David Ignatius at PostGlobaltag:newsweek.washingtonpost.com,2009:/postglobal/david_ignatius/5322009-05-04T22:51:10ZMovable Type 4.2-enThe U.S. Plan for Pakistantag:newsweek.washingtonpost.com,2009:/postglobal/david_ignatius//532.449562009-05-04T21:46:43Z2009-05-04T22:51:10ZHere's how the two sides plan to improve their tenuous friendship when Zardari visits Washington this week.David Ignatius
Where do you draw the line between helpful American assistance to Pakistan in fighting the Taliban insurgency and counter-productive American meddling? Obama administration officials are weighing that balance as they prepare for a crucial visit to Washington this week by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.
The administration is finalizing an ambitious package of aid measures, ranging from urgent financial assistance to counter-insurgency training for Pakistani troops at a U.S. base in Kuwait.
To relieve political pressure on Zardari, the administration has even discussed the possibility of joint U.S.-Pakistani oversight of the CIA's secret program of Predator strikes on Al Qaeda and Taliban targets in Pakistan's tribal areas. But administration officials appear to have decided against any changes in the current approach, in which the Pakistani government privately okays the attacks but publicly criticizes them. Explained one official familiar with the program: "'Jointness' has been tried and it hasn't worked. These operations are designed to save American lives, and who wants to gamble at that table?"
As Washington frets about Zardari's political weakness, and debates a greater role for the opposition, his allies are pushing back--warning that American attempts to meddle in their country's internal politics may backfire.
"The more Americans get in the weeds of Pakistani politics, the less they will accomplish," warned a senior Pakistani official who supports Zardari. He described the growing U.S. pressure against Zardari as an example of "the Diem phenomenon," a reference to the U.S.-supported coup in 1963 against its former darling, South Vietnam's President Ngo Dinh Diem. That coup began a series of ultimately disastrous American attempts to steer Saigon politics and suppress the communist insurgency.
Zardari became Pakistan's president last year, with strong U.S. support, after the assassination of his wife, Benazir Bhutto. Since then, despite Zardari's pro-American policies, U.S. enthusiasm for him has waned, to the point that administration officials have urged a greater role for his political rival, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
"There's too much discussion of who can fix the problem, rather than what should be done," complained the pro-Zardari senior Pakistani official.
The sensitivity in the Zardari camp to U.S. criticism illustrates a broader phenomenon in Pakistani politics. Politicians of every stripe are wary of offending Pakistani national pride by appearing too close to Washington--even when they know they need U.S. help. A cartoon on one anti-American website in Pakistan last week showed Zardari talking with Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, another former American favorite who now gets low marks. The Afghan is telling his Pakistani counterpart: "The Americans used and ditched me. Now it's your turn to get screwed!"
To show that it's serious about supporting Pakistan, the administration is preparing a series of initiatives for this week's trilateral summit with Karzai and Zardari. According to knowledgeable sources, the list includes:
--quick delivery of $953 million in promised U.S. aid for Pakistan that has been delayed in the pipeline.
--a new Pakistani counter-terrorism strategy, drafted by Zardari's government and the Pakistani military after consultation with counter-insurgency experts on the staff of Centcom commander Gen. David Petraeus.
--training for two battalions of Pakistani soldiers a month at a U.S. base in Kuwait that was used to ready American forces for combat in Iraq.
--an expanding Pakistani offensive against the Taliban, including a joint U.S.-Pakistani effort to suppress Taliban radio stations that have been operating in the tribal areas.
--a new agreement on third-country trade that transits Pakistan to Afghanistan. This "transit-trade" agreement would open the way for more shipments to and from India.
--a new framework for sharing information between the Pakistani and Afghan militaries and intelligence services.
--additional joint border posts for monitoring the Afghan-Pakistan frontier.
"We have a plan. We have the will. We are negotiating on getting the means," said Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's ambassador here and one of the architects of the Islamabad-Washington alliance.
Haqqani argued that if Washington really wants the Pakistani army to move troops from the Indian border to the tribal areas, as U.S. officials often say, then it should get the Indians to reduce their military forces.
"It's time for Obama to put in a call to the Indians telling them, 'If you move some of your troops, they'll move theirs," Haqqani said. According to sources, Pakistani chief of staff Ashfaq Kiyani made just that promise in a recent meeting with U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke.
