Obama and Pakistan

As a country that is the center of attention of the world for more than one reasons, Pakistan will look with hope and relate to how will President Barack Obama's foreign policy during his second term influence in the coming years. The new Obama administration will reevaluate of some controversial aspects of its foreign policy, as well as the relentless drone attacks in the Northwest, or will the new mandate to strengthen her faith in the righteousness of her policy and stay the course serve? Since 2008, the United States-Pakistan relationship has unprecedented unrest by created. Three events last year exacerbated tensions between the two — the Raymond Davis-affair, the American command raid that killed Osama bin Laden and the death of 24 Pakistani soldiers in a US-led NATO attack on Salala. In Wrath, Pakistan boycott of the Bonn Conference and suspended NATO supply line to insist on an apology. The damage-control exercise took nearly a year to succeed; but it remains to be seen to what extent the frosty rapprochement between the mistrust can remove. The task before the two Governments is now the bilateral ties and to work together to achieve common objectives.

The obvious goal is to give peace and stability to Afghanistan during and after the withdrawal of NATO forces by the end of 2014. There are some harsh reality: the Afghan Taliban have not defeated; the peace talks are frozen, or if at all there has been progress, America has kept his cards close to the chest; and the beleaguered Karzai regime seems to be unable to maintain security after 2014. It is here-and not because of the 100 warheads — that America should Mitt Romney spoke of Pakistan. Given the ties of history, culture, economy and geography that, Pakistan and Afghanistan would unite, the transition to a sustainable peace to the West of the line Durand not possible without engaging Islamabad and addressing the legitimate concerns. Importantly, it is in Washington's interest to a long term relationship with Islamabad instead of "return" to Pakistan only when a crisis beckons.

As regards its policy towards the Islamic heartland, should President Obama his speech Cairo re-read and assess whether America under him has achieved one of its objectives. Iran remains under heavy US sanctions, and Israel builds settlements in complete contempt of President Obama warnings, toothless as they are. His commitment to the two-State solution has become academic, because Israel has blocked the peace process, and Washington is on the Likud Government hints State status to Palestine at the UN refuse.