Pakistan: "Different Priorities…"

Pakistan balks at pursuing anti-U.S. Muslim extremist groups

U.S. ambassador to Pakistan: They’re “certainly reluctant to take action” against jihadist leadership

Surprised, anybody? “Different Priorities:”

Despite growing U.S. military losses in Afghanistan, Pakistan still refuses to target the extremist groups on its soil that are the biggest threat to the American-led mission there, the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan told McClatchy Newspapers.

Pakistan breeds terrorists

Eight years after Washington and Islamabad agreed to fight the Taliban and al-Qaida, Pakistan has “different priorities” from the U.S., Anne Patterson said in a recent interview. Pakistan is “certainly reluctant to take action” against the leadership of the Afghan insurgency.

Anne W. Patterson, without hijab. She served as aÂ US State Department Economic Officer and Counselor toÂ Saudi Arabia from 1984 to 1988 and then as a Political Counselor at the United States Mission to the United Nations inÂ Geneva from 1988 to 1991.

* Just wondering why the US deploys a female ambassador to Pakistan, where females don’t count for much… ah yes, don’t mention Benazir Bhutto….

As the war in Afghanistan becomes more brutal – and as its political and popular support wanes in the U.S. – Pakistan’s refusal to act in support of American goals is undermining the U.S. effort to deny al-Qaida and other extremist groups a sanctuary in Afghanistan. Read it all>>

Pakistani Police Raid U.S. Contractor

Local Security Firm Hired to Protect Embassy in Islamabad Allegedly Had Dozens of Unlicensed Firearms

AP: Pakistani police raided a local security firm that helps protect the U.S. Embassy on Saturday, seizing dozens of allegedly unlicensed weapons at a time when unusually intense media scrutiny of America’s use of private contractors has deepened anti-U.S. sentiment here.

Two employees of the Inter-Risk company were arrested during the raids in Islamabad, police official Rana Akram told a news conference. Reporters were shown the disputed weapons – 61 assault rifles and nine pistols. Akram said police were seeking the firm’s owner.

In particular, Pakistani reporters, anti-U.S. bloggers and others have suggested the U.S. is using the American firm formerly known as Blackwater – a claim that chills many Pakistanis because of the company’s alleged involvement in killings of Iraqi civilians.

The U.S. Embassy denies it uses Blackwater – now known asÂ Xe Services – in Pakistan, More>>

AFGHANISTAN REMAINS A RADICAL MUSLIM STATE

RadicalsÂ Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan