Some Partners

June 21, 2011

Published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
(Germany) on 15 June 2011
by Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger (link to original link to original)

Translated from by Sidonie Straughn-Morse. Edited by Mark DeLucas.

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.

Es war zu erwarten, dass sich das Verhältnis Pakistans zu den Vereinigten Staaten nach der Kommandoaktion in Abbottabad und der Tötung Bin Ladins weiter verschlechtern würde: Pakistan fühlte sich von seinem "Partner" Washington hintergangen; Amerika wähnt im Machtapparat seines "Partners" Islamabad Komplizen von Al Qaida. Ungeachtet der Beteuerungen, die Zusammenarbeit fortsetzen zu wollen, höhlen Misstrauen und der schlimme Verdacht die Grundlage dieser Zusammenarbeit aus.

Und so dreht sich die Abwärtsspirale weiter; die letzte Drehung ist die Verhaftung mutmaßlicher pakistanischer CIA-Informanten, die an der Aktion in Abbottabad in irgendeiner Form beteiligt gewesen sein sollen. Die Regierung Obama muss darin zwangsläufig den nächsten unfreundlichen Akt sehen. Handelt so ein "Verbündeter" im Antiterrorkampf? In Wahrheit geht es der pakistanischen Führung um ihre Rehabilitierung. Doch auch der jüngste Versuch ändert nichts daran, dass sowohl die eigene Bevölkerung als auch Amerika den Machthabern in Islamabad immer weniger Glauben schenken.

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

Tags:
Germany

Hot this week

Block title

Saudi Arabia: Mamdani… and New York’s ‘Swallow’!

November 11, 2025. Published in Asharq Al-Awsat

[T]he Republican Party is now a coalition of religious conservatives, the social and economic right, and libertarian oligarchs. For their part, the Democrats have become a broad “tent” uniting liberals, moderates, and socialists.

Egypt: Trump’s 2-Party Plan

November 10, 2025. Published in almasryalyoum

Donald Trump’s plan did not stop Israeli attacks on the Palestinian people.

Egypt: The United States and the Peace Initiative

November 7, 2025. Published in akhbarelyom

[T]he United States has had the final word in restraining excesses and the reckless conduct of Israel.

Philippines: Our US Alliance May Well Get Our Nation Destroyed

November 7, 2025. Published in The Manila Times

Let’s not follow Kyiv’s tragic path of letting Washington and its allies use our land, sea and air for war against a rival nuclear power.

Canada: Trump Troubles Just Part of Beleaguered BBC’s Ethics Woes

November 12, 2025. Published in Toronto Star

Topics

Iraq: America and the Power of Starvation

November 13, 2025. Published in alsabaah

The mass starvation of the people of all ages of Gaza, especially children ... [is] a stain on the conscience of humanity.

South Korea: The Gold Spoon That Toppled the President

November 13, 2025. Published in Hankyoreh

Turkey: Urban Vision behind Mamdani’s New York

November 13, 2025. Published in Daily Sabah

Malaysia: America Unhinged: Why Trump’s 2nd Term Is Asia’s New Nightmare

November 13, 2025. Published in Malay Mail

Nigeria: Trump’s Intervention: A Time for Truth and Renewal

November 13, 2025. Published in The Sun

This was not the moment for defensiveness or rhetoric. We must remember that diplomacy is not submission — it is strategy.

Saudi Arabia: From New York to Gaza…

November 13, 2025. Published in Asharq Al-Awsat

[P]resenting the New York mayoral election result as a crushing defeat for Israel, capitalism, the West, and "white identity"...does nothing more but add to an already saturated lexicon of idiocy.