01 September 2010

No One Does Diplomatic Pouting Like Pakistan

First they told the Brits to keep their military assistance for flood relief after the British PM dared to speak out loud what everyone know - that the Pakistanis haven't diligently pursued terrorists of all flavors inside their borders. Now, they've recalled a military delegation from talks with the US. Why? Because they don't like the level of security scrutiny they received from the US, because, y'know, we actually do pursued terrorists of all flavors inside our borders...

Pakistan's army said on Wednesday it scrapped talks with U.S. military officials after a military delegation sent to Washington had to go through "unwarranted" airport security checks.

Mistrust exists between Pakistan and the United States even though they have been allies for decades.

Security at U.S. airports has been especially stringent since the 2001 al Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington, with scores of passengers complaining they had been singled out for checks due to their "Middle Eastern" or "Muslim" appearance.

The Pakistani delegation was visiting the United States at the invitation of the U.S. military's Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The delegation ... was subjected to unwarranted security checks at Washington airport by the U.S. Transport Security Agency," the army said in a statement.

The delegation was later cleared and U.S. defense officials expressed regret over the incident. The statement did not give the date of the visit.

"However, as a result of these checks, military authorities in Pakistan decided to cancel the visit and called the delegation back," the army said.


By: Brant

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