WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Obama administration expressed renewed frustration with Pakistan on Tuesday, urging its reluctant counterterrorism ally to break remaining links between its security services and the Haqqani network and stem the flow of bomb-making material into Afghanistan.
A State Department report credited Pakistan's government with taking action against al-Qaida last year, even though the United States acted unilaterally in the commando operation that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. It called Islamabad's attempts weaker when it came to snuffing out groups such as the Haqqani network and Laskhar e-Taiba.
At a Senate confirmation hearing, the diplomat nominated to be America's next ambassador to Pakistan said that getting Islamabad to crack down on the Haqqani network would be his "most urgent" responsibility.
"This will be a primary focus of my activities and diplomatic engagement with Pakistanis, to encourage further measures against the Haqqani network, further squeezing of the Haqqani network," Richard Olson said.
The Haqqani network, a subsidiary of the Taliban, is based in northern Pakistan but moves into Afghanistan to launch attacks on U.S. and NATO forces before returning to Pakistani territory. The Pakistanis say they're doing all they can to rein in the Haqqanis, but elements in the Pakistani intelligence and military communities maintain relations with him to hedge their bets for when the United States leaves Afghanistan in 2014.
Olson also commended Pakistan for helping the U.S. so that "we are virtually within grasp of defeating al-Qaida as an organization," but said far more could be done to combat the threat of the Haqqanis.
Congress has been pressuring the Obama administration to slap the terrorist label on the network. By voice vote last week, the Senate approved a bill that would require the secretary of State to report to Congress on whether the Haqqani network meets the criteria to be designated a foreign terrorist organization and if not, to explain why. The report is due within 30 days of the president signing the measure.
The bill now goes to President Barack Obama.
Presenting the annual "Country Reports on Terrorism," the State Department's counterterrorism coordinator, Daniel Benjamin, declined to comment on the pending legislation or his department's review. He noted that the administration has targeted top individuals of the Haqqani network with sanctions, even if it hasn't issued a blanket designation for the entire group.
U.S. officials say the network represents perhaps the biggest threat to Afghanistan's stability through its use of Pakistan as a rear base for attacks on American and coalition troops. Congress is impatient. Some lawmakers believe the Obama administration is reluctant to act because it still hopes to coax the Taliban and affiliated groups into Afghan reconciliation talks that would help the U.S. withdraw combat forces over the next two years.
The State Department's report said violent extremists continue to find refuge in Pakistan, leading to more aggressive and coordinated attacks in Afghanistan. One example was the Haqqanis' September assault on the U.S. embassy and NATO compound in Kabul, which included small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades from insurgents at a construction site less than a kilometer away.
Roadside and other bombs remain a major risk to coalition forces, the report said. Most are made from materials such as ammonium nitrate fertilizer and potassium chlorate manufactured in Pakistan, which has taken "some measures" to restrict the flow.
The report also warned about gains in Yemen made by al-Qaida's Arabian peninsula offshoot and the continued threat posed by Iran and Hezbollah.
Benjamin called Iran the "pre-eminent" state sponsor of terrorism and said the international terror campaign that it and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah are conducting rivals any by the tandem since the 1990s.
In total, there were more than 10,000 terrorist attacks in 70 countries last year. Some 12,500 people were killed, the majority in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.
Still, the global figures reflected a 12 percent drop in terrorism from 2010.
Africa was an exception. The increase in terrorist attacks there was largely because of Boko Haram, a radical Islamist sect in Nigeria.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-wants-tougher-pakistani-action-against-haqqanis-184820708.html
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I usually like to keep things going in chronilogical order for the blog, but I?m switching it up to cover my trip to?B?stad, Sweden yesterday, because I frankly just can?t wait to write about ?it.?B?stad was the second part of my?pilgrimage after meeting some of my Swedish relatives in Stockholm.??B?stad is really where my family has its roots, and while driving around the city it was very clear that we basically ran that town back in the day. Every house in the whole town was either owned by a relative or some great great great aunt had been born or we used to farm on that land ? the stories go on and on. B?stad is mainly a tourist city now ? an idyllic little area of Sk?ne county?that sits at the top of the southern peninsula. It used to rely solely on the agriculture of potatoes, but then the northern Swedes discovered how awesome it was and started spending ridiculous amounts of money to have summer homes there, so now it is a ?beach party town where drinks and good times thrive for six weeks a year, not unlike some hybrid of Cape Cod and Panama City Beach. My relatives are just lucky that they get to thrive there full time.?B?stad is the Chamonix of Sweden. And it is absolutely gorgeous. And only a two hour train ride from Copenhagen.?
