Lack of a U.S. Apology is Sticking Point for Pakistan

[The Northerner]

HONG KONG — It was a difficult weekend in Pakistan. The body of a British Red Cross doctor was found, beheaded, dumped by the side of a road in Quetta. A C.I.A. drone strike killed three suspected militants in an old schoolhouse. And talks last week about a “reset” of the deeply troubled relationship with the United States went nowhere, partly because of Washington’s refusal to apologize for an earlier air attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

The Dawn newspaper in Pakistan quoted police officials as saying the kidnapped doctor, 60, was killed because no ransom had been paid, and the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility. The body was found wrapped in white plastic with the doctor’s name, Khalil Rasjed Dale, written on the side in black marker. An examining physician said a sharp knife had been used to cut off the head.

The so-called resetting talks had an ambitious agenda. Pakistan wants the United States to stop the drone attacks, apologize for the air attack last November and make payment of more than $1 billion in overdue military assistance. And there are plenty of other demands.

For its part, Washington wants Pakistan to reopen critical NATO supply lines into Afghanistan and assist in efforts against the Haqqani militancy. The U.S. side, led by the special envoy Marc Grossman, has refused to end the drone effort and so far has shown no inclination to apologize for the airstrike.

Read more: http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/30/lack-of-a-u-s-apology-is-sticking-point-for-pakistan/


24 Pakistani soldiers are slaughtered in their own country by a foreign military and no apology, remorse, or restitution is even offered?

If another country slaughtered 24 US citizens in the US, while also violating US sovereignty, I wonder how much anger and protesting there would be...

[ProgressiveProfessor]

1. An apology will not be forthcoming anytime soon

So the real question is where will things go from here.