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Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Innovations in diplomacy: Pakistan finds yet another way to screw up with the U.S.

Just when you think Pakistan couldn’t make a stupider move, it does. Dissing Obama in his hometown was a dumbass play. Oddly, no American president probably had more initial sympathy for Pakistan, which Obama visited as a student. (He had Pakistani roommates at college, he said, and learned to cook Pakistani dishes from them.) Yet ...

Wikimedia
Wikimedia
Wikimedia

Just when you think Pakistan couldn't make a stupider move, it does. Dissing Obama in his hometown was a dumbass play. Oddly, no American president probably had more initial sympathy for Pakistan, which Obama visited as a student. (He had Pakistani roommates at college, he said, and learned to cook Pakistani dishes from them.) Yet it looks like the Pakistani government has managed to piss him off.

Just when you think Pakistan couldn’t make a stupider move, it does. Dissing Obama in his hometown was a dumbass play. Oddly, no American president probably had more initial sympathy for Pakistan, which Obama visited as a student. (He had Pakistani roommates at college, he said, and learned to cook Pakistani dishes from them.) Yet it looks like the Pakistani government has managed to piss him off.

Yesterday he pointedly left Pakistan out of the countries he thanked for help in Afghanistan: "I want to welcome the presence of President Karzai, as well as officials from central Asia and Russia — nations that have an important perspective and that continue to provide critical transit for ISAF supplies."

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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