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SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL PK
SUBJECT:  PAKISTAN MEDIA REACTION: JANUARY 08, 2010 
 
Summary:  Coverage of the visiting U.S. congressional delegation led 
by Senator John McCain was front page news in all major English 
dailies today.  Senator McCain's remarks that "drone strikes in 
Pakistan are an 'effective' part of U.S. strategy and should 
continue," received extensive coverage along with Pakistani 
President Zardari's response to the delegation that "drone attacks 
(are) undermining national consensus on the war on terror." 
Ambassador Patterson's Karachi visit continued to garner prominent 
media coverage on the second consecutive day.  Her remarks terming 
the recent statement of Indian Army Chief as "silly," and that the 
"U.S. supports direct dialogue between Pakistan and India" were also 
reported.  Almost all mainstream newspapers highlighted the U.S. 
Embassy's statement expressing "concerns" over harassment of its 
personnel and interception of U.S. Mission vehicles.  Media also 
reported the Pakistani Foreign Office's statement accusing U.S. 
officials of placing "counterfeit" license plates on their vehicles. 
 Secretary Clinton's comments that the "U.S. aid plan (is) based on 
partnership, not patronage" were also displayed prominently. 
English daily, "Dawn," reported the USAID Mission Director's 
statement that the "U.S. will be relying more on Pakistani 
government agencies in implementation of future assistance in the 
NWFP and FATA to ensure effectiveness of the initiatives."  Reports 
of the forthcoming visit of U.S. Special Envoy Holbrooke continued 
to appear in several dailies today.  End Summary. 
 
TOP STORIES 
 
News Story: Zardari Renews Demand For U.S. Drone Technology - "Dawn" 
(01/08) 
 
"President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday underlined the need for 
strategic long-term partnership between Pakistan and the United 
States based on mutual interest, respect and trust. He was talking 
to a U.S. delegation led by Senator John McCain. The President also 
reiterated the demand for transfer of drone technology to Pakistan 
so that Pakistan could itself hit high-value targets in tribal 
areas. He said drone attacks inside the Pakistani territory had 
undermined the national consensus on the war on terror." (Story also 
covered in all newspapers) 
 
News Story: Drone Strikes 'Effective' Part Of U.S. Strategy: McCain 
- "Dawn," "The Nation," "Daily Times" (01/08) 
 
"The use of drone strikes against suspected militants in Pakistan is 
an effective part of U.S. strategy and should continue, Republican 
Senator John McCain said Thursday. His comments came after Al-Qaeda 
reportedly said an attack on a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan 
which killed seven CIA agents was to avenge drone strikes that have 
killed prominent militants. 'The drone strikes are part of an 
overall set of tactics which make up the strategy for victory and 
they have been very effective,' McCain told reporters during a brief 
trip to Afghanistan." 
 
News Story: Patterson Terms Indian Army Chief's Remarks 'Silly' - 
"The News" (01/08) 
 
"U.S. Ambassador Anne W. Patterson on Thursday, while terming the 
recent remarks of Indian Army Chief 'silly', said India and Pakistan 
should address their issues bilaterally to ensure progress in both 
the countries. In an interview to a private television channel, the 
U.S. envoy said there was an enormous potential for economic 
progress if India and Pakistan got together. The countries have 
complementary markets and just the commercial implications of the 
good relations between them are enormous, she said." 
 
News Story: U.S. Supports Pak-India Dialogue, Says Patterson - 
"Daily Times" (01/08) 
 
"The U.S. supports direct dialogue between Pakistan and India and 
wants both neighbors to restart talks this year, U.S. Ambassador 
Anne W Patterson said on Thursday. She said while addressing the 
members of the English Speaking Union at a local hotel in Karachi." 
 
News Story: U.S. To Invest In Countries Affected By Terrorism - 
"Dawn" (01/08) 
 
"U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the United States 
will invest in countries that incubate terrorism as the cost of not 
doing so will be far greater. In a policy address on Wednesday she 
also said that the Obama administration intended to put development 
and foreign aid on the same level as diplomacy and military power in 
U.S. foreign policy." 
 
