Clinton leaves Pakistan with pointed question on al Qaeda

[ronnykmarshall]

Source: Reuters

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wound up a bridge-building visit to Pakistan on Friday leaving a pointed question ringing in her hosts' ears: Where are the al Qaeda leaders operating in your country?

While no Pakistani officials were immediately prepared to answer, ordinary citizens told Washington's top diplomat the country was living on a daily basis with the consequences of the September 11, 2001 attacks engineered by the militant Islamist group.


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091030/ts_nm/us_pakistan_usa_9

---

You tell 'em Hillary!

[Barack_America]

1. I'm sure many Pakistani citizens would like their govt. to answer this as well.

HRC is a great SOS.

[Captain Hilts]

2. Their govt. has not been honest with us, or its own citizens. nt

[Rosa Luxemburg]

13. Many Pakistanis don't like the USA

[unc70]

21. Do they not like the US government or the people?

What exactly is it that they do not like? Our support of corrupt PK leaders because we think they can be controlled by us; our ignoring the sovereignty of their country by remote-controlled bombings with "collateral damage"; our support of them for a decade of joint efforts against the Soviets in Afghanistan followed then by periods of dis-involvement, denouncements, and economic sanctions; our blaming them for the millions of refugees in PK from Afghanistan and all the resultant problems; our providing aided most-often in the form of weapons; or our tendency to see everything from our myopic self-centered perspective?

Pakistan has enormous problems and challenges. made worse by the widening gap between rich and poor under a corrupt military government and its unhealthy relationships with elements of the US government and arms dealers, and worse still by the global financial crisis, higher energy costs, internal political and economic turmoil, and the forced return of many in the PK diaspora thus limiting a major source of external capital and investment.

Many in both Pakistan and India routinely exploit the respective fears of each other to distract their own citizens and to justify various abuses in the name of national security. This is little different from the US continuing weapons programs that were designed over 30 years ago at the height of the Cold War ("Better dead than Red") even though the opposing Soviet/Russian weapon systems were dismantled years ago. I think that India and Pakistan are now like the USA and USSR late in the Cold War; the rhetoric is still used and the suspicions and fears remain, though mostly among the older generations. The younger people on each side, particularly those urban and educated, know at lot about each other and share a lot of music, film, sports, and culture. I fully expect them to find their own ways to reduce the barriers that separate them.

[cosmicone]

3. This needed to be said for the last 8 years.

Indians have always been pointing out Pakistan's duplicity in verbally opposing terrorism while continuing to fund, arm, train and shelter it.

Even the EU observers said that Pakistan was hunting with the hounds while simultaneously running with the hares.

My hats off to Obama and HRC for making this a focal point.

[Brother Buzz]

4. While continuing to fund, arm, train and shelter it using our money

I'm just saying.

[unc70]

5. Everyone get off your high horses.

Think for a moment how long it took us to find a lone terrorist bomber hiding in the NC mountains. How hard it is to deal with violent gangs. All sorts of threats to our society.

Now consider that Pakistan has never been a unified country and that its regions differ dramatically. The area around Lahore is relatively modern, Karachi a bit less so, and together they have the overwhelming majority of the population. The differences, for example, between Lahore and the western wedge between Afghanistan and Iran is about as dramatic as one can imagine.

Even given these differences, almost everyone is angry when a bomb in a market kills over 100, mostly women.

[cosmicone]

6. A perfectly logical reason to balkanize Pakistan n/t

[denem]

7. White House supports Clinton's 'straight talk' with Pakistan

Source: Rediff News

As US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hit out at Pakistan for failing to crackdown on Al-Qaeda, the White House on Friday came out in support of her "straight talk" with Pakistani leaders.

"We have been in ongoing conversations with the Pakistanis about ways that they can address and go after violent extremists in their country that threaten both Pakistan and the US. So I think the remarks were completely appropriate," said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

He was replying to questions about remarks made by Clinton in Pakistan about Islamabad's silence on the whereabouts of Al-Qaeda leaders.

Gibbs nodded his head in affirmative when asked if the White House thinks the remarks of Clinton were appropriate.

Read more: http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/oct/31/white-house-backs-clintons-straight-talk.htm

---

This is the best report I can find about the White House, defending Secretary of State Clinton, but if so, it's WH spin.

I'm sure SoS Clinton's "straight talk" and policy mastery is effective behind closed doors. What happened here is that she was talking a group of journalists:

"Al-Qaeda has had safe haven in Pakistan since 2002," she said. "I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn't get them if they really wanted to. Maybe that's the case; maybe they're not gettable. I don't know."

The journalists were not impressed. More than 300 people suspected of being Al-Qaeda, were killed or deported to the US under Musharraf's regime, at least according to one local speaking to the BBC. As an angry mummer sprang up, and Clinton backtracked, ending her answer with "I don't know" didn't help.

