Sunday, April 17, 2011

Strained Pakistan-American Alliance

With the occupation of Afghanistan, the U.S. needs allies in the Middle East and the relationship that the United States has with Pakistan tends to be beneficial. The current allegiance between the two countries started right after September 11 when the President of the U.S., Bush, and a high ranking general of Pakistan, Musharraf. The two men agreed that in order to catch Al Qaeda would be through joint effort, however, the current ruling leaders of the two countries do not see eye-to-eye on the current situation in Afghanistan.

The article makes is seem like the only thing the two countries could agree on was the fact that Al Qaeda needed to be brought to justice and that the country needs to be stable. Everything else is a debatable topic. From the size of the military to Taliban-Afghan government reconciliation to the centralization of the government, if America wants one side, Pakistan wishes for the other. Pakistan claims that the U.S. no longer includes their government in decisions concerning the occupation, while the U.S. points out instances where shared information was leaked. As frustrations rise, Pakistan has been visiting Afghanistan on its own accord without the U.S. effectively leaving America out of any negotiations. This may not work in particular favor to Pakistan, since Afghanistan has never held high regard for the country any ways, but the U.S. still seems interested in keeping an allegiance with Pakistan.


by Albie Braun

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