May 10, 2008
Asia Times

U.S. Tightens Its Grip on Pakistan

by M K Bhadrakumar

It is extraordinary that a seasoned diplomat like Negroponte has chosen the NED forum to make such a major speech on Pakistan. But then, "promoting democracy" - the motto of NED - also happens to be a stated objective of US policy towards Pakistan. Over the past quarter century, the US government-funded NED has specialized as a handmaiden of American regional policies.

The NED is well known for covertly funding and supporting politicians in Latin American countries with strong support to the military. Its activities in many countries are known to run parallel to those of the Central Intelligence Agency. Its sensational role in conceptualizing and orchestrating the "color revolutions" in Ukraine and Georgia was a high-water mark in the organization's history since its inception in 1983, mitigating to an extent its dismal failures in Iran, Venezuela and Cuba. . . .

What Negroponte implied was that Washington will categorically assure Pakistan that no matter the change of administration in the White House next year, the US commitment to a "long-term, substantial and comprehensive" partnership with Pakistan will remain a cornerstone of American regional policies. . . .

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Declan Walsh, "Pakistan: We Are No Longer Your Killing Field," Guardian, March 27, 2008

Bruce Loudon, "Pakistan opposes US nuke oversight," Australian, April 16, 2008

[Washington has demanded direct access to Pakistan's Nuclear Command Authority (NCA), the body that controls the country's nuclear weapons. To show that it will not take "no" for an answer, Washington has posted an officer at its embassy in Islamabad to liaise with the NCA. Other demands include allowing US personnel to enter Pakistan on the basis of national identity (such as a driver's licence), foregoing visas and passports; accepting US licences, including arms licences, in Pakistan; US personnel being allowed to bear arms and wear their uniform in Pakistan; and exemption of American personnel from Pakistani law if they commit a crime. There are close parallels between these demands and those that were imposed on Iran during the Shah's rule, which led ultimately to the Islamic Revolution in Iran (1978-79).--Waseem Shehzad, "US intensifies its control over Pakistan's new civilian government," muslimedia.com, May 2008]

"Pakistan army takes issue over U.S. missile attack," Reuters, May 17, 2008

Declan Walsh, "Father of Pakistan's bomb disowns smuggling confession," Guardian, May 30, 2008

"Pakistan slams US after air strike kills 11 soldiers," AFP, June 11, 2008

Muhammad Idrees Ahmad, "Whatever Happened to Democracy Now!," counterpunch.org, June 11, 2008

[The Pakistani ambassador in Washington was put on notice early this month that the U.S. would 'retaliate' if America suffered such an attack. No less than the U.S. military's highest ranking officer, Admiral Michael Mullen, came out to drive the point home. Part of the concern is that Washington is exaggerating Al Qaeda's capabilities and that Pakistan could end up entrapped in a manufactured crisis that serves American strategic objectives that do not match Pakistan's. The American 'retaliation' in this case would definitely mean an invasion of our territories. And the ground is being prepared for this. Karzai's blunt threat was more than just a case of a roaring mouse. It is no coincidence that Pakistan is facing renewed nuclear blackmail at the hands of U.S. media reports that make serious allegations without naming the U.S. government officials behind them.--Ahmed Quraishi, "Is Pakistan Ready For Another 9/11?," analyst-network.com, June 25, 2008]

"Pakistan Bombards Suspected Taliban Hideouts," New York Times, June 28, 2008

[Late last year, top Bush administration officials . . . drafted a secret plan to make it easer for the Pentagon's Special Operations forces to launch missions into the snow-capped mountains of Pakistan to capture or kill top leaders of Al Qaeda.--Mark Mazzetti and David Rohde, "Amid Policy Disputes, Qaeda Grows in Pakistan," New York Times, June 30, 2008]

[Now, as resistance to the US-led occupation of Afghanistan intensifies, the increasingly frustrated Bush administration is venting its anger against Pakistan and its military intelligence agency, Inter-Service Intelligence, better known as ISI. . . .

President George Bush angrily asked Pakistan's visiting prime minister, Yousuf Gilani, 'who's in charge of ISI?' An interesting question, since all recent ISI director generals have been vetted and pre-approved by Washington.--Eric S. Margolis, " CAN'T WIN IN AFGHANISTAN? BLAME PAKISTAN," New York Times, August 4, 2008]

[This dictator mistreated the whole nation for the delight of his foreign allies - U.S. CIA, Israeli Mossad, British MI6, Indian-Hindu RAW and Hamid Karzai Mafia, etc. - and even I could not escape his victimization. He deceived me in the first place and later put me into [illegal] detention.--Abdul Qadeer Khan, "U.S. Seeks Control Over Pak Nukes!," Press TV, August 24, 2008]

[At least 20 people were killed and 25 others injured Monday after several missiles fired by unmanned U.S. Predator drones hit a religious school and the house of a powerful Taliban commander in northwest Pakistan, . . .

The strike Monday marked the fifth cross-border incursion by U.S. forces in about a week.--Shaiq Hussain, "U.S. Strikes Taliban Stronghold in Pakistan," Washington Post, September 8, 2008]

Andrew Buncombe, "US 'wants to guard Pakistan's nuclear arsenal'," Independent, November 11, 2009