News Story: Interception Of Vehicles Irks U.S. Embassy  - "Dawn," 
"The News," "Daily Times," "The Nation," "Pakistan Observer," 
"Business Recorder," "Jang," "Nawa-i-Waqt," Express," "Pakistan," 
"Khabrain," "Aaj-Kal," "Jinnah," "Al-Akhbar" (01/08) 
 
"Simmering diplomatic tensions between Pakistan and the United 
States came to fore on Thursday, with the two locking horns over the 
interception of U.S. Embassy vehicles for checking by local 
law-enforcement agencies. The U.S. Embassy in a press statement 
termed the interception of vehicles harassment of its staff by 
Pakistani security agencies and said the move would scuttle 'the new 
partnership' between Washington and Islamabad. Pakistan's Foreign 
Office immediately hit back at the criticism and accused some U.S. 
officials of placing counterfeit license plates on their vehicles" 
 
News Story: Aid Plan Based On Partnership Not Patronage: Hillary - 
"The Nation," "Nawa-i-Waqt" (01/08) 
 
"U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made an impassioned appeal 
Wednesday for greater U.S. international development aid, saying it 
was vital to U.S. and global security at a time of growing extremist 
threats. Development is a 'strategic, economic and moral 
imperative,' the top U.S. diplomat said in a speech at the Peterson 
Institute for International Economics in Washington." 
 
News Story: U.S. To Channel Aid Thru Govt. Agencies  - "Dawn" 
(01/08) 
 
"The United States will be more relying on Pakistan's government 
agencies in implementation of future assistance in the NWFP and 
Federally Administered Tribal Areas to ensure effectiveness of the 
initiatives, Robert J. Wilson, Mission Director of United States 
Agency for International Development (USAID), told journalists in 
Peshawar on Thursday." 
 
TERRORISM/MILITARY ISSUES 
 
News Story: U.S. Stays Focused On Pak-Afghan Region: Pentagon - 
"Dawn" (01/08) 
 
"The United States still regards the Pak-Afghan region as the 
epicenter of the war against extremists despite a Yemen-based 
attempt to bomb a U.S. airliner, says the Pentagon. 'I think there 
is no question that the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region is 
clearly the heartland of Al Qaeda and associated sympathetic 
terrorist militant groups,' Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell 
told a briefing in Washington." 
 
News Story: COAS Briefs President On Preparedness - "Dawn" (01/08) 
 
"Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani called on 
President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday and briefed him on the army's 
operational preparedness, overall security situation and the drive 
against militancy and extremism." 
 
News Story: President Okays Air Strikes Against Militants - "The 
Nation" (01/08) 
 
"President Asif Ali Zardari in his capacity as Supreme Commander of 
the Armed Forces of Pakistan has given a go-ahead to the air strikes 
against identified strongholds of the militants in the difficult 
terrains of mountains. The President accorded approval to the 
coordinated efforts of the armed forces against the militants during 
his meeting with Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani 
who called on him in the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Thursday evening." 
 
News Story: No Compromise On Core Interests, Pakistan Tells U.S. - 
"The News" (01/08) 
 
"The United States has been clearly told that while Pakistan was 
looking forward to evolving a strategic partnership based on mutual 
trust, interest and benefits, it was also aware about Pakistan's 
'red lines,' where Pakistan would never compromise on its core 
interests. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Nawabzada Malik 
Amad Khan said this while addressing the second meeting of the 
National Assembly's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs to discuss 
the new U.S. Afghanistan policy at the Foreign Office Thursday." 
 
News Story: Drone Attacks 'Arrogant Violation' Of Pak Sovereignty: 
JI - "Daily Times" (01/08) 
 
"In a press release issued on Thursday, Senators from the 
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) condemned the U.S. drone strikes in North 
Waziristan and called it an 'arrogant violation of Pakistan's 
sovereignty.' 
 
News Story: U.S. May Increase Pressure On Pakistan To Arrest Haqqani 
- "The News," "The Nation," "Daily Times" (01/08) 
 
"The United States will push Pakistan hard to take the risky move of 
going after the Haqqani militant network if the group is linked to a 
Jordanian who killed seven CIA employees in Afghanistan.... 'The CIA 
never suffered such big losses. They will not only take revenge 
locally, they will put pressure on Pakistan to take action against 
this group,' said Rahimullah Yusufzai, a veteran journalist and 
expert on militant affairs." 
 
