Barack Obama did it. The Bush folks did it. Several members of Congress have done it.
They all have essentially threatened to violate Pakistan’s sovereignty to go after al Qaeda — regardless of whether the Pakistani government wants them to.
I know this is what you say during an election year, that you need to look tough — blah, blah, blah.
But if anyone wants to understand the folly of this approach, they only need to read this story from the L.A. Times on what Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has to say about all this sabre-rattling:
The president pointed out that certain recent U.S. statements were counterproductive to the close cooperation and coordination between the two countries in combating the threat of terrorism,” said a statement released by the Foreign Office.
The Pakistani leader, it said, “emphasized that only Pakistan’s security forces, which were fully capable of dealing with any situation, would take counter-terrorism action inside Pakistani territory.”
Musharraf also called new legislation tying U.S. aid to Pakistan to his government’s fight against militants an “irritant” to the two countries’ relations.
I am no fan of the Pakistani president, but it seems pretty arrogant of us to assume we can just waltz into a sovereign nation and take care of our own business without their being repercussions.
Oh, wait. I think I’ve seen that movie before.
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Hank Kalet 