Pakistan News And Discussion-11

[Guest]

<b>Schaffer's Pakistan policy for US</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->She said that two priorities for Washington is to "put its weight behind a return to civilian rule" in Pakistan "through free and fair elections," even as it "urgently needs to try to strengthen and broaden the anti-terrorism consensus within Pakistan."
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It also reflects <b>a hard-nosed judgment </b>about the relationship between the Pakistan army and the militants who threaten to destroy the progressive, modern Islamic character of the state that underpins real policy cooperation with the United States."
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"Military sales should focus in the first instance on equipment that will help Pakistan with its vital counter-terrorism goals. Military sales that relate more to general defense upgrading should take a back seat, and should be contingent on Pakistan's effective performance in countering militant extremists, both along the Afghan border and elsewhere."

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<b>She also castigated the Bush Administration defense of Musharraf as the only game in town noting that "the administration has tended to speak of Musharraf whenever it is asked about policy toward Pakistan."</b>
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