News Story: Al Qaeda Says CIA Attack 'Revenge' For Drone Killings - 
"Daily Times" (01/08) 
 
"Al Qaeda hailed the suicide bombing that killed seven CIA agents in 
Afghanistan as 'revenge' for the deaths of top militants in U.S. 
drone strikes in Pakistan, extremists' websites said on Thursday." 
 
News Story: Deputy Chief Of TTP Held In Islamabad  - "Dawn" (01/08) 
 
 
"Police claimed to have arrested on Thursday a suspect said to be 
the deputy chief of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. A vehicle rigged out 
with explosives was seized, sources told 'Dawn'  on Wednesday." 
 
News Story: Major Operation Soon: Malik - "The Nation" (01/08) 
 
"Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that a major 
operation is being launched in Karachi against target-killings, 
while talking to a private TV channel on Thursday." 
 
News Story: Ten Die As Violence Erupts In Karachi  - "Dawn" (01/08) 
 
 
"Ten persons, mostly with political backgrounds, were gunned down in 
Lyari and the adjoining localities on Thursday. The killings fuelled 
tension in the neighborhoods as frequent gunshots in the localities 
forced businesses to close and traffic to remain off the roads." 
 
News Story: Four Militants Killed, Several Arrested In Swat  - 
"Dawn" (01/08) 
 
"Four militants were killed and several suspects were arrested 
during a search operation in different parts of the Swat valley on 
Thursday, according to an ISPR press release." 
 
News Story: Army To Train AJK Police In Fighting Terrorism  - "Dawn" 
(01/08) 
 
"The Azad Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday decided to get 
its police personnel trained by the armed forces to effectively 
combat terrorism, which has lately found its way in this peaceful 
region. This and many other important decisions were taken at a high 
level meeting, chaired by AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider and 
attended among others by General Officer Commanding 12-Div Maj-Gen 
Maqsood Ahmed, Chief Secretary Khalid Sultan and IGP Javed Iqbal." 
 
News Story: EU Calls For Common Stance On Airport Scanners  - "Dawn" 
(01/08) 
 
"The Spanish EU presidency called on Thursday for a common European 
stance on the use of body scanners at airports as member states 
bickered over the issue after a failed plot to blow up a U.S. 
airplane, Spanish Transport Minister Jose Blanco said.' A common 
position would be beneficial for all of us' even if it wasn't 
binding, he told a press conference in Madrid." 
 
News Story: IDPs Crisis In Pakistan Far From Over: UN - "Dawn" 
(01/08) 
 
"Tens of thousands of Pakistanis are likely to be forced from their 
homes in 2010 as the military continues an assault against the 
Taliban, the head of the UN office responsible for emergencies said 
on Thursday. About 2.3 million people, mainly in the northwest of 
the country, were displaced by fighting at the peak of the crisis 
last year, creating one of the largest displacements in recent 
times." 
 
POLITICAL ISSUES 
 
News Story: Holbrooke To Visit Pakistan Next Week  - "Dawn" (01/08) 
 
 
"U.S. Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard 
Holbrooke plans to visit the two countries next week as part of 
'routine' consultations with their governments, according to a 
spokeswoman for his office." 
 
News Story: Situation in Pakistan Not Worst: Holbrooke - "The News" 
(01/08) 
 
"The U.S. Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard 
Holbrooke has said he is not willing to accept that situation in 
Pakistan is worst. Speaking at Brooking Institute in Washington on 
Thursday, Holbrooke said 'Though Pakistan has some internal problems 
but it is working through to sort them out in its own way.'" 
 
News Story: Pak Warns Against Foreign Meddling In Afghan Affairs  - 
"Dawn" (01/08) 
 
"Pakistan has cautioned the international community against outside 
involvement in the war-torn Afghanistan, but said it must remain 
engaged with its government. "Non-intervention and non-interference 
in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, however, must be a cardinal 
element of this engagement. No regional or extra-regional state 
should be allowed to manipulate the situation," Pakistan's UN 
Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon told the Security Council during 
a debate on the situation in Afghanistan on Thursday." 
 
News Story: Deadlock Over Provincial Autonomy Continues  - "Dawn" 
(01/08) 
 
"The Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms failed on 
Thursday to reach a consensus on amendments to some articles 
relating to proclamation of emergency, sources told 'Dawn.'  It 
discussed proposed amendments to Articles 232 to 236 of the 
Constitution under which the President has the powers to issue 
 
proclamation of emergency 'on account of war or internal 
disturbance' and 'suspend fundamental rights' of citizens. The 
sources said that members of the committee continued to differ on 
the thorny issue of provincial autonomy." 
 
