Anti-U.S. protests in Pakistan follow defiant declaration

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http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/09/30/uk-pakistan-usa-idUKTRE78T2MV20110930

(Reuters) - Anti-American protests by religious parties broke out in several Pakistani cities on Friday, a day after political leaders joined in rejecting U.S. accusations that Islamabad was supporting militants.

Charges by a top U.S. general that Pakistan's spy agency had supported this month's attack on the U.S. mission in Kabul has added to anti-American sentiment in a country where a poll in June showed that almost two-thirds of the population considered the United States an enemy.

"The prevailing view in Pakistan is that because of our alignment with the United States, our problems have increased," said Talat Masood, a retired general and military analyst.

"America's view is the opposite: 'Because you are not aligning yourself with us, your problems are increasing.'"

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1. No doubt a similar proportion in America consider Pakistan an enemy

At least among those who have a grasp of what Pakistan is and who lives there. It's never been a secret that Pakistan's strategic imperatives in Afghanistan clash with those of the US. We want a strong Afghanistan under our control, they want a weak one under theirs. We back Westernized elements in furtherance of our goals, they back the Islamists in furtherance of theirs.