Pakistani PM: Next U.S. leader must stop missile attacks.

Neither Obama nor McCain have given any indication that they will change policy on attacks in Pakistan. If anything Obama is the more hawkish. I can't see why Americans think that Obama is an agent of change. He has neo-con advisers and is cheerleader for US imperialism just as much as Bush ever was. Perhaps Obama is a bit more progressive on domestic issues and may actually use the government to help people in some ways such as guaranteeing mortgages but on the foreign policy front he is a disaster waiting to happen. He will pull troops from Iraq only to send them to Afghanistan to fight a fruitless battle there.


Next U.S. leader must stop missile attacks: Pakistan
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 4, 2008 7:09 AM ET
CBC News
The next American president must develop a policy to deal with Pakistan that halts missile strikes on insurgent targets in the country's northwest, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Tuesday.
"No matter who the president of America will be, if he doesn't respect the sovereignty and integrity of Pakistan … anti-America sentiments and anti-West sentiment will be there," Gilani said.
U.S. missile strikes on insurgent targets are inflaming anti-American sentiment in the country, Gilani told the Associated Press.
Gilani met with U.S. Gen. David Petraeus, who is making his first tour of the region since taking over U.S. Central Command last week, and delivered the same message but got no guarantee the attacks would end, he said.
Petraeus has also met with President Asif Ali Zardari, army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and other senior Pakistani leaders.
Uneasy allies
Pakistan and the United States have been uneasy allies in the American-led war on terror but tensions over the alleged cross-border attacks have tested relations between the two countries.
Over the last two months, the United States has launched at least 17 strikes on militant targets in the region of Pakistan that borders Afghanistan.
The strikes have reportedly killed at least 168 people, many of whom were civilians, according to Pakistani officials.
Shaping a policy to deal with the militant threat in nuclear-armed Pakistan and its new civilian leaders will be a key task for the next U.S. president, Gilani said, as Americans were heading to the polls on Tuesday.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has said if he is elected, he could launch unilateral attacks on high-value terrorist targets in Pakistan as they become exposed and "if Pakistan cannot or will not act" against them.
Republican rival John McCain has said engaging Pakistanis is vital to defeating extremists and that cross-border strikes shouldn't be discussed "out loud."
The mountainous tribal area bordering Afghanistan is a known haven for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants and is also believed to be the possible hiding place of Osama bin Laden.
The United States has alleged the groups use the area to mount attacks against American and NATO troops in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Washington has urged Pakistan to assert control in the region and take stiffer action against militants. There's been growing concern in the U.S. that Pakistan is unwilling or incapable of rooting out extremists in its border region.
But some Pakistani leaders and citizens have condemned American-led operations that have crossed the border as a violation of the country's sovereignty.
Attacks uniting militants: Gilani
The attacks are "uniting the militants with the tribes. How can you fight a war without the support of the people?" Gilani said.
The U.S. should share intelligence with the Pakistan military so the country can go after targets itself, Gilani said.
"Either they should trust us and they should work with us, otherwise, I think it's a futile exercise," he said.
He added the continued U.S. missile strikes are a distraction from Pakistan's own anti-insurgent operations, which are being conducted in the country's northwest.
"Their strategy is not coinciding with our strategy," Gilani said. "Our strategy is to take one area at one time."