DATE=3/13/2000
TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP
TITLE=CLINTON'S TRIP TO PAKISTAN
NUMBER=6-11725
BYLINE=ANDREW GUTHRIE
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
EDITOR=ASSIGNMENTS
TELEPHONE=619-3335
CONTENT=
INTRO: After lengthy debate and discussion by his
closest advisers, President Clinton added a brief stop
in Pakistan to his forthcoming visit to India and
Bangladesh. If the major U-S newspapers are any
indication of the efficacy of the decision, the
president has made the right choice.
We get a sampling now from ____________ in today's U-S
Opinion Roundup.
TEXT: The argument against the president making a
visit to Pakistan, as seen by some members of the
National Security Council and other presidential
advisers, was centered on last year's military coup,
led by General Pervez Musharraf, which ousted Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif. These advisers told Mr.
Clinton a visit to Islamabad, the Pakistani capital,
might be seen as approving such a military action
against a democratically-elected leader.
Further, it was said that General Musharraf has failed
to cut official ties to Islamic terrorist groups in
Pakistan, Kashmir and Afghanistan, and has set no
specific date for a return to democratic, civilian
government in his country.
Those arguing in favor of a presidential visit cited
Pakistan's long history of support for the United
States during the Cold War, when India was tilting
toward the Soviet Union. They also argued that, with
both Pakistan and India now possessing nuclear bombs,
it is simply not practical to ignore such a country on
a key regional visit, that it would be too great a
snub to the Pakistanis. Others pointed to Pakistan's
cooperation in the arrest of a man wanted for a
murderous attack several years ago outside the
headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency, near
Washington.
TEXT: The Los Angeles Times is one of several papers
supporting the president's decision.
VOICE: President Clinton is right to make a
brief stop in Pakistan this month on his long-
overdue visit to South Asia. Snubbing the
country because of last October's military coup
would be counterproductive. ... The centerpiece
of the president's South Asia visit is India,
where he will spend five days. He will be the
first American president to visit Pakistan since
Jimmy Carter in 1978. A daylong trip to
Bangladesh, struggling to remain a democracy,
will be the first ever by an American president.
There are justifiable concerns that Pakistanis
might seek to interpret [Mr.] Clinton's stop ...
as an endorsement of General Musharraf.
[President] Clinton acknowledged those worries
Thursday, but plans to go ahead with the
meeting, to re-emphasize that Pakistan's backing
of insurgents in Kashmir, a territory contested
by India and Pakistan, is a perilous gamble...
TEXT: The New York Times, on the other hand, feels
the president has made a mistake.
VOICE: President Clinton's decision ... should
not be seen as an American endorsement of
General Pervez Musharraf. ... Since seizing
power last October, General Musharraf has
ignored Washington's concerns in three vital
areas. He refuses to cut links with
international terrorist groups, resists treaty
commitments to curb Pakistan's nuclear weapons
program and declines to take steps toward
restoring democratic rule. For these reasons,
Mr. Clinton would have done better to skip
Pakistan, limiting his visit to India and
Bangladesh. But since he has chosen to add a
stop in Islamabad, he should use his time there
to encourage constructive changes in Pakistani
behavior.
TEXT: On New York's Long Island, Newsday is pleased,
saying the move adds balance to the visit.
VOICE: President ... Clinton has made the right
choice with his belated decision to include
Pakistan in his upcoming trip. ... To visit
India and exclude Pakistan, as some of his aides
had urged, would have been a gratuitous snub.
[Mr.] Clinton, however, must use his brief visit
to Islamabad to reassert his objections to last
October's military coup and insist on the
reinstatement of democratic rule.
TEXT: Oklahoma's Tulsa World agrees.
VOICE: There might be no more dangerous area of
the world than India and Pakistan. Both
countries possess nuclear capabilities, both
have little regard for the other and the region
has a catalyst -- Kashmir -- for war. That is
why President Clinton made the correct decision.
... [His choice] will be criticized by those who
think the stop will be an endorsement of the
military junta that took over Pakistan last
fall. ... But as important as the relationship
with India is, it is just as important to repair
relations with Pakistan and urge both countries
to settle the Kashmir dispute. The visit in
Islamabad could help achieve that goal.
TEXT: In northern California, The San Francisco
Chronicle also worries about the implications of the
trip, but agrees with the president's decision.
VOICE: After lengthy debate, [Mr.] Clinton has
correctly decided to tack on a visit of several
hours to a five-day trip this month to India.
The president promises tough talk with
Pakistan's ruler, General Pervez Musharraf. ...
The decision to visit Pakistan came after a
lamentable parade of former Clinton aides-
turned-lobbyists on both side of the issue. But
this sideshow shouldn't undercut the need for
[Mr.] Clinton to confront Pakistan's strongman
with the need for thorough change.
TEXT: In New England, The Boston Globe says President
aClinton made the right choice on Pakistan, while the
Washington Post sums up its position this way:
VOICE: The initial rationale for the
president's trip -- to kick off a broader
relationship with India commensurate with its
rising status -- remains realistic and basically
sound. Giving Pakistan's de-facto rulers a
brief audience shouldn't detract unduly from the
main event. But given the potential for even
the best-intentioned initiatives to go awry in
the current climate, the president should resist
the temptation to reach for such objectives as
an American-brokered peace process in Kashmir.
For now, it will be achievement enough if Mr.
Clinton can manage to stroke India, remonstrate
(privately) with Pakistan and come home with
peace on the subcontinent no more unthinkable
than it was when he left Washington.
TEXT: That concludes this sampling of editorial
comment, which is almost unanimously in favor of the
Pakistani stopover on President Clinton's forthcoming
trip to South Asia.
NEB/ANG/WTW
13-Mar-2000 15:47 PM EDT (13-Mar-2000 2047 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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