I found this through Progressive Review, which had it listed under the headline "PETRAEUS CLAIMS U.S. COLONIAL POWERS OVER PAKISTAN". Pretty accurate description.
What struck me was this paragraph.
The Pakistanis have expressed frustration over unmanned U.S. drone strikes to take out terrorist targets inside their border.
But Petraeus said the U.S. is mindful of perceptions in the region.
"It's hugely important that we be seen as good neighbors, as friends, certainly fierce warriors who will go after the enemy and stay after them -- but also as individuals who try to avoid civilian casualties whenever possible and are seen again as supporting the people and trying to help them achieve a better life," Petraeus said, specifically referring to the fight on the Afghan side of the border.
And on the Pakistan side of the border? I take it we are NOT interested in being seen as 'supporting the people and trying to help them achieve a better life?'
Actually, I don' think the US ever has been. In Pakistan, the US has supported a long line of military dictators, interspersed by a few stretches of corrupt but US-compliant civilian rule. We don't exactly have a long track record of 'supporting the people and trying to help them achieve a better life', now do we?
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