family were living there.