She should tell that to Obama. He has refused to apologize to the Pakistanis for the US attack on their soil that killed two dozen Pakistani soldiers. The Pakistani government, accordingly, evicted the CIA from its very important Shamsis air base.

Incidents like that one have always been common, but they were handled discreetly during Musharaff’s rule. But the White House gave the general his marching orders and installed a liberal president—who incidentally served time in Switzerland for corruption. The US can now enjoy the fruits of his weakness and populism.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani nuclear arsenal is expected to grow from 120 to 200 warheads, and the whereabouts of many of them are unknown.

Zardari’s move is seemingly idiotic because the Saudis offered him much more money than Iran would ever have provided. The Saudi plan also brought Pakistani troops into many Middle Eastern kingdoms, a major boost for Pakistani influence. The Saudis also made inroads into Afghanistan, where their assistance to the future Taliban government would be a major bonus for Pakistan.

Unless Zardari is simply stupid—not an unlikely assumption for a Pakistani ruler—he may sense that Iranian military assistance, such as provided to Syria, will be more important for his weak regime and the crumbling country than Saudi money.

This decision is stupid: Saudi Arabia has already promised Pakistan that it will cover any losses caused by cuts in US aid. China also extends credit to Pakistan for military purchases. Oddly, the Americans recognized that their move would worsen relations with Pakistan and arranged to increase NATO shipments to Afghanistan through Russia. But no amount of cooperation with Russia can substitute for Pakistan allowing the CIA to operate freely in its northwest, a Taliban base region.

Meanwhile, a suicide bomber killed fifty and wounded dozens at the Word Food Program distribution center in Pakistan.

This is a country with fifty nuclear bombs and extensive know-how for their production.

Instead of mending his rift with Pakistan, Obama widens it over an unimportant issue.

Can the mighty NATO not smash a checkpoint?

Under the court order, A.Q.Khan is not to speak to press, particularly on the subject of nuclear weapons. The ban is ridiculous: A.Q.Khan is not going to divulge nuclear technologies to journalists; he earned hundreds of millions dollars by selling them and wants secrecy.

The ban is meant to prevent A.Q.Khan from speaking about his past sales of nuclear technologies, as that would implicate the Pakistani military establishment in the proliferation. The fact that A.Q.Khan remains alive despite knowing too much indicates his power in the Pakistani military.

In Israel, suicide attacks waned eventually because the pool of potential bombers is too small, and open to infiltration by security forces. Pakistani and Afghani Islamists possess both safe havens and a limitless pool of recruits.