BlueBloggin

Controversial US general’s posting put on hold

ISLAMABAD, May 8: The United States has agreed not to post the controversial ex-Guantanamo Bay prison chief, Maj-Gen Jay W. Hood, in Pakistan after a public uproar in the country against his appointment.

“The US government has taken note of the sensitivities of Pakistan government and the public regarding the posting of Gen Hood and it (the posting) would not materialise now,†a diplomatic source told Dawn on Thursday.

Gen Hood, whose tenure as the commanding general of Guantanamo Bay prison was marred by scandals of sacrilege of Holy Quran and human rights violations of the inmates during detention and interrogation, was posted by Pentagon in March as the chief of office of the US Defence Representative in Pakistan, a division of the US embassy.

The US government had claimed that Gen Hood’s nomination was a reflection of the continued US interest in cooperating with the Pakistani armed forces. No particular reasons were given by the US government for posting such a person in Pakistan where religious sentiments run high, except for that he was a senior military officer.

His appointment came under intense public and media criticism in Pakistan and frequent references were made to his conduct as the chief of Guantanamo Bay prison where hundreds of Muslim prisoners, many of them Pakistanis, have been held without charge.Equally, the government was also criticised for not having refused his nomination and remaining silent over the issue despite public sensitivities.

In reply to a question about the posting, Foreign Office Spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said at his weekly press briefing on Thursday that the government was addressing the issue keeping in view the sentiments and sensitivities of the public.

Our reputation precedes us …

Pentagon withdraws controversial ‘Guantánamo Bay’ Gen Hood from Pak posting

Washington, May 9 : The Bush administration is learnt to have withdrawn the appointment of Maj. Gen. Jay W. Hood as a senior American officer based in Pakistan to fight Al Qaeda and the Taliban in tribal areas, reflecting the widening shadow that the military prison at Guantánamo Bay was still casting over American foreign policy.

The US State Department must be smokin’ something nasty. How concerned should we be? Is American Foreign Policy so clueless that we offer up a controversial Bush clone with dirty hands to represent us to Pakistan? The whole concept of a “diplomat” is the employment of tact to gain strategic advantage, one set of tools being the phrasing of statements in a non-confrontational, or polite manner.

“Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states. It usually refers to international diplomacy, the conduct of international relations through the intercession of professional diplomats with regard to issues of peace-making, trade, war, economics and culture. International treaties politicians.” are usually negotiated by diplomats prior to endorsement by national

“Diplomacy is the art of saying “Nice doggie” until you can find a rock.â€Will Rogers quotes

Filed under: Dillusion, Foreign Policy, Guantanamo, Maj. Gen. Jay W. Hood, Pakistan, US State Department, War on Terror, dialog, diplomacy