Anti-Americanism in Pakistan snarls US war efforts

ISLAMABAD (AP) — U.S. diplomatic efforts to persuade Pakistan to reopen NATO supply lines to the Afghan war are proving no match for rampant anti-Americanism here, with Pakistani lawmakers increasingly unwilling to support a decision that risks them branded as friends of Washington.

Opposition legislators are demanding that the U.S. end its drone strikes against militants as a precondition, complicating U.S. strategies for winding down the 10-year war just weeks before a major NATO conference in President Barack Obama's hometown of Chicago.

Relations between the U.S. and Pakistan have been marked by mistrust since the two countries were thrust together following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, but shared interests — near-bankrupt Pakistan needs American aid, America needs Pakistan's support against al-Qaida — had kept the alliance more or less intact.

That changed in November when U.S. airstrikes inadvertently killed 24 Pakistani troops on the Afghan border, triggering nationwide outrage and retaliation from Pakistan, which suspended diplomatic contacts and blocked vital land routes for U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j7EgQn2VhdeELgsGibyT8nwKjtdA