Word: zardari
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Pity the Obama Administration, having to behave as if Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai were reliable stewards of U.S. security interests in the world's most troubling trouble-spot. An epic suspension of disbelief is required to cast either of the men Obama welcomed at the White House on Wednesday as capable of leading a successful fight against the Taliban. Zardari's approval ratings are lower than those of the reviled former dictator President Pervez Musharraf; his army is reluctant to go to war against a section of the country's citizenry...
...Afghanistan and Iraq have exposed the limits of U.S. military power in imposing Washington's will, and the declining world economy has, if anything, further limited America's appetite for foreign entanglements. It's not as if the U.S. is in a position to take over from Karzai or Zardari, and appealing alternatives are scarce. The same can be said for the challenges Obama faces in Iraq, and in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. On all of those fronts, Washington confronts the reality that the partners on which it is forced to rely are either deeply flawed...
...Senior Administration officials briefing journalists on condition of anonymity at the White House hastened to add that, despite recent U.S. overtures to Zardari's chief political rival, opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, there was no question of changing horses midstream. "We are not abandoning or ... distancing ourselves from Zardari," an official said...
...Capitol Hill, however, legislators from both parties expressed reluctance to unconditionally bail out Zardari's government, expressing sharp criticism of his handling of the fight against extremism in his country and skepticism over the Obama Administration's claims that Islamabad if finally getting serious about that fight. At the Holbrooke hearing, Democratic Representative Gary Ackerman of New York said, "Pakistan's pants are on fire, but ... they don't recognize the risk [they...
...Zardari on Tuesday met privately with some members of the committee and tried to reassure them that he is on top of things in Islamabad and a worthy recipient of further U.S. largesse. On Wednesday and Thursday, he will take that message to the White House. Zardari will meet twice with Obama, in a one-on-one session and a tripartite meeting with Karzai...