The Strategic Dialogue between Reluctant Allies: The United States and Pakistan Today
By: Dr. Sohail Mahmood
The first ministerial-level strategic dialogue between Pakistan and the United States took place on March 17-18, 2010 in Washington, D.C. It was chaired by United States ecretary of State Hillary Clinton and Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. A cautious optimism was expressed in the media on the outcome of the dialogue. It was said that the United States badly needed Pakistan for a victory in Afghanistan and therefore, Pakistan’s position was strong in the dialogue. However, the outcome of the two-day dialogue amounted to little of any meaningful substance. Notwithstanding the official pronouncements, this outcome was very much expected though. The two allies had several
misconceptions about each other there were fundamental differences between the United States and Pakistan on the Global War on Terror (GWOT).
The first ministerial-level strategic dialogue between Pakistan and the United States took place on March 17-18, 2010 in Washington, D.C. It was chaired by United States ecretary of State Hillary Clinton and Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. A cautious optimism was expressed in the media on the outcome of the dialogue. It was said that the United States badly needed Pakistan for a victory in Afghanistan and therefore, Pakistan’s position was strong in the dialogue. However, the outcome of the two-day dialogue amounted to little of any meaningful substance. Notwithstanding the official pronouncements, this outcome was very much expected though. The two allies had several
misconceptions about each other there were fundamental differences between the United States and Pakistan on the Global War on Terror (GWOT).