Israel's 57-State Opportunitytag:newsweek.washingtonpost.com,2009:/postglobal/david_ignatius//532.447132009-04-24T15:02:59Z2009-04-24T15:18:19ZA two-state solution would mean broader recognition for Israel, says Jordan's King Abdullah in an exclusive interview. David Ignatius
Jordan's King Abdullah has a proposition for the new Israeli prime minister, Benyamin Netanyahu: The payoff for a two-state solution to the Palestinian problem is that Israel will get a 23-state solution, or even a 57-state solution--in the form of recognition by nations that don't now have diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.
What's interesting about Abdullah's approach is that it provides a possible way out of the collision that seems to be ahead between the Obama administration and Netanyahu over the Palestinian issue. Obama is committed to the two-state approach; Netanyahu publicly has resisted it. Abdullah's formulation--of a broader regional framework that gives Israel more tangible benefits from peacemaking--may provide a bridge.
The Jordanian monarch made his case for a regional approach to peacemaking in an interview at his Washington hotel Thursday. He outlined some of the ideas he had shared earlier this week in private meetings with President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Abdullah said he had come to Washington to reaffirm the peace proposal endorsed in 2002 by the 22 members of the Arab League, which would extend recognition to Israel in exchange for creation of a Palestinian state. But he broadened the list in the interview, arguing that a two-state solution would bring acceptance by all the nations that don't now recognize Israel's existence.
"The prize for Israel is 57 states," the Jordanian monarch said. He said his regional approach was "the best way of guaranteeing the long-term security of Israel."
Abdullah said it was crucial, given Arab frustration with the failure of the Annapolis process under President Bush, that Obama move quickly to direct negotiations over final-status issues. "Today, the 'peace process' is over, finished. What we're talking about is an endgame--direct to negotiations," he said.
Abdullah said he hoped the Obama administration would adopt this regional framework, and that President Obama would launch a process of negotiations this summer, before he loses the glow of popularity he now commands in the Arab world.
"The tremendous good will the president has in the Middle East, the hope that's out there, will quickly switch is we go past mid-summer and nothing has been announced. Early signals are crucial," the king said.
The Obama administration is interested in the regional approach Abdullah outlined, but a senior official said in an interview Thursday that final decisions about U.S. negotiating strategy hadn't been made yet.
Abdullah said a U.S.-led regional strategy could provide an umbrella for other negotiations, such as Israel-Syria talks, in addition to the Palestinian track. "If you don't have a regional approach, there's a tendency for bilateral talks to get ahead of themselves and disrupt the regional picture," the king explained. "If you have a regional approach, nobody will want to miss that."
Netanyahu's hard-line views have roused concerns in Washington that he and the new U.S. administration are headed for a confrontation. But Abdullah said that Netanyahu had recently sent a private emissary to Amman, and that his views on the Palestinian issue may be more forthcoming than his public statements.
"He sent a message that he's committed to peace with the Arabs," Abdullah said. "All the words I heard were the right words." When I pressed the king whether that meant Netanyahu had indicated privately that he might be willing to discuss creation of a Palestinian state, Abdullah answered: "Without getting him in trouble, the message I got was all positive."
The Jordanian monarch's comments set the stage for what will be a crucial visit by Netanyahu to Washington--probably late next month. As Abdullah said, "We won't see the true policy until Netanyahu meets with Obama."
India's Promising Momentum: David Ignatius, April 9th 9:15amtag:newsweek.washingtonpost.com,2009:/postglobal/david_ignatius//532.445742009-04-10T14:03:07Z2009-04-10T14:15:42ZIndia feels like a country confidently embracing the future and well on its way toward getting there; Pakistan feels wracked by the torment of becoming modern.David Ignatius
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Pakistan's Fear and Uncertainty: David Ignatius April 7th 10:30 amtag:newsweek.washingtonpost.com,2009:/postglobal/david_ignatius//532.445662009-04-08T18:02:15Z2009-04-08T20:07:23ZPakistan is the number one trouble area in the world, Ignatius argues in today's video. We will never be able to fix the problem if we don't understand the roots of their instability. Your thoughts?David Ignatius
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Obama and Europe's Old-World Walls: David Ignatius, April 4th 7:10pmtag:newsweek.washingtonpost.com,2009:/postglobal/david_ignatius//532.445492009-04-06T20:08:34Z2009-04-06T20:15:18ZObama's call for 'partnership' transcended the medieval walls and once-closed communities of the ancient cities in the Old World where he was speaking, particularly here in a little town in Alsace. David Ignatius
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George Eliot and the Zionist Idea: David Ignatius April 1st 3:20pmtag:newsweek.washingtonpost.com,2009:/postglobal/david_ignatius//532.445042009-04-01T20:44:15Z2009-04-01T20:56:48ZGeorge Eliot's novelDaniel Deronda is a brilliant look into the beginnings of the Zionist idea of a Jewish homeland in Palestine - and it informs what's happening there today. David Ignatius
Daniel Deronda is a brilliant look into the beginnings of the Zionist idea of a Jewish homeland in Palestine - and it informs what's happening there today. Please post your comments below.
