We live with each other but we hate each other ! This is a reasonable assessment of US-Pakistan relationship.I asked a Spaniard what he thought about US bases in Spain ? He told me , we dont love pigs , we eat them but we do keep them in our farm houses.

Salient facts of US Pakistan relationship are as following :--

USA is making contacts with Pakistani generals and does not plan to give Musharraf an extension after 2007.Retired Pakistani General Jahangir Karamat is managing this change for USA .
The present Vice Chief Ahsan Saleem Hayat may be a good choice . Non assertive mild and soft spoken , he would be a good US choice .Men like Javed Alam Khan may not be the US choice since they have spine .
What can be expected from a corps commander incharge of operations against Al Qaeda who could not control his own wife who ran away with a Punjabi ?
Musharraf is a yes man and a good US dog catcher but can he escape the wrath of the fanatics in Pakistan . 2006 may be the year of his unnatural death . Pakistani generals misused Islam and now that they have betrayed it they will have to pay through their difficult places of exit , all nine holes I would say in the military terminology !
Strategically Musharraf has already delivered Pakistani nuclear program to USA but still USA is not happy with Musharraf since they feel he is not doing enough.
Pakistan will remain a major strategic problem for USA since Islamic extremism will grow by leaps and bounds.
The Balochistan insurgents are lacking military acumen and the USA does not understand Balochistan.Naieve that they have always been in strategic matters . they declined many requsets of Iranian Baloch to help them in 1980-85 and now they will pay the price in Iran.
The real US agenda is denuclearisng and de Islamising of Pakistan.In the first they have succeeded as a friend working in Pakistan's Strategic Command dealing with nuclear weapons confirmed to me in an informal discussion on 19 Sep 2005 but de-Islamisation is difficult and till that is done Pakistan will remain a serious threat for USA.
USA's Quixotic war in Afghanistan and Iraq has been a miserable failure and they lack the strategic resolution to attack Iran.
US problems will multiply , Musharraf or no Musharraf since they lack basic strategic insight.
A.H Amin


America to work with Musharraf

WASHINGTON (APP) - US National Security Advisor Steve Hadley said Wednesday that the United States must use its "increasing influence" with India and Pakistan to encourage them to work out their differences, especially on matters such as Kashmir.
He made the remakes while addressing the National Bureau of Asian Research Strategic Asia Forum.
He said the US strategy for the South Asian region starts with the premise "that we can and must improve relations with both of these countries simultaneously."
In Pakistan, the advisor stated President Bush "underscored that our commitment to Pakistan is broad-based, strategic and long-term, and that we support the development of a modern, democratic and prosperous state."
"It outlined several areas of cooperation for the two countries, setting an agenda going forward." He referred to President Musharraf's remarks that Pakistan was striving for "democratic reform" in Pakistan. Hadley said, adding: "Kashmir is a point of conflict."
"We will encourage Pakistan to finally end all support for Kashmiri militants. And we will encourage India to respond in good faith to Pakistani ideas on Kashmir."
"In Pakistan, we will encourage greater democratic reform and political freedom. We will work with President Musharraf to ensure that the 2007 elections are free and fair.
Meanwhile, agreeing that Kashmir was "a flash point" which "has sparked conflict in the region", U.S. Secreatry of State Condoleezza Rice Wednesday evening said that the US does "actively encourage the parties to find a resolution."
She was testifying before the House International Relations Committee. A resolution of Kashmir, she added "would open up the region to, greater prosperity as well as greater peace".
and that the United
States has "made that very clear."
Rice was responding to a question by Congessman Dan Burton of Republican Party from Indiana. Burton drew an elaborate attention of Secretary Rice and the Committee over the Kashmir problem which is pending resolution since British left, referred to its history, and recent confidence building measures and talk about it at the summit level of Pakistan and India, and urged United States to facilitate its resolution.
Responding, Secretary Rice said "You're right, it's a flash point. It's a place that has sparked conflict in the region."
"And were there a resolution of it, it would open up the region to, we think, greater prosperity as well as greater peace, and we've made that very clear." Earlier Wednesday, she gave a testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation agreement.
Secretary Rice added that "We're encouraged" by what leaders of Pakistan and India "have been doing."
She was referring to the talks held by President General Pervez
Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India, and the pursuing of the Composite Dialogue and talks on Kashmir issue. Congressman Burton had drawn attention towards it.
Rice said Pakistan and India have been doing "some very practical things," and referred to CBMs. "We're encouraged by what they've
been doing, some very practical things that they've been doing in
terms of bus links and the ability of people to move."
"We're encouraged by the discussions that they're having."
She said "When we say we've not taken on the role of a mediator, that
is historically America's position because we believe that the parties themselves are best suited to try to find a resolution."
"But I can assure you that we do actively encourage the parties to find a resolution. And in fact, the president had publicly said this when he was both in India and in Pakistan," she added.
Rice said: "We have, in fact, encouraged the parties to come to a resolution of the Kashmir crisis."
Congressman Dan Burton, alongwith Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, is the co-chairperson of the Congressional Pakistan Caucus, which was setup on September 22, 2004, and is 71-member strong.
He told Secretary Rice: "I wish you would talk to them about that proposed agreement and see if something can't be worked out." He wished if a serious effort is made that could lead to resolution of the pending issue, which he stated had led to heavy loss of life of innocent Kashmiris and had caused tension in the region.