Is it just me, or are the rest of the citizens of the United States also apathetic about the war in Afghanistan? This endless, and more importantly, un-winnable war that we are engaged in…
I don’t ever hear anyone talking about this war. It’s almost as if it didn’t exist. People talk about just about everything else, trivial stuff such as sports, television programs or movies, but never about this war on terrorism. I wonder why that is? TGO
Refer to story below. Source: Associated Press
ISLAMABAD (AFP) – US Vice President Joe Biden held talks with Pakistan’s top leaders on Wednesday and was due to meet the country’s army chief to discuss ongoing efforts against Islamic militants on its border.
The United States wants Pakistan to do more to eradicate Al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents who have carved out sanctuaries in its lawless northwest tribal belt from where they launch offensives into neighbouring Afghanistan.
During Biden’s one-day visit to Islamabad the vice president would “discuss the US-Pakistan bilateral relationship and how our two countries can work together towards peace and stability in the region,” said a US official.
Biden met President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in the afternoon and was later due to see powerful army chief General Ashfaq Kayani.
“Vice President Biden will also meet with members of Pakistan?s military leadership to discuss our shared efforts to fight terrorism and extremism,” the official said.
Biden travelled under heavy security from Pakistan’s Air Force base, with a helicopter circling overhead and police stationed at regular intervals along roads free of cars, as huge crowds gathered along the route to watch him pass.
During a brief photo opportunity with Zardari at the presidential palace, Biden joked with the president in front of reporters.
The vice president later visited prime minister Gilani at his residence, where reporters heard Gilani tell Biden: “We want to maintain very good relations.”
The pair were later due to hold a joint press conference.
Pakistan’s state-run news agency APP reported that Biden was likely to present an economic, military and intelligence package for Pakistan, to help it cope with the financial burden of its counterterrorism measures.
The government in part blames the diversion of national resources to fight militancy for its raft of economic woes, which include a huge fiscal deficit and crippling fuel and energy shortages.
Biden arrived in Pakistan from Kabul, where he met President Hamid Karzai for talks that included discussing the presence of US troops serving in Afghanistan as part of an international force of some 140,000.
US officials have sought to smooth an often rocky relationship with Islamabad with promises of huge non-military aid donations on top of its military assistance, to help the nuclear nation develop its fragile economy.
US officials have announced they will fast-track part of a 7.5-billion-dollar five-year aid package to help the country recover from devastating floods last year.
Biden arrived hours after a US drone strike in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal district struck a compound near the base of a Taliban commander, killing three suspected foreign militants, according to security officials.
Such missile strikes fan anti-American sentiment that is rife in the country.
The United States does not officially confirm the controversial drone attacks, which take place with Islambad’s tacit approval and which US officials say has severely weakened Al-Qaeda’s leadership.
Washington wants Pakistan to launch a ground offensive in the Taliban-hit district of North Waziristan but the army has stalled on launching a ground operation, saying its troops are overstretched.
Pakistan won US praise after it mounted an offensive against homegrown Taliban extremists in the South Waziristan region in late 2009.
But a White House report to Congress in October stated bluntly that Pakistan had not confronted Afghanistan’s Taliban, in what experts see as a bid by Islamabad to preserve influence over its northern neighbour.
In 2010 the campaign doubled missile attacks in the tribal area with around 100 drone strikes killing more than 650 people, according to an AFP tally.
Zardari is also due to visit the United States this week, officials in Islamabad have said, in the wake of a major domestic political crisis that has further weakened his fragile coalition government.
