Pakistan threatens to stop protecting NATO supply lines: "Pakistan has told NATO leaders it will stop protecting U.S. and NATO supply lines to Afghanistan if foreign aircraft stage further cross-border attacks against fleeing militants, security officials said Tuesday.
If carried out, such a threat would have major consequences for the war in Afghanistan as well as for Pakistan's relationship with the United States. Analysts said, however, that there is little or no chance of Islamabad carrying though with it.
The threat was therefore seen as mostly aimed at tamping down criticism inside Pakistan, where anti-American sentiment runs high and where conspiracy theories that the U.S. Army is poised to invade the nation from bases in Afghanistan are rampant.
But it was also a clear sign of Pakistani unease at attacks Saturday and Monday by NATO aircraft against militants in the country's northwestern tribal areas and a reminder of the leverage Islamabad has in its complicated alliance with Washington."
