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Subscribe to RSSThe U.S.-Pakistan relationship suffered another blow last week, when the State Department said its diplomats in Pakistan were unable to travel freely. Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported on Sunday that U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter was briefly detained at an airport.
Munter's detention is not an isolated incident. In the past month, sources say a very senior U.S. intelligence officer has also been stopped at an airport in Pakistan.
State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said today that U.S. personnel in Pakistan have to carry a certificate in order to travel.
Ambassador Munter was asked for his certificate at Islamabad's airport while catching a plane to Karachi, according to Toner. Munter did not have the certificate with him, Toner said, but was allowed to board the plane. Toner also noted that his return trip to Islamabad was "without incident."
"The issue is the right for our diplomats -- according to the Vienna Conventions -- to travel freely within the country where they work," Toner told the press. "We have expressed our concerns with the Pakistanis... And we're working to resolve it."
Asked if the U.S. is considering reciprocal action against Pakistani diplomats in the United States, Toner would only say the State Department is working to resolve the issue. Speaking hypothetically, however, Toner said "reciprocity is always a consideration," but "in this case, we are working with the government of Pakistan."
These brush ups come after the May 2 U.S. mission that killed Osama Bin Laden. Pakistan was not notified of the operation beforehand. Relations between the two countries have soured since.
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So, does that mean the Pakistanis do not love Obama? Do not think the sea level will stop rising, the globe will begin cooling, lions will lay down with lambs, there will be two chickens in every pot. . .
You get the drift.
I thought Obama was going to being about world peace? Am I wrong, or was that in there with cutting the debt in half in his frost two years? I'm pretty sure it was there- seems he thought he could charm the whole world out of its socks.
Strike up another fail.
Um, Pakistan is angry because Obama took out Osama bin Laden inside of Pakistan. Where were you when Obama said he would do exactly that for a year in the election and got attacked for it? Are you angry that Obama took out Osama without contacting Pakistan or are you angry that Obama did what he said and not what you imagined he said?
August 1, 2007
US presidential candidate Barack Obama has said he would use military force if necessary against al-Qaeda in Pakistan even without Pakistan's consent.
Mr Obama made the comments in a speech outlining his foreign policy positions.
Sorry I accidentally responded to you. Unfortunately you are just making up Obama's policy positions and then attacking your own imaginary positions. I didn't realize I was having a conversation about your imagination. You are free to vote against imaginary Obama with an imaginary trip to the ballet so you can put in a more pro-al quaida regime in your head.
He said he'd cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term (from 1.6 trillion to 800 billion). He's on track from 900 billion for FY2011-2012 and 660 billion for FY2012-2013.
No surprise. Our relationship with Pakistan is tenuous at best, always was and always will be as long as Pakistan sees India as its primary threat instead of the radical element within its own borders.
They have Tea Partiers too? :0)
Except when they have to eat a "Satan Sandwich" they really mean Satan Sandwich. Not a delicious treat prepared by old folks with hats.
I don't much care if they like us, but I do care about the possibilty of their radicals getting their hands on nukes. We need to push them harder to control their radicals and until they do we should withhold the dollars.
We've already given them so many dollars that they can afford to thumb their noses at us.
What are we going to do? Invade?
We can't afford to invade. And Pakistan, unlike Iraq, Afghanistan, or Libya, actually has nukes.
Gee ana Molly, don't provide Barry O with another re-election idea!
Pakistan has always (as in always) been first and foremost a friend and ally of China. They are China's problem; let them deal with it!
I thoroughly approve of the raid that took out Osama bin Laden, and the way it was conducted. However, it would be naive to expect relations between the U.S. and Pakistan (always tenuous at best) not to be strained after such an event. I just hope strained relations do not escalate beyond brief airport detentions.
What a non-issue this is.
Pakistan is a failed state, controlled by corrupt political families, and corrupt military.
The absolutely best thing the USA can do for itself is remove all diplomatic ties with this failed state, and ignore it until the Taliban take over. After this happens, no country on earth will stop the U.N. from taking it over.
When dealing with Pakistan one must always take into account they have nukes. A country like that with religious fanatic/fundementalists like the Taliban and bin Laden/al-Qaeda needs to be watched as closely as possible. Pakistan may have closer ties to China but it would not break China's heart if Pakistan and India went to war as almost certainly they would use nukes. In that part of the world China would reap the benefits.
China may think they can "manage" Pakistan and the situation but as we've seen from people in that part of the world, the term fanatic is an understatement. I think we have proven that we know the right example to set when we have the location of our enemies. Better what President Obama did than starting two wars, especially one we didn't need to. It also proves he is not the wimp the teabaggers and Rethuglicans thought he was, what a poker face and ice could demeanor. I wonder what Ms. Bachman and her migraines would have done during that hours long operation?
What Pakistan is really upset about is the large loss of face from dealing out of both sides of their face. Not only did we tell them we knew the Taliban was using their borders but we found bin Laden and then went in and took him out of the picture in an area the was heavy with military, retired military, and the their military academy. By catching bin Laden there the world know they can't be trusted, they can't just blow off the Taliban as border incursions anymore. Read some history once in a while, this is a battle we are going to be fighting for a thousand years or until the first nuke/dirty bomb in a suitcase goes off in this country. Remember, it took ten years to get bin Laden and we had to go in and get him ourselves because our supposed allies wouldn't do anything. President Obama has set the bar high now, what will happen when a nuke goes off here? Whoever is President will have a tough act to follow and the American people will demand blood by the bucketfull in retribution no matter who is responsible! 5, 10, maybe 15 years and one day out of the sky comes hell and brimstone, paid in full!
What a bunch of parrots. There are more people in control of this situation than the figure heads you all blame. There are rules to every game and this is no exception.