Pakistan, Afghanistan Greet Obama Victory With Cautious Optimism

Matthew Rosenberg reports on reaction in Afghanistan and Pakistan to the U.S. election results. As the election results were becoming clear, Pakistan’s Aaj TV news station summed up the cautious optimism with which the country greeted Obama’s victory, flashing the headline: “Obama wins, world awaits promised change.” For many in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Obama’s promised change can’t come soon enough. Both countries are struggling to beat back Islamic militants, and many on either side of the border say the U.S. military is as much as part of the problem as the Taliban and al Qaeda. “America kills. It is always bang, bang with their guns and missiles. That is why our hotels, all the places in our country, are suicide bombed,” said Nazim Khan, a 44-year-old who runs a kebab stand in Islamabad. “I don’t know if this Obama is different.” Few here, Khan among them, believe Obama will stop launching missile strikes against the Islamic militants holed up in tribal areas along Pakistan’s ... (link)