ECONOMY/ENVIRONMENT 
 
News Story: Tax Exemption, Loan Write-Off Offered: Relief Package 
For NWFP, FATA Unveiled  - "Dawn" (01/08) 
 
"Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani unveiled on Thursday a package 
for economic revival of the militancy-hit NWFP and tribal areas. 
Relief measures in the package include exemptions from different 
taxes, reduction in mark-up rates on small loans and writing off 
agricultural loans. The prime minister made the announcement at a 
ceremony organized by the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry at 
the residence of the Chief Minister." 
 
News Story: USAID Not Closing Its Program In Pakistan - "Daily 
Times" (01/08) 
 
"U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Pakistan Mission 
Director Robert J. Wilson said on Thursday the aid agency was not 
closing its program in Pakistan particularly in FATA due to security 
concerns and had plans to expand it and the expansion would be 
through local institutions." 
 
News Story: Health, Safety Standards: USAID Joins Hands With CNG 
Dealers' Association  - "Dawn" (01/08) 
 
"The All Pakistan CNG Association joined hands with United States 
Agency for International Development (USAID) here on Thursday for 
promotion of health and safety standards at the CNG stations. They 
signed an agreement under the USAID Pakistan Jobs Project with an 
objective to prepare trained workforce for the CNG stations which 
will improve employees and employers' income, safety at the stations 
and customer service.... Meanwhile, USAID Pakistan Jobs chief Brian 
Cavanagh said the project was aimed at improving the competitiveness 
of the Pakistani economy by strengthening systems for the workforce 
development and jobs opportunities for youth." 
 
News Story: U.S. Not Willing To Sign FTA - "The Nation" (01/08) 
 
"Prime Minister's Advisor on Textile Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, while 
announcing package for Gilgit-Baltistan women, has said that power 
and gas load-management plan has already been decided by the Federal 
Cabinet and if it has yet not been implemented, the trade 
associations and the business community should pressurize the 
departments concerned for its implementation. He was speaking at the 
Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday.... Talking 
about the market access, he said that the U.S. was not willing to 
sign Free Trade Agreement with Pakistan but we could avail the 
opportunity of Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) as the ROZs 
Bill had been presented before the Congress. He said introduction of 
Value-added Tax and removal of subsidies and tariff rationalization 
are the part of the IMF conditionalities." 
 
MISCELLANEOUS 
 
News Story: Yemen Rejects U.S. Military Intervention - "The Nation" 
(01/08) 
 
"U.S. military intervention in Yemen to help fight Al-Qaeda 
militants could backfire and strengthen the jihadists believed 
behind the botched attack on a US airliner, Deputy Prime Minister 
for Defence and Security Affairs Rashed Al-Aleemi told a Press 
conference on Thursday." 
 
News Story: Does Hijab Trigger Security Checks? - "The Nation" 
(01/08) 
 
"A prominent Muslim civil rights group has asked the U.S. 
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to clarify whether 
Islamic headscarves, or Hijab, will now automatically trigger 
additional security measures for Muslim travelers. The Council on 
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) made that request after a Muslim 
woman traveler taking a flight Tuesday from Washington to Los 
Angeles reported that TSA personnel first asked that she take off 
her Hijab, then put her through a 'humiliating' public full-body 
pat-down search when she refused, according to a news release." 
 
EDITORIALS/OPINIONS 
 
Editorial: U.S. Can Earn More Goodwill In Pakistan, an editorial in 
the Islamabad-based rightist English daily "Pakistan Observer" (cir. 
5,000) (01/08) 
 
"The soft-spoken U.S. Ambassador in Pakistan Anne Patterson 
Wednesday announced one billion rupees financial assistance for the 
many small businesses of Karachi which suffered losses during the 
Boulton Martket attack.... Such goodwill gestures earn wider 
recognition and appreciation from the common man. In our view the 
U.S. needs to take more similar initiatives to remove any ill will, 
right or wrong, towards Washington.... It is a fact that 
traditionally the people and the Government of Pakistan feel 
comfortable while dealing with the U.S. and these steps would earn 
more goodwill for the U.S. in Pakistan." 
 
