Hillary Clinton asks Pakistani officials to get real
I am in Islamabad now, and attended an extraordinary press conference today at the U.S. embassy with Sec. of State Hillary Clinton and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mike Mullen.
Hillary Clinton asks Pakistani officials to get real
Trudy Rubin, Inquirer Opinion Columnist
I am in Islamabad now, and attended an extraordinary press conference at the U.S. embassy with Sec. of State Hillary Clinton and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mike Mullen.
They were here on an unannounced visit aimed at easing tensions between the two countries, in the wake of the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Clinton, in an orange pants suit, looked exhausted and tense, and her words, aimed at a largely Pakistani press corps, were carefully chosen and delivered slowly.
Her whole pitch was an effort to move beyond Pakistan’s anger, and embarrassment over America’s decision to go it alone in killing bin Laden. She stressed that the U.S. had no evidence that top Pakistani officials knew he was living an hour from their capital, but hanging in the air was the reality of Pakistan’s failure to find him.
Clearly Clinton and Mullen had delivered a tough message: your cooperation is vital in pursuing the violent extremists who still operate from your country; it is also crucial for both military and diplomatic efforts to end the fighting in Afghanistan.
The message was tempered by repeated praise for the Pakistani military’s sacrifices in going after its own Taliban, but the two American officials made clear they also wanted more cooperation in going after Afghan Taliban.
One got the impression that the meetings between the U.S. officials and Pakistani counterparts had been much more frank than in the past. Such bluntness is long overdue. At least that way, it may become clear whether Pakistanis can be counted as allies.
But the difficulty of the task was underlined by Clinton’s plea for Pakistan to understand that “anti-Americanism and conspiracy theories will not make its problems disappear.” She was referring to the incredible distortions that fill the Pakistani press and the airwaves here – often in what seems to be an orchestrated campaign. They promote the wildest theories of how the United States aims to destroy their country. Many Pakistani analysts believe their army and top intelligence agency, the ISI, feed such anti-American theories to the media.
Pakistanis have been quoting stories to me this week from the press that claim a horrific terrorist attack on a Pakistani naval base last weekend was actually orchestrated by the United States, India and Israel – even though the Pakistani Taliban claimed credit.
A whole raft of stories making the rounds allege that Osama bin Laden was killed elsewhere and his body brought by the CIA to Abottabad to embarrass the Pakistani military. One variant of this tale claims that the killing took place in 2008 and the body was kept on ice for two years.
I could go on and on, but you get the point.
These theories can be heard from educated people, and – according to a Wikileaks document published in a credible Pakistani newspaper this week – are rife even in the top Pakistani military academy. Many military officers are convinced, my Pakistani sources say, that America wants to seize their nuclear weapons.
Clinton said the United States must will try “to cut through …often deliberate misunderstandings, and conspiracy theories” that block cooperation. The difficulty of that task was reflected in the exhaustion on her face.
Time to play the India card and drop these so called "allies".— Tommy33- Pakistan is a joke. India should wipe them off the face of the planet.— AlonzoMoselyFBI
- Trudy, Hillary's looks of exhaustion and tension are no different from her finger biting and startled glare while viewing the assault on bin Laden. Actually, she's out of her league in her role as SOS. Both beleaguerment and beguilement have roles in her deer in the headlights reaction to Pakistan's hegemonious ploys. Though not directly related to the Pakistani issue, her beguilement stems from previously held and previously spoken views on palestinian issues. As for beleaguered, Hillary appears to be pre-occupied by other issues and other scenarios. I question whether her psyche allows her to manage dealing with dotting the i's and crossing the t's. Hillary sees herself as the one who should be managing the playing field, not running errands. Her thirst for being in the mix makes her incapable of confronting this fact. For her, there's still a likelihood of fulfilling the obvious destiny she feels entitled to inherit. In her twisted psyche, it was she who got her hubby the presidency. Heck, she believes she's both smarter and more deserving than Bill. If he can do it, so can she!— lefty
- We need to string Pakistan along until we are out of Afghanistan. We use that country to route weapons and supplies to our troops.— mtairy1
- This job now requires more than one person to handle it properly, We should have an SOS for various parts of the world so they can hold their undivided attention, there is just too much going on for one person to stay on top of it, No matter who it is!— ease
