"That's according to a Fox News poll released Wednesday.
"Nearly three out of four voters -- 73 percent -- say the United States should stop sending foreign aid until Pakistan demonstrates a deeper commitment to the war against terrorism. Some 19 percent would continue to provide funding.
..."With the discovery that bin Laden apparently had been living in Pakistan for years, the consensus is Pakistan is not a friend (74 percent). A small 16 percent minority of voters views Pakistan as a strong U.S. ally in the war against terrorism."
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You must be thinking: Pakistan must have tons in their own dossier to expose US government duplicities, lies, and nefarious activities. So why have they been relatively silent in all this? Why don't they open the flood gate on "facts" surrounding Bin Laden, his supposed role in 9/11, his supposed journey since 9/11, and his supposed death recently? And I have an answer for that: neither party has played all their cards yet. Just take a look at how Gates has been playing both sides carefully while measuring the outcome of various factors in play:
"Gates reiterated the accusation that elements within the Pakistani government knew about the location of Osama bin Laden and were keeping that information from the United States. Bin Laden was killed in a US raid earlier this month.
"At the same time, Gates echoed comments by other officials, conceding that the US has absolutely no evidence to that effect and that it is 'pure supposition on our part. ' The repeated accusations, despite being based on 'pure supposition' have done major damage to US-Pakistan ties, and have spawned calls from Congress to suspend all aid to Pakistan to punish them.
"Gates, who attended the conference with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen, also said that the US raid that killed bin Laden had 'humiliated' the Pakistani government, and that they had 'paid a price' for bin Laden's presence. Mullen added that the US ability to attack Pakistan with impunity was 'a humbling experience" for the Pakistani military.'"
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The White House neocons are in the midst of age-old diplomatic games, bluffing, and hedging their bets. They have the "foreign & military ai d" card. They have the "ISI dirt files " card. They have the "ultimate China leaning" card. And of course, they have the "mighty power of preemptive occupation war " card, which is always blessed and supported by NATO and overlooked by their butlers in the UN.
China has its own set of cards; whether it is their biggest market for dumping goods, or carrying the US debt, or who knows what else. For now they are using the "talk " card with no real strings attached:
"Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao assured his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani of China's 'all-weather friendship' on Wednesday, during a visit that sharply contrasted with anger between Washington and Islamabad.
"'I wish to stress here that no matter what changes might take place in the international landscape, China and Pakistan will remain forever good neighbours, good friends, good partners and good brothers,' Wen told Gilani at the start of a meeting in central Beijing's Great Hall of the People."
Suffice it to say that not all cards have been placed on the table. As the famous Kenny Rogers' Gambler lyrics go:
You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.
As for us, the people, we'll be sitting and waiting for the three parties to conclude this stage of their global hegemony game. We'll be reading and watching and listening to their PR machine in the media give us one concocted fantasy after another. As in all other wars of ours we will have zero to say, zilch to gain, and plenty to lose. They have the cards, and we are the piled up tokens on the table.
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