Hillary’s ‘Unfortunate’ PR Stunt Falls Flat: The Nation, Pakistan

If this editorial from Pakistan’s The Nation is anything to go by, Hillary Clinton’s “hearts and minds” visit to Pakistan is, as the headline says, “falling flat” – and making matters worse was the Taliban terrorist bombing that greeted her.

As we’ve seen over the past few years, the skepticism reflected in Pakistan’s press toward the United States is truly striking. Interpreting Secretary Clinton’s trip as a PR exercise designed to muzzle Pakistan’s military and take yet more advantage of its already compliant government, Thursday’s The Nation editorial says in part:

“Hillary Clinton’s visit has brought nothing new to the Pakistani people. In fact it seems like a PR exercise – but who would buy what the U.S. is selling? Beyond what they already own – a compliant government – it’s difficult to imagine.”

The editorial also highlights the continuing ripple-effects of the Bush-era U.S.-India nuclear deal:

“As for proliferation, since its accord with India, the U.S. is itself guilty of breaching the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; and then there is America’s continuing proliferation to Israel that no one seems prepared to discuss. Clinton also wants Pakistan to “work with” the U.S. on the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty – despite the fact that Pakistan has strong reservations to the draft put forward by the U.S. which seeks to permanently disadvantage Pakistan in relation to India.”

Also discussed is the belief among many Pakistanis that coalition forces are arming the Taliban even as Pakistani forces battle them in the tribal areas – and even that the U.S. is somehow complicit in yesterday’s terrorist attack in Peshawar.

EDITORIAL

October 29, 2009

Pakistan – The Nation – Original Article (English)

Hillary Clinton’s visit has brought nothing new to the Pakistani people. In fact it seems like a PR exercise – but who would buy what the U.S. is selling? Beyond what they already own – a compliant government – it’s difficult to imagine. Unfortunately, she began her visit with the usual targeting of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal when she declared how worried Washington is about proliferation and nuclear-armed terrorists. If that were really the case, the U.S. would shore up its own rather weak command and control systems, given how often its nuclear weapons go missing and are found later on unauthorized air force aircraft.

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