Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (41503)	11/9/2001 7:38:51 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin told reporters that Musharraf was "stronger than in the past" and had the support of a loyal and professional military. "He is in a very strong position and ... I am confident that when Ramazan starts, if our objectives have not been achieved by then, he won't have a problem," she said. Pakistani airspace is the main route for US aircraft bombing Afghanistan to get rid of the Taliban and the al-Qaeda organisation, but most Pakistanis oppose the bombing. Musharraf said on Thursday he would try to persuade US President George W Bush to suspend the bombing during Ramazan to avert political fallout in the Islamic world. He said the US campaign should be brief because it is seen as a war against innocent Afghan civilians. But Chamberlin said Musharraf agreed with the United States that the war should go on "until the objective is achieved." "Musharraf has never in any way expressed other than full support for our joint effort in achieving this objective... (What he says) is sometimes misinterpreted," she added. The ambassador praised Musharraf for measures to strengthen his domestic position by cracking down on what she called hate speech and incitement. "He has taken measures that are appropriate. ... He has issued an executive order against the use of loudspeakers for hate speech. He has arrested those that incite people to riot using hate speech," she added. Asked about the state of the Pakistani armed forces, which has a history of overthrowing the government, she said: "It's a professional, very professional military." She said the generals whom Musharraf replaced or sidelined in early October had "retired according to normal military procedures." At the time the changes were interpreted as a purge of Islamist officers who might oppose Musharraf's close cooperation with the United States against the Taliban. The generals included the director-general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which has close ties with the Taliban. Chamberlin said that at lower levels in the ISI some personnel probably had an ideological commitment to the Taliban. "But we have seen communications that again these people who have been in a single position (in the ISI) for a number of years are being rotated out," she added. The ambassador said she does not worry about the fate of Pakistan's nuclear warheads and the possibility that they might fall into the hands of militants. "It's a professional army, it's a professional government. I have confidence in Musharraf and I don't lose sleep at night," she said. The new attitude toward Pakistan is in strong contrast with the US position before the Sept 11 attacks on New York and Washington. After that Washington needed Pakistani cooperation to strike back at al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Meanwhile, the United States welcomed Pakistan's decision to close the Afghan consulate in Karachi on Thursday but said it was useful for the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad to stay open. "I was very pleased with the Pakistani government's decision to close down the Taliban consulate," Wendy Chamberlin said. The United States hopes Pakistan will follow up by closing the Taliban consulates in Quetta and Peshawar, leaving the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad as the only diplomatic post that the Taliban run abroad. Chamberlin said: "We discussed this with the (Pakistani) Ministry of Foreign Affairs. My advice was 'Yes, it is of some utility to have one place in the world where there is a Taliban representation, for the visa issue.'" State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said: "We've seen the fact of a Taliban office in Islamabad as perhaps helpful, given the fact that Americans and other people are still being detained in Kabul."