This morning's world headline in The Baltimore Sun read, "Rage sweeps across Pakistan".
Supposedly, we're not at war with Pakistan. Well tell that to the Pakistanis.
On Saturday, NATO aircraft (make that American aircraft) attacked two military posts inside the Pakistani border killing 24 Pakistani soldiers for which the Pakistani Supreme Commander General Kayani called, "unprovoked acts of aggression".
A top U.S. official in Washington, under the condition of anonymity, called the incident "extremely murky". Not to the Pakistani's. Yesterday thousands gathered throughout the country particularly outside the American embassy in Islamabad and the American consulate in Karachi and yelled "Down with America". The Pakistani government in response closed two NATO supply routes that serve Afghanistan. It also ordered the CIA to end drone operations in the country within 15 days.
Meanwhile the U.S. military and civilian diplomats were falling all over themselves offering "condolences" and promising an investigation to "determine the facts." Yeah, right.
Let's be clear about a few things that the U.S., operating under the NATO umbrella, is doing and/or has done that are seen as clear provocations by the Pakistani military, the government and the Pakistani people themselves:
- All the Pakistani entities just mentioned recognize Pakistan as a sovereign country to which they believe the U.S. pays lip service.
- Despite the "hurrah's" Barack Obama received in the U.S. for ordering Navy Seals to clandestinely enter Pakistan territory and kill Osama bin Laden without informing the Pakistanis prior to the raid, ALL Pakistanis were outraged by this breach in security and America's complete disregard for Pakistan's sovereignty.
- The Pakistani people hate the American drone attacks within their territory that may kill a few suspected terrorist or Taliban leaders but invariably kill innocent Pakistani civilians, (which the American military euphemistically refers to as "collateral damage"). Meanwhile the Pakistani government and the military have tolerated the use of drones as they have come under intense political pressure from the U.S. i.e. threats to suspend military aid to the country if they don't comply to U.S. demands.
So it is easy to understand why Pakistanis are incensed by the U.S. taking measures that Pakistanis see as tactics used by an enemy and not an ally.
To be sure, the American main stream media and its pundits roundly condemn Pakistan as an unworthy ally, aiding and abetting the Taliban and suspected terrorists in Pakistan's tribal regions bordering Afghanistan instead of being more diligent and serious militarily in going after these people.
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