U.S.-Pakistan relationship like uneasy marriage
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/POLITICS/10/08/clinton.europe.russia/art.clinton.gi.jpg]
Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi made the rounds in Washington just as President Obama's national security team shifted its attention to Pakistan.
This week Secretary of Defense Williams Gates called the Afghan border with Pakistan the "epicenter of jihad." And the renewed focus on Pakistan suggests that Obama has a new role for Pakistan in the battle against al Qaeda and the Taliban.
After all, in developing a strategy for "Afpak," Obama acknowledged the United States cannot win in Afghanistan without cooperation from Pakistan, the suspected hideout of Obama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders.
Which is why the buzzword of both Qureshi and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week was "partnership," as in the United States and Pakistan are united in a "strategic partnership" against a common enemy.
|
|
Filed under: Elise Labott • Hillary Clinton • Pakistan • Robert Gates |
About this Show:
Anderson Cooper goes beyond the headlines to tell stories from many points of view, so you can make up your own mind about the news. Tune in weeknights at 8 and 10 ET on CNN.
Questions or comments? Send an email
Want to know more? Go behind the scenes with AC361°
Subscribe to the podcast
On Twitter
Search the AC360 blog
Pakistan is a sovereign nation, Bush started to meddle. And now President Obama has no choice but to continue this dysfunctional relationship. The people & government of Pakistan do not want U.S. help! So fine....... let's not give them a cent of the $7.5 BILLION promised to them!
When will the United States government learn that we can not buy friendship, loyalty nor security?
The US – Pakistan relation has much more than meets the eyes, where fight against Al Qaeda and Taliban is just a ploy to hoodwink the whole world.
Any amount of money can not buy the Americans what they want from Pakistan. It is a black-hole they are pouring their billions into.
The big question is, what is it that the Americans are so desperate to buy from Pakistan.
Who better to talk about an "uneasy marriage" than Hillary? Does anyone else find the headline of the article ironic?
So what are you saying ? Pakistan is getting ticked off because Afghan is getting billions for aid and they're not ? All the programs on aid have been scrubbed and looking at every dime spent. We can't spend billions on aid and turn around after eight years to recoginize it's been a heart breaking failure.