Why is it that ever since 9/11, every time there is a security lapse concerning a European country or the U.S., Pakistan is among those drawn into the eye of the storm? In the immediate aftermath of the foiled bomb attack by a Nigerian man on a Detroit-bound American aircraft on December 25, the United States announced that citizens of 14 nations, including Pakistan, flying to the United States would be subjected to intense screening. President Barack Obama categorically admitted that while the U.S. intelligence community had known of "red flags" indicating al Qaeda's plans to strike U.S. targets in Yemen, it had failed to connect those dots. He was therefore fully justified in having used sharp words to condemn the foul up while addressing his security chiefs in a closed door meeting.
Pakistan took the right step when its ambassador in Washington asked the United States to exclude the country's name from its watch list. He lodged an official protest over the extra security steps and termed the new regulations as "discriminatory and derogatory." Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani also expressed serious reservations about the new security measures introduced by the U.S. government for Pakistani nationals and termed them as unfair.
It is unfortunate that with all the latest technology and resources at its command, the U.S. has been subjected to various terrorist attempts in past years. Leaders in countries on the new watch list have strongly protested against the ‘special' security measures and have termed them as grossly unwarranted. The key question being asked is that if the entire populations of so many countries are treated as suspects with one blanket decision, will it not tend to alienate people? It is also doubtful whether such scrutiny will make air travel safer.
What the U.S. needs to do on top priority is to bring about a drastic improvement in its globe-spanning, hi-tech intelligence network. While the problem lies at its own door, in its eagerness to carve out potential scapegoats, the U.S. forgets that this could undermine its global goodwill on a permanent basis - and prove even more counter-productive in the long run.
Why is it that ever since 9/11, every time there is a security lapse concerning a European country or the U.S., Pakistan is among those drawn into the eye of the storm? In the immediate aftermath of the foiled bomb attack by a Nigerian man on a Detroit-bound American aircraft on December 25, the United States announced that citizens of 14 nations, including Pakistan, flying to the United States would be subjected to intense screening. President Barack Obama categorically admitted that while the U.S. intelligence community had known of "red flags" indicating al Qaeda's plans to strike U.S. targets in Yemen, it had failed to connect those dots. He was therefore fully justified in having used sharp words to condemn the foul up while addressing his security chiefs in a closed door meeting.
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