“Look Madam Secretary, we are fighting a war that is imposed on us, that is not our war, it is your war and we are fighting it,” said Asma Shirazi of ARY channel, to much applause from the audience. “You had one 9/11 and we are having daily 9/11s”.

Hindustan Times: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Clinton-talks-tough/H1-Article1-471111.aspx

At other times, Clinton appeared inadequately briefed, unable to answer why the Afghan Government has not closed the boarder passes in South Waziristan where the Pakistani Army is conducting a major offensive against the Taliban.

[karynnj]

8. The second is the most negative article and the most detailed I have seen

Having read many articles from Pakistan and India when Senator Kerry was in Pakistan and Afghanistan, I found that the papers reported very different opinions on meetings - though usually with the basic facts agreeing. I have read only a few on this - and they did not seem as harsh.

Still, when your overall goal was to build up trust and goodwill, I doubt it was the best thing to do. In a BBC article, Clinton, even while in Pakistan, essentially clarified her comments - suggesting they likely were spoken in frustration or annoyance with the US's good faith being questioned. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8333614.stm

As to Gibbs, what else could the WH say? Throwing the Secretary of State under a bus really would hurt the administration.

[WriteDown]

9. Would that be the straight talk express bus?

:)

[karynnj]

10. I guess you can call the bus what ever you want, but just as there are banks too

big to fail, there are people too key to the Obama administration to fail. Hillary Clinton is definitely one of them. She really is very important to the perception of Obama's team.

In addition, this likely did not worsen our relationship in any serious way. It likely had to be a disappointment as there were hopes that the very high profile Clinton coming there would further smooth over the animosities and hurt feelings.

[cosmicone]

11. Pakistan needs to be spanked like this

with ever increasing harshness and repeatedly until it gives up its official state policy of terrorism all over the world.

79,000+ Indians have died in Kashmir because of Pakistan's funding and arming or terrorists.

If it were up to me, Pakistan wouldn't get a dime in aid until they produce AQ Khan to be interviewed by the FBI and give their nukes as collateral for any aid.

[unc70]

14. "Spanking" Pakistan! Just who do you think you are punishing?

You still have not changed your position from earlier when you thought the bombings withing Pakistan were "cool" because they were not bombing India nor Kashmir. Those kinds of comments seem to me to be sick and deluded then and now.

Why do you really want to punish innocent people in Pakistan?

[cosmicone]

16. The terrorist policies of the military and ISI are the ones who

are punishing Pakistan. The carnage we see now is a direct result of that.

Just as the US had to endure civil war to see an enlightenment for all its people, Pakistan now needs the trial by fire.

A non-militarized, non-terrorist Pakistan will emerge and it will be good for its people.

[unc70]

17. Do you view the non-Islamic bombings in India the same way?

Are they caused by police corruption, etc.?

Your repeated posts seemingly finding joy in the suffering and death of others makes you lose any claim to a moral high ground.

[cosmicone]

18. You mean there would be less suffering and death is we

maintained status quo?

Suffering and death are daily occurrences ... the idea is to eliminate them in the future. Sometimes one has to amputate a leg to save the body.

[unc70]

20. I mean no such thing. Quit projecting you delusions onto others.

If you really believed the things you post here and elesewhere, then you are probably past the point where you can understand that you are now even worse that those you oppose.

You really need to take some quiet time and consider the cosmos and your tiny place therein. Go outside on a clear night and just sit and look at the universe around you. No need for telescope, nor any other aid. Just sit quietly by your self, breath slowly and deeply, and regain your humanity. If you are unable to see that which unites us all, rather than what you imagine separates us, then you must reconsider your place and reattempt finding harmony. Repeat nightly until enlightment envelops you.

[cosmicone]

22. Thank you Buddha

Enjoy your nirvana until a Pakistani terrorist blows up your temple hahaha

[unc70]

23. Or until Hindu terrorists blow up things in Goa or elsewhere

The fanatics are lose on all sides.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

12. Trouble is

We expect a Muslim nation to support us and well, it doesn't.

It has nukes and it is more scary than Iran.

[Overseas]

15. Pakistanis left HRC with a pointed Q too-- is the collateral damage of drones a war crime?

And that deliberately abstract term collateral damage-- is meant to refer to only the bloody bodies of innocent bystanders, but collateral damage brings with it even more collateral damage-- the hearts and minds of others we say we're in there to win.

I agree with the Pakistani women who were questioning Secretary Clinton that the drones' off-target strikes resemble murdering and torturing people who have not even been indicted, faster than you can say habeas corpus.

Can we not expand our understanding of the greening concepts to include warfare? Massive brutality is out. Collateral damage from robot planes is so counterproductive. We need to win hearts and minds. We really do. That is why so many of us voted for our president. We thought he would do that for us-- and have seen him do many things to further that objective. So this sloppy robot killing just doesn't fit the profile. You don't want to create ten new terrorists with random brutality, when going after 5 in an alleged meeting.

Can we PLEASE get rid of the robot killing planes?

[bemildred]

19. Great job of "bridge building" there. nt