KIND: OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH PAKISTAN IS COMPLICATED
Wednesday, May 4th, 2011 -- 1:09 PM
While the assassination of Osama bin Laden will hopefully simplify the U.S.?s mission of destroying al Qaeda, it has complicated our relationship with Pakistan.People around the world were shocked to learn bin Laden was gunned down, not in the rugged mountains between Pakistan and Afghanistan?but in suburbia; and down the street from a prestigious military school, nonetheless.
"In light of where we found bin Laden, it does raise those questions," Rep. Ron Kind states, "why are we still investing over $3-billion a year in a country that may not be cooperating with us?"
Still, Rep. Ron Kind (D-La Crosse) says the U.S.-Pakistani relationship has always been complicated because the country is a nuclear power nestled between the Arab and Asian worlds.
"Pakistan intelligence has had a relationship with the Taliban for some amount of time. Unfortunately, there is still an inordinate amount of fear Pakistan has dealing with India over it's eastern border," Kind says.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Community, described it as a "love-hate" relationship this morning on ABC?s [i]Good Morning America[/i]. He said that the United States needs to continue working with Pakistan despite the ?embarrassing? lapse by the Pakistani government and military, which he believes was legitimately unaware of Osama bin Laden?s presence in Abbottabad.
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