Context
Expressing fears that the US is being “looked at as patsies” and “taken for suckers” by Pakistan, two US lawmakers called for enhancing ties with India on Tuesday even as a report from the White House provided a harshly critical review of Islamabad’s commitment to defeat radicalism. Though administration officials defended US support for Islamabad using the same rationale as Britain is doing on Prime Minister David Cameron’s recent visit to Pakistan, New York Congressman Gary Ackerman and his California colleague Dana Rohrabacher demanded a major reassessment of US policy for the region. The two voiced doubts if any positive results could be achieved through US strategy of supporting Pakistan in the face of Islamabad’s duplicity in fighting radicalism. Instead, they said they wanted closer relations with India.