I was really fortunate that the woman I had stayed with in Stockholm (Gudrun?s daughter Carina) was in town visiting and it was really wonderful to see her again. Her and Gudrun look so much alike and I felt like we all connected really quickly. Gudrun was snapping photos of me before I even got off the train. First stop in?B?stad was Gudrun?s house, where we enjoyed some coffee and?biscuits, and then a car pulled up to whisk me away to meet more family. Petra and her husband Per took me to meet another cousin of my Mormor?s ? Sten-Olle and his wife Ulla-Britt. I was pretty sure that I had met Sten-Olle previously in the states as a very little girl, but him and his wife barely spoke any English so I wasn?t quite able to confirm it. Despite the language barrier, it was obvious that they were so thrilled to have me there. They had tea and drinks and snacks all set up in their sun room so we could sit down and enjoy ourselves for a bit. Ulla-Britt even had scrapbooks open with pictures filled from the few times they had been to the states and I got to creep on a much younger version of my dad and mom, right before their wedding.
We had a strict schedule to keep to, so just thirty minutes after arriving we were off to Petra?s twin brother?s farm, which had been passed down for many generations. Now it is a cow ?and horse farm, and Peter still does all the milking by hand every morning and every night. I had previously been discussing with Petra the idea of ?holiday? and how it is a totally foreign concept in the US. People?don?t?get four weeks of paid vacation every year and they don?t get to travel to Italy, Spain, Greece, and anywhere else in Europe they desire during the summer. Petra said that Peter may have the one profession in all of Europe that doesn?t have holiday either.
After a short stop to that family farm, we visited Petra?s house, which was also an old farm house that had been completely renovated by her husband and her. They now run their business on their land, which is a chicken production company Bjarefagel, where they raise extremely healthy, organic chickens and sell them to high end?restaurants?in?Scandinavia. All the production is literally done in their backyard, and the business is doing really well, with hopes of going global in the near future. ?It was fascinating to learn all about their history and how the business transformed from a tiny farm store to a solid, successful company. Petra was living in the US at the time of my parent?s wedding, and she had scrapbook pages devoted to it, which was so fun to look at. Young love 
Lunch was?delicious?- everything from traditional Swedish meat pie to spinach pie, smoked salmon, and?mozzarella?salad. We finished with coffee and chocolate and just got to enjoy the view. My Mormor?s other cousin Ingrid was there as well, and bless her soul, the woman had made me a hand written family tree so I could make all the proper connections, all the way back to 1854 when our ancestors first settled there. I learned an interesting bit of history that I didn?t know ? my Mormor and her mother (Marta, my great grandmother and the rightful owner of the amber ring that I wear), were visiting Sweden in 1939, but ended up staying much longer than that due to war. My Mormor and Ingrid attended grade school together every day, and that is where my Mormor learned Swedish. She still speaks it fluently to this day. Ingrid was the spitting image of my Mormor. Oh, what I would have given to have seen those two together.?
After lunch, we made plans to ?go hug? the oldest living member of the family. Gudrun said we were literally going to give her a hug and go. Marianne was married to the youngest of the nine children of Olof Olsson ? my great grandma?s father. A quick hug turned into a nice chat on her porch. She insisted that she serve us some Coco Colas, and even at 92, she was still moving around pretty well. Another proof that there are some stellar genes in the family. We were commenting on how lovely her flower garden was, and Marianne was telling us that she can even water the flowers from her kitchen window ? she doen?t have to go outside. She then commented ?I am a self-made women, even if I am old.? Still spunky as ever 
Next stop was a birthday party for Gudrun?s brother?s daughter Annette, where there was a lovely spread of coffee, pastries, traditional Swedish strawberry cake, and fresh lemonade. Annette and her husband live practically on the beach and have a gorgeous home and a beautiful garden in the back ? perfect for entertaining and hosting family, which I image they do a lot considering the whole family lives in a five mile radius. The garden was spectacular, and they grown tomatoes, grapes, peas, and mulberries! We took a short stroll down to the water where I got to see the other side of the?peninsula. We were basically staring at where I had previously been at Karin?s home.
There?s at least one mistake travelers experience that can?
