From the very start the Obama Administration’s efforts to declare the Haqqani Network a “foreign terrorist organization” (FTO) was seen as a step on the path to declaring Pakistan a “state sponsor of terror.”
But having made that declaration on the Haqqanis Friday, the administration is now insisting to journalists that no efforts are currently in progress to declare Pakistan a “state sponsor” of terrorism, though they concede that there is no “consensus” on the matter.
No efforts may be in progress at this moment, but it is clear that the Obama Administration’s relationship with Pakistan has grown progressively worse, and Friday’s declaration is a de facto threat in this regard.
After all, the administration had already imposed sanctions on the entire leadership of the Haqqani Network and have been overtly trying to assassinate its membership with drone strikes. It seems there was no reason to declare the Haqqanis an FTO on top of all of this except to antagonize Pakistan.
That's mighty generous of the US, considering the billions it gives Pakistan that would make them sponsors of terrorism and all that jazz.
THe Pakistanis have a lot to hit back. Close the NATO supply route again for example. Make life very difficult for the Americans in Afghanistan is another thing. How about sending Abdul Qadeer Khan to Tehran to teach the Persian boys a few things about nuclear weapons and their delivery systems? Yes, I'd love the Americans brand Pakistan a state "sponsor of terror".