US, Pakistan threaten each other with military action

[cosmicone]

Source: Times of India

WASHINGTON: Barely disguising mutual antagonism, the United States and Pakistan on Thursday threatened each other with military action in the aftermath of the American raid on the Abbottabad compound to kill Osama bin Laden, even as sober elements on both sides scrambled to save the relationship from total breakdown.

The White House led the way in publicly reiterating that it would not hesitate to carry out more such special operations in Pakistan if it did not act against terrorists holed up in the country. A lengthy Pakistani foreign office statement that the US incursion could not become the standard operating procedure or precedent for US or other countries did nothing to dissuade Washington from re-asserting the tough Obama policy: if there are terrorists inside Pakistan and it does not act, then the US will.

In fact, the White House itself surprisingly framed Sunday's raid a war context. "The operation was conducted in a manner fully consistent with the laws of war," Obama's spokesman Jay Carney said while discussing the Osama kill. "There is simply no question that this operation was lawful... We acted in the nation's self-defense." The remarks appeared to address Pakistan questioning the legality of the US action.

A rattled Pakistan fired back on Thursday through both its civilian front and military cabal which had been silent for more than three days after the US raid widely seen there as humiliating. The provocation for the angry Pakistan reaction was as much concern about more US incursions (and humiliation) as fears that New Delhi would take the American raid as a precedent, an apprehension that was heightened after Indian military commanders said they had the wherewithal to conduct similar special operations.


Read more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-Pakistan-threaten-each-other-with-military-action/articleshow/8172679.cms

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The most hilarious part is, "The irony of Pakistan scrambling US supplied F-16s to shoot at Americans hasn't sunk in in Washington, where some lawmakers are asking for a re-evaluation of the relationship."


Why do we keep supplying Pakistan with such military hardware again? The rag-tag bunch of terrorists don't have planes, helicopters or tanks -- why does Pakistan need them to fight in the war against the terrorists?