.

By Anwar Iqbal Tuesday, 23 Jun, 2009 | 04:59 AM PST | WASHINGTON: In an unusually harsh article published in The Washington Post on Monday, President Asif Ali Zardari blamed the United States for the present mess in Pakistan, claiming that Washington used his country as a 'blunt instrument of the Cold War.' But in the same article, he urged his American allies to send 'immediate assistance' to help him save democracy. The tone and the content of the article surprised many in Washington, causing some to speculate if relations between the two governments were still as friendly as both say. 'The West, most notably the United States, has been all too willing to dance with dictators in pursuit of perceived short-term goals,' he wrote. 'The litany of these policies and their consequences clutter the earth, from the Marcos regime in the Philippines, to the Shah in Iran, to Mohammed Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan.' According to Mr Zardari, 'e...

The British are believed to be looking for an "acceptable dictator" in Afghanistan since the Taliban insurgency is only growing. They are believed to be privy to a set of "reconciliation" talks with the Taliban in Saudi Arabia, fuelling speculation that UK and other European countries are looking for a way out of Afghanistan, as it sinks into a security more. In the eye of the storm, the British ambassador to Afghanistan , Sherard Cowper-Coles tells Indrani Bagchi in an exclusive interview that there is no "non-military option" in Afghanistan. Are you looking for a "dictator" in Afghanistan? We are not looking for a dictator in Afghanistan. What is of concern among our ministers in London and here, is the political and security situation. Some of the talk is, in our view excessively gloomy. This is winnable; we have a strategy for success, a long term strategy for success. I said when I arrived there 18 months ago that this was a marathon, not a...