Editorial: Other Voices - Pushto Press U.S. Funds For Tribal Areas, 
an editorial in the Karachi-based center-left independent national 
English daily "Dawn" (cir. 55,000) (01/08) 
 
"U.S. Envoy to Pakistan Anne Patterson has announced that her 
country would donate Rs4.5bn for the development of war-torn South 
Waziristan. Patterson regarded the aid as part of an agreement 
signed on September 30, 2009, under which the U.S. government 
promised to donate Rs75bn.... This will help Pakistan remove the tag 
of a state heading towards failure and earn it respect. Pakistan 
should be respected for its efforts against terrorism. The people of 
the tribal areas can only be taken on board to fight against 
extremism and terrorism if their social and economic problems are 
solved." 
 
Editorial: Outrageously Bad, an editorial in the center-right 
national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) (01/08) 
 
"The U.S. has ridden roughshod over our sovereignty; rather than 
ending the drone attacks, it has intensified them, bringing more 
Pakistani territory under the fury of its blitz. A flagrant 
violation of Pakistan's sovereignty, these strikes speak volumes 
about the Obama Administration's unilateralist policies and military 
adventurism resembling the situation in Afghanistan where thousands 
of civilians have been crushed to death so far, thanks to a joystick 
controlled thousands of miles away in the U.S. and raining missiles 
on a hapless population.... These strikes must stop if the region is 
to be prevented from witnessing further bloodshed and chaos." 
 
Editorial: Spreading Terror, an editorial in the Karachi-based 
center-left independent national English daily "Dawn" (cir. 55,000) 
(01/08) 
 
"Wednesday's bombing was reportedly the first such attack outside 
the AJK capital. Clearly, the tentacles of terror are spreading. 
When the Taliban and their affiliates first turned against Pakistan, 
their sphere of operations was limited mostly to the NWFP and Fata. 
But their reach grew under a government that was ostensibly fighting 
militancy and at the same time cutting peace deals from a position 
of weakness. The so-called Punjabi Taliban started making their 
presence felt and various extremist outfits across the country also 
closed ranks with the tribal militants." 
 
Editorial: Someone Has To Step Forward To Correct The System, an 
editorial in the second-largest, nationalist Urdu daily 
"Nawa-i-Waqt" (cir. 150,000) (01/08) 
 
"[In the current scenario] either the Supreme Court has to step 
forward as the liberator, or undemocratic forces will once again get 
the opportunity to oust democracy. If this happens, would Mian Nawaz 
Sharif not be partially responsible? U.S. Ambassador Anne W. 
Patterson, during her trip to Karachi, has already stated that an 
effective leadership is imperative for Pakistan. In beggar-countries 
such as ours, the only effective leadership in American eyes is that 
of dictator-generals, through which it can easily fulfill its 
objectives." 
 
Editorial: Accept The Offer Of Talks, an editorial in the 
second-largest, nationalist Urdu daily "Nawa-i-Waqt" (cir. 150,000) 
(01/08) 
 
"Fifteen persons were killed and 6 injured in three consecutive 
drone strikes in North Waziristan... Hundreds of tribal Muslim 
brethren have been killed in drone attacks so far. There are 
hundreds of informers working for CIA, FBI and other agencies in 
these areas; they have their own method of giving information to 
drones about suspect areas, and without any confirmation they send 
the drones on their destructive mission.... Maulana Samiul Haq, 
Gen.(retired) Hamid Gul and Tehrik-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan have 
repeatedly offered the government that they are willing to act as 
mediators with the tribal elders... The government must 
unconditionally accept this offer so that the war can be contained." 
 
 
Opinion: Realization In The USA At Last?, an op-ed by Dr. Ijaz Ahsan 
in the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 
20,000) (01/08) 
 
"Among a section of the U.S. media, the realization seems to be 
coming about that American adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan are 
counterproductive.... I feel that if the Americans keep writing at 
this rate and with such force of argument, U.S. troops may go home 
earlier than anyone expects." 
 
