Pakistan likes Al Qaeda more than America

[phk]

Link: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0730/Pakistan-likes-Al-Qaeda-more-than-America

The US is in the middle of a $7.5 billion aid program to Pakistan. But America's image is slipping in the country, where its unfavorable rating is almost as bad as the Taliban's and even Al Qaeda is more popular.

 By Issam Ahmed, Correspondent / July 30, 2010
Lahore, Pakistan

The Pakistan Taliban may be responsible for attacks that have killed more than 1,000 civilians this year. The US may be in the midst of providing the country with $7.5 billion in aid. But average Pakistanis like the United States less than Al Qaeda and just a little more than the Taliban.

Roughly 17 percent of Pakistanis have a favorable view of the US in a new poll by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project, while 59 percent described the US as an "enemy" of Pakistan. The Taliban's numbers? About 15 percent view the group favorably (up from 10 percent a year ago). Al Qaeda pips both groups, with 18 percent of Pakistanis viewing the group favorably, up from 9 percent a year ago.

The survey was conducted among 2,000 Pakistanis from April 13-28, 2010.

The findings are likely to add more fuel to the domestic debate over whether American largess is advancing US interests in the region. A vast trove of United States government documents released by the website Wikileaks this week added more evidence for the belief that Pakistan supports the Taliban inside Afghanistan, leaving many Americans wondering if some of the aid to Pakistan isn't ending up in the hands of Taliban operatives trying to kill US soldiers in Afghanistan. Capturing the mood, influential US humorist Jon Stewart said this week: "We have ostensibly put a hit out on ourselves. This is insanity."

In Pakistan, opposition to conditions attached to the $7.5 billion aid package and ongoing concern about civilian causalities in US drone strikes aimed at Al Qaeda leaders are major factors fueling anti-Americanism, says Christine Fair, a political scientist at Georgetown University.
Blaming Blackwater, India

A surge of conspiracy theories that absolve the Taliban for recent sectarian attacks and instead blame outside forces may help explain the decreased perception of a threat from the Taliban.

“The narrative is these attacks are being carried out by India or Blackwater,” says Professor Fair, referring to the controversial US security contractor now known as Xe. And ordinary Pakistanis are dismayed by what they see as increasingly close US ties with rival India. About 53 percent of Pakistanis described India as the greatest threat to the country, while 23 percent see the Taliban as the greatest threat.

In the Main Market shopping area of Lahore, Pakistan’s cultural hub, traders and shoppers are almost unanimous in voicing dissatisfaction with Pakistan’s relationship with the United States.

“What kind of friends are the Americans? They are our false friends and in reality are trying to tear us apart. That’s why they are maintaining good relations with India who back the Taliban, while at the same time giving our leaders money to fight the Taliban,” says Muhammad Yousuf, a retired shopkeeper, while sipping tea after Friday prayers.

Several people express the view that the Taliban were not behind attacks on two-Ahmadi sect mosques in May that killed more than 100 people, or the attack on the Data Ganj Baksh shrine in Lahore in July that killed some 40 people.

[Bo]

It's a shame the U.S. gave a lot of aid to Pakistan during the last ten years without putting some conditions and transparency on it. Thus, the Pakistani leadership just stole most of the aid and continued supporting America's enemies.

[Frodo]

Sometimes I wish Pakistan had decided to come out in the open and declared themselves our enemy and in league with the Taliban and Al Qaeda after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.  This is one 'ally' I would gladly do without. 

[Kevin]

Sometimes I wish Pakistan had decided to come out in the open and declared themselves our enemy and in league with the Taliban and Al Qaeda after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.  This is one 'ally' I would gladly do without. 

That almost happened in the days and months following 9/11.

[patrick1]

I came across the Peshawar bombing video aftermath yesterday. Really horrifying stuff.  150 dead yet so many in Pakistan are willing to excuse this or blame it on Mossad or the CIA.  Qaeda and the Taliban are clearly beating us on getting their message out. 

[phk]

Sometimes I wish Pakistan had decided to come out in the open and declared themselves our enemy and in league with the Taliban and Al Qaeda after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.  This is one 'ally' I would gladly do without. 

That would have been baaad.

[minionofmidas]

Who wouldn't!?

[k-onmmunist]

Sometimes I wish Pakistan had decided to come out in the open and declared themselves our enemy and in league with the Taliban and Al Qaeda after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.  This is one 'ally' I would gladly do without. 

Umm, yeah, just one problem:

[Franzl]

Who wouldn't!?

Among German greens and Left, you may have a point.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

That's more a comment on the unpopularity of America in Pakistan than 'owt else, isn't it. Read the article, you numpties.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The thread title's a little vague.  It could be read as one of two ways:

• Pakistan likes Al Qaeda more than it likes America
• Pakistan like Al Qaeda more than America likes it

Granted, in this case both seem to be true, but still, I thought you should know, for knowledge is half the battle. ♬G. I. Joe!♬

[opebo]

Who wouldn't!?

Everybody liked the Rebel Alliance more than The Empire in Start rek, its strange they don't see it that way now.

Course the Tallyrand don't look like this:

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Yeah, maybe several people think that, but about 2,000 people demonstrated in Lahore and other big cities of Pakistan along with a national strike day to protest against terrorism and to blame the government for doing nothing against this. I posted about that in Pakistan General Discussion.

Yeah, too bad people don't like you (us? yeah us, we're in the same boat) there, maybe the fault to massive bad decisions, such as stupid wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan that are seen as a breaking of sovereignty, that are useless, that are counter-productive, and you know, it kills people, and people rarely like it.

So, maybe that instead of blaming Pakistani people because they don't like that you put your big feet anywhere in their region, maybe that would be a cool thing to try to wonder about the relevancy of the tactic here.

About US aid, yeah maybe that throwing money and then 'oh hell! you stupid! you have money now! rule your problems!' (yeah...that is the kind of friend you are? the shopkeeper might be right to wonder about the actual friendship of USA there, even if his theories might be a bit broken), and letting Pakistan investing it in a big war isn't really the solution.

Maybe Pakistani would need advices more than money, because since they led their big war there, terrorism increased, and a lot, and the government can't fight against this terrorism, and thus is discredited, and all of this makes a good promotion for who? For the Islamic parties, not those in their mountains, those in the cities, those that could actually be seen as a political alternative by random people of the plains, then by the majority of the country. And so it goes, once again you fight terrorism with war means, directly and indirectly in this case, and once again you give food to ideas that lead to terrorism and to political hatred.

You don't want to have problems with Pakistan? Then get the f**k out of there, and just provide better advices than throwing money invested in a counter-productive war. You uselessly create your own problems, and also in the meanwhile people pay of their life for the bloody mistakes.

Oh, and, by the way, I think that you can consider these figures of 'support' toward Al Qaeda and 'Talibans' low. Let them face their enemies, 'Talibans' were in the mountains, don't create some in the plains, and don't bring the problems on you, don't enlarge the f**king problems there further than Pakistan.