Kerry Says Relations With Pakistan At Crossroads
WASHINGTON (CBS/AP) -- The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee says the US-Pakistan relationship is at a critical juncture and both countries need to get it right.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., spoke Tuesday after returning from a trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan. He said the United States has vital national security interests in the region.
The discovery of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan angered American lawmakers who have suggested cutting American aid to Islamabad.
Kerry says the U.S. has to get the policy right with Pakistan in the aftermath of the raid May 2 in which U.S. SEALS apprehended and killed bin Laden on an estate near a Pakistani military training academy. On Afghanistan, Kerry says he sees no purely military solution but he is optimistic about the overall outlook.
Meanwhile, Pakistan is returning the helicopter that crashed during the bin Laden raid. The Navy SEAL Team that killed bin Laden used two stealth helicopters, but had to blow one up after it made a hard landing. Getting the wreckage back, including the rotor, was a priority for the U.S.
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