US-Pakistani tension exposes contradictory aims: experts
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WASHINGTON — A surge in US-Pakistani tension this week exposes deep contradictions in their aims for Afghanistan but both sides will try to repair ties because they still need each other, experts say.
The core of the problem, experts say, is Pakistan refuses to cut ties to the Afghan Taliban and other extremists because it fears an eventual US pullout from Afghanistan will create a vacuum that its old rival India will exploit.
They said tensions came to a head now as Washington — under pressure from an Obama administration goal to begin drawing down forces next year — loses patience with Islamabad’s failure to crush militants on its side of the border.
“Field commanders are feeling pressed by the prospect of having to show improvements because of the looming deadline,” said Ashley Tellis, an analyst with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“They’ve simply become more aggressive in their efforts to root these guys out,” Tellis told AFP.... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20101009com3.html
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