Tuesday, July 3, 2012

The Afghan Supply Routes May Re-Open, But Differences Still Remain Between The U.S. And Pakistan

A Pakistan national flag is mounted on the top of a fuel tanker, which was used to carry fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan, as drivers sit nearby, at a compound in Karachi July 3, 2012. Athar Hussain / Reuters

Pakistan Reopens Afghan Supply Routes, But Larger Diplomatic Crises Loom -- Ishaan Tharoor, Time

Pakistan's decision to re-open the overland supply routes into Afghanistan may be a slight boost for Washington-Islamabad ties, but there's much more wrangling ahead as the U.S. steps up its plans to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014

It never hurts to say sorry. That’s the trite lesson behind Pakistan’s confirmation Tuesday that it was re-opening ground supply routes into Afghanistan used by the U.S. and its allies to provision NATO forces there. Following a phone call with her Pakistani counterpart, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a statement that amounted to something of public apology for the U.S. role in a shootout along the Afghan border last November that claimed the lives of 24 Pakistani soldiers. That incident prompted weeks of heated protests in Pakistan, reinforced by a blockade of trucks conveying NATO materiel into Afghanistan and marked yet another climactic chapter in the turgid chronicle of the U.S.-Pakistani relationship.

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My Comment: I see nothing happening in Pakistan that would make me feel comfortable that better times are ahead. Pakistan still supports some of the most dangerous extremist groups in the world, and is refusing to even make a token effort to solve any of its many social/political/economic problems.

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