Israel Matzav

Caught between a rock and a hard place

On the morning after the liquidation of al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is likely not a very happy man. The chickens are coming home to roost.

Israel Radio reported on Tuesday morning that the United States has closed its embassy in Islamabad and its three consulates in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar. All four are closed 'indefinitely' ostensibly out of fear of an al-Qaeda revenge attack, but one cannot help but wonder if they will ever reopen.

The Pakistanis find themselves in the position of having to deny both that they helped the United States to kill Bin Laden, and that they knew that Bin Laden was hiding out in Pakistan. The first denial strains credibility nearly as much as the second one, for it is nearly impossible that Bin Laden was present in a Pakistani city near their military's headquarters without the knowledge of higher ups. And despite the euphoria over suddenly having killed Bin Laden, some US lawmakers are furious.

The revelation bin Laden had been holed up in a compound in the military garrison town of Abbottabad, possibly for years, has threatened to worsen U.S. ties with nuclear-armed Pakistan.

"He was not anywhere we had anticipated he would be, but now he is gone," Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari wrote in an opinion piece in the Washington Post, without offering further defense against accusations his security services should have known where bin Laden was hiding.

"Although the events of Sunday were not a joint operation, a decade of cooperation and partnership between the United States and Pakistan led up to the elimination of Osama bin Laden as a continuing threat to the civilized world."

It was the first public comment by any Pakistani civilian or military leader on the raid by a secret U.S. assault team on bin Laden's compound on Sunday night.

Irate U.S. lawmakers wondered how it was possible for bin Laden to live in a populated area near a military training academy without anyone of authority knowing about it or sanctioning his presence.

They said it was time to review the billions in aid the United States provides Pakistan.

"Our government is in fiscal distress. To make contributions to a country that isn't going to be fully supportive is a problem for many," said Senate Intelligence Committee chair Dianne Feinstein.

You have to wonder when, if ever, the embassy and consulates will reopen.

Labels: Abbottabad, al-Qaeda, Asif Ali Zardari, Barack Obama, Dianne Feinstein, Osama Bin Laden

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:44 AM