Setting the tone

Prior to his arrival in Pakistan, US Senator John Kerry made it clear that it won’t be him taking the stick from the Pakistani authorities over the Osama bin Laden debacle and in fact, he would be the one giving it to them instead (strictly in the idiomatic sense of course).
He expected the Pakistanis to make a fuss over the al Qaeda chief hunt in Abbottabad in which the Americans “violated” the “sovereignty” of the country so he went for their Achilles’ heel - aid. He knows where it hurts most and he sent across a reminder that beggars can’t be choosers.
Mr Kerry made it clear that Pakistan can expect a “profound” change in its already troubled relationship with the US if does not mend its ways and become an actual ally in the war on terror instead of continuing to play its duplicitous game.

Warning Islamabad that it might run the risk of losing some of the billions of dollars in aid after the discovery that bin Laden was living in the city of Abbottabad for so many years, he advised the Pakistani authorities to give a rest to the monkey business of finger-pointing.
Let’s face it. The US and Pakistan are stuck in a bad marriage where a divorce at this stage will hurt them both. They will have to continue sharing the same bed whether they like it or not. The US needs Pakistan for its campaign in Afghanistan and the latter needs the billions of dollars flowing in from the former. For the Americans, Pakistan is a shoe that hurts, but one it cannot do without… not for now at least. It needs it to go the distance. As for Pakistan, it can’t let go of the habit of biting the hand that feeds.
Since 2002, Pakistan has gobbled up more than $20 billion from the US. Where has all that money gone and what is the financial crisis all about if all those dollars came in is another issue.
With Mr Kerry setting the tone for his meetings in Islamabad, one can imagine who will be calling the shots. One can expect some official statements similar to ones that condemn drone attacks. But what is actually said and done is quite different.