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U.S.-backed Militia Threatens Iraqi Stabilitytag:newsweek.washingtonpost.com,2009:/postglobal/david_ignatius//532.444702009-03-30T19:22:20Z2009-03-30T22:41:40ZWeekend fighting between Iraq's largely Shiite army and a Sunni militia group shows how fragile our Iraqi success really is, Ignatius argues in today's video.David Ignatius
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Obama, Afghanistan and Vietnam: David Ignatius March 27th 4:01 pmtag:newsweek.washingtonpost.com,2009:/postglobal/david_ignatius//532.444582009-03-27T23:35:09Z2009-03-28T00:32:11ZPresident Obama's latest moves in Afghanistan suggest he's determined not to let the war there become his Vietnam, Ignatius argues in today's video. Will he succeed? Please post your comments below. Note: Please upgrade your Flash plug-in to view our...David Ignatius
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Anger Over Bonuses Won't Go Away: David Ignatius March 25th 8:20 amtag:newsweek.washingtonpost.com,2009:/postglobal/david_ignatius//532.444302009-03-25T18:00:29Z2009-03-26T14:20:26ZAnger over executive pay and bonuses could poison labor relations for years, Ignatius argues in today's video. Is he right?David Ignatius
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Why Iran Rebuffed Obama: David Ignatius March 23rd 10:30 amtag:newsweek.washingtonpost.com,2009:/postglobal/david_ignatius//532.444062009-03-23T18:31:23Z2009-03-23T23:10:30ZIran's quick rejection of Obama's overtures is rooted in the Islamic Republic's history and the anxiety of its leaders, Ignatius argues in today's video. Don't expect a quick turnaround -- and please post your comments below. Note: Please upgrade your...David Ignatius
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Let AIG Go Bankrupt: David Ignatius March 19th 5:15 pmtag:newsweek.washingtonpost.com,2009:/postglobal/david_ignatius//532.443892009-03-20T01:43:51Z2009-03-23T23:04:16ZIt's time to get AIG and the zombie banks out of the political fray and into bankruptcy court, Ignatius argues in today's video. Please post your comments below. Note: Please upgrade your Flash plug-in to view our enhanced content. var...David Ignatius
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David Ignatius March 18th 11:12amtag:newsweek.washingtonpost.com,2009:/postglobal/david_ignatius//532.443702009-03-18T17:54:59Z2009-03-18T21:30:43ZMeeting with diplomats in the last few days, I've noticed a wariness about the Obama administration and its gung-ho attitude toward handling the economic crisis. Do you agree?David Ignatiushis RSS feed.
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David Ignatius March 12th 11:49pmtag:newsweek.washingtonpost.com,2009:/postglobal/david_ignatius//532.443212009-03-13T17:44:43Z2009-03-13T17:56:44ZListening to businesspeople at a meeting in Houston today, I was struck by how hard the crisis has hit here - and by one man's musings on whether al-Qaeda members are smiling at our economic woes.David Ignatiushis RSS feed.
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David Ignatius: March 11th 10:24amtag:newsweek.washingtonpost.com,2009:/postglobal/david_ignatius//532.425222009-03-12T00:51:22Z2009-03-12T14:00:21ZThe head of the National Intelligence Council steps down - another loss for America's too-narrow foreign policy debate.David Ignatiushis RSS feed.
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David Ignatius: March 10th 10:41amtag:newsweek.washingtonpost.com,2009:/postglobal/david_ignatius//532.422382009-03-10T15:56:26Z2009-03-10T16:13:44ZGlobal protectionism made the Great Depression longer and more painful - and we're starting to see it rear its ugly head again now. What can we do to head this off?David Ignatiushis RSS feed.
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