Some Partners
Published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
(Germany) on 15 June 2011
by Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger (link to
original)
It was to be expected that the relationship between Pakistan and the United States would worsen after the commando action in Abbottabad and the killing of bin Laden. Pakistan felt deceived by its “partner,” Washington; America imagined the apparatus of power of its “partner,” Islamabad, as an accomplice to al-Qaida. Despite affirmations of a desire to continue to work together, mistrust and suspicion erode the foundation of this cooperation.
Thus the downward spiral continues: The latest twist is the capture of alleged Pakistani CIA informants, who supposedly participated in some way in the action in Abbottabad. The Obama administration must inevitably see this action as another unfriendly act. Does such an “ally” have a role in the War on Terror? In reality, for the Pakistani leadership, it is a question of rehabilitation. Yes, this latest attempt changes nothing about the ever decreasing trust that both their own population and America have toward the ruling powers of Islamabad.
Thus the downward spiral continues: The latest twist is the capture of alleged Pakistani CIA informants, who supposedly participated in some way in the action in Abbottabad. The Obama administration must inevitably see this action as another unfriendly act. Does such an “ally” have a role in the War on Terror? In reality, for the Pakistani leadership, it is a question of rehabilitation. Yes, this latest attempt changes nothing about the ever decreasing trust that both their own population and America have toward the ruling powers of Islamabad.