"Kerry visits Pakistan looking to reset ties" by Deb Riechmann | Associated Press, August 01, 2013
ISLAMABAD — A new set of players but the same lingering issues are confronting John Kerry on his first visit to Pakistan as US secretary of state: the fight against extremism, American drone attacks inside the country, and the war in Afghanistan.
The Obama administration has not sent its top diplomat to Pakistan since 2011, and Kerry’s trip is a chance for the former senator to get to know the newly elected prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who came to power in Pakistan’s first transition between civilian governments.
Related: Pakistan's Rigged Election Returns
It is a surprise if there is a fair election anywhere on this planet; it has become the exception.
Kerry arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday evening, and planned meetings Thursday with civilian and military leaders, including Sharif.
Senior administration officials traveling with Kerry told reporters that while relations with Pakistan have grown touchy in recent years, there is the prospect of resetting those ties with Sharif’s government and working together on major issues — counterterrorism, energy, regional stability, economic reforms, trade, and investment. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss Kerry’s agenda.
The United States wants to help strengthen the role of the civilian government in Pakistan, where the military long has been dominant, and wants Sharif to tackle rising extremist attacks inside his country.
The prison break this week that freed hundreds of inmates raises serious questions about Pakistan’s ability to battle an insurgency that has raged for years and killed tens of thousands.
Those are really my only concerns, folks. The health and welfare of the Pakistani people.
‘‘The US-Pakistan relationship is badly in disrepair. It has been for some time, and the Pakistanis don’t seem to be in any hurry to fix it,’’ said Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow at Brookings Institution who has served as a senior adviser to the past four US presidents.
And former CIA agent -- as if it made a difference anymore.
Six Zionist Companies Own 96% of the World's Media
Declassified: Massive Israeli manipulation of US media exposed
Operation Mockingbird
Why Am I No Longer Reading the Newspaper?
Yeah, that will certainly get you thinking.
Relations took a hit after the US raid in 2011 that killed Osama bin Laden in his compound in Abbotabad, Pakistan. Pakistanis felt the raid violated their country’s sovereignty.
Once more I have to read the lie in my paper, and if they keep repeating that lie.... what isn't a lie or staged and scripted piece of propaganda in my paper these days, folks?
While the United States is seeking quick responses to its concerns, Sharif is moving slowly, Riedel said, noting that the prime minister has yet to name an ambassador to the United States.
Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 160 people during the new government’s first month in office. Sharif’s government has not articulated an alternate strategy.
I know I've been lagging, but I'm working on a new format for my next post.
The United States also wants Pakistan to pressure leaders of the Afghan Taliban to negotiate with Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government, renounce violence, and sever ties with Al Qaeda.
Some Pakistani military and intelligence leaders see the US troops leaving Afghanistan, know the American public and US Congress want out of the war, and would be OK with seeing the Taliban retake control of Afghanistan, Riedel said.
Pakistani officials will give ‘‘lip service’’ to the idea of reconciliation with the Taliban, he said, but will refrain from acting, which will allow the insurgents to remain strong in southern and eastern Afghanistan.
They must have picked up the habit from us.
Adding to Kerry’s problems is the recent collapse of US-Taliban talks before they began at the insurgent group’s political office in Doha, Qatar, and Karzai’s decision to suspend talks with the United States over a bilateral security agreement. Without such a deal, the United States will not be able to keep troops in Afghanistan after the US-led NATO combat mission ends at the close of 2014.
Related: Taliban Peace Talks Wasted My Time
That is why I am no longer listening.
Kerry has a long history of dealing with Pakistan.
As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry was a main sponsor of a 2010 law that boosted US assistance to Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year until 2014.
Related: Kerry's Love Letter to Pakistan
Also see: Kerry's Pakistan Connection
Established in Boston?
The Obama administration enlisted Kerry to help arrange the release of a CIA contractor who was arrested in Pakistan after killing two men in 2011.
Gee, what was he doing trying to give "Al-CIA-Duh" nuclear and biological weapons?