Opinion: Mr. Bush All Over Again, an op-ed by Dr. Muzaffar Iqbal in 
the populist, often sensational national English daily "The News" 
(cir. 55,000) (01/08) 
 
"With one failed attempt, Mr. Obama has shed all his coloring and 
now talks exactly like Mr. Bush. His words state what Bush used to: 
all other human beings are somehow less human than Americans. Had 
that not been the case, Mr. Obama would have stopped the drone 
attacks in Pakistan in respect of the lives of innocent women and 
children.... He would have asked: 'Is it not strange that when 
Americans kill, no one is supposed to mourn those deaths, no country 
is allowed to take any measures against continuous American attacks, 
but it is always the other way around.' When seven CIA agents were 
killed in Afghanistan last week, the most obvious question that 
should have been asked was: what were they doing there? Why were 
they there in the first place? But no one asked that question, at 
least not in America." 
Opinion: Planned hype, an op-ed by Dr. Masooda Bano in the populist, 
often sensational national English daily "The News" (cir. 55,000) 
(01/08) 
 
"The crisis mode created around President Zardari's speech has an 
air of planned maneuvering around it.... Commentators are arguing 
that he is putting the country at risk by entering into a 
confrontation with the U.S. and other institutions of the state.... 
There is nothing in Zardari's speech that is not part of the popular 
belief. If he hinted towards the role of U.S. in weakening 
institutions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and argued that Pakistan won't 
be allowed to reach that stage while talking about the forces within 
the state, which are out to destabilize the democratic process, the 
question is what is so shocking about it. Anyone who engages with 
the ordinary public on these issues knows that both are popularly 
argued positions and many within the masses actually want the 
government to keep a distance from the U.S." 
 
Opinion: India's Challenge, an op-ed by Ayesha Siddiqa in the 
Karachi-based center-left independent national English daily "Dawn" 
(cir. 55,000) (01/08) 
 
"The statement by Indian army chief Gen. Deepak Kapoor regarding his 
army's capacity to fight a two-front war upset a lot of people in 
Pakistan. Both Pakistan's army chief and the chairman of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff Committee rebutted such superfluous claims.... 
However, Kapoor's statement is one of the many symbols of the 
growing significance of India's military in the country's security 
and foreign policy paradigm, particularly as far as Pakistan, China 
and the U.S. are concerned." 
 
Opinion: Cultivating Brevity And Calmness, an op-ed by Ayaz Amir in 
the populist, often sensational national English daily "The News" 
(cir. 55,000) (01/08) 
 
"Gen. Kapoor's two-front war assessment has been read in Pakistan 
almost as a declaration of war, and everyone responding to it has 
done so with a mixture of anger and heightened alarm. From Gen. 
Kayani has come this warning: 'Proponents of conventional 
application of military forces, in a nuclear overhang, are charting 
an adventurous path, the consequences of which could be both 
unintended and uncontrollable.' The foreign minister has been livid 
as has been the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen Tariq Majeed. Has 
all this wordiness been necessary? Are we such an insecure nation 
that a single misinterpreted statement can so unsettle us? If a 
riposte was necessary, a one-liner from the Inter-Services Public 
Relations would have served the purpose. Something like, 'Everyone 
is entitled to his fantasies,' delivered with an ironic curl of the 
lips." 
 
Opinion: What is Gen. Kapoor Rationale?, an op-ed by A. Siddique in 
the center-right national English daily "The Nation" (cir. 20,000) 
(01/08) 
 
"Apparently General Kapoor wants to restart the sounding of the 
Indian mindset that tends to play down efficacy of Pakistan's 
nuclear deterrence hoping that it would be able to launch aggression 
without crossing the nuclear threshold.... The military threat and 
response is a dynamic and evolving issue. And the Pakistan army 
cannot rest on its laurels in keeping the threat of Indian 
aggression on bay. The Indian 'Cold Start Strategy' certainly would 
have been analyzed by the Pakistan army and a response forged; one 
is certain. Needless to say, Pakistan's nuclear deterrent needs to 
remain credible, effective and relevant to the timeframe of 
operations that the Indian Army Chief, General Deepak Kapoor, is 
contemplating. If the Indian design is to present a fait accompli 
before a nuclear response materializes then the preparedness level 
of our nuclear deterrent needs to be tailored accordingly. 
Possessing tactical nuclear weapons that should destroy the invaders 
without crossing the Indian nuclear threshold should prove 
instrumental in deterring a reckless adventure." 
 
(All circulation figures are based on estimation) 
Patterson