And as noted earlier, Kerry is now in charge of the world's largest spying apparatus.
Officials in neighboring Afghanistan are demanding that Pakistan dismantle extremists’ havens inside Pakistan and push the Taliban to join the peace process.
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"Kerry, Pakistani hosts agree to resume their partnership talks" by Anne Gearan | Washington Post, August 02, 2013
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan and the United States agreed Thursday to resume broad partnership talks that were suspended two years ago amid widespread anger here over American drone attacks and other perceived slights to Pakistani sovereignty.
Still, Secretary of State John Kerry said during a visit to Pakistan’s capital the drone strikes would continue as long as the United States sees the need.
Whether they like it or not!
Kerry said he is aware of the sensitivity of the issue, but warned Pakistanis that the terrorists in their midst are the ones who ‘‘violate the sovereignty of this country.’’
Later, in an interview with Pakistan TV, he said there is a timeline for ending the strikes.
‘‘I think the program will end, as we have eliminated most of the threat and continue to eliminate it,’’ Kerry said. ‘‘I think the president has a very real timeline, and we hope it’s going to be very, very soon.’’
Related: August Terror Scare
Also see: Slow Saturday Special: Terror Scare Shifts to Pakistan
It's been eliminated because I haven't seen much (probably?) from Nigeria lately!
Embassys are now back open because ONCE AGAIN we see the script-writing shitbags -- they have done it before; remember the lesbian blogger that turned out to be from London, or Danny the rebel reporting from Syria and directing the gunfire to get going before Anderson Cooper interviewed him? Never mind the staged and scripted drills of the Marathon, the fake video of July 4, the Sandy Hook script, and on and on. The fact is, the AmeriKan media are nothing more than a "Wag the Dog" operation -- falling face first into their PLATE FULL OF STEAMING and SWIRLING SHIT PROPAGANDA!!!!!!!
I mean, even the corporate media are noting the falseness and fakery of the video.
That is more specific than anything US officials have said before, but it still allows the Obama administration discretion to continue a practice that has become a symbol of US military and counterterrorism tactics around the world.
Yeah, it's also become a symbol for the greatest tool by the 21st-century's new war criminals. So what this pos propaganda is telling us is nothing has changed. It's all shit-show fooleys from my pos paper!!!!
Past Pakistani leaders have quietly cooperated with the drone strikes, allowing the remote-guided aircraft to fly from a base in Pakistan even while publicly condemning them.
I guess that explains the unpopularity of AmeriKa's Pakistani puppets.
Announcing the modest accomplishment of new talks, Kerry also said that Pakistan’s new prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, is expected to make an official visit to Washington in about a month, at President Obama’s invitation.
Just in time for the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Maybe he could join Biden and guest for breakfast?
The administration is trying to get off on the right foot with Sharif, whose election this year marked the first peaceful transfer of power in Pakistan from one democratically elected civilian government to another. Kerry’s two-day visit to Islamabad highlighted civilian cooperation on development, education, and energy issues.
Related:
"Pakistan is facing a growing energy crisis, with some areas experiencing power outages for up to 18 hours a day."
And yet I see so little about that.
But the military and counterterrorism relationships with nuclear-armed Pakistan are the crux of US interests here — and the biggest sources of friction in a mutually mistrustful relationship for years.
Where are they not?
High-level cooperation on a range of issues was suspended in 2011 after three sessions between Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and her Pakistani counterpart.
Sharif’s foreign policy adviser, Sartaj Aziz, said Thursday the next such session would be held within six months. He made a point of saying Pakistani officials had reiterated to Kerry their long-standing opposition to US drone strikes inside Pakistan; US officials say they are a necessary counterterrorism measure because Pakistan will not do the job on its own.
The number of US drone strikes inside Pakistan has continued to decline this year. A tally by the New America Foundation lists 16 strikes this year, compared with 48 last year, 73 in 2011, and 122 in 2010.
I'm sure that makes the families of the latest dead people very happy indeed!
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