Conservative Palin 'would accentuate faith issues'

Analysts say the vice presidential candidate lacks sufficient knowledge of Islam and may not prove 'helpful' in resolving conflicts.

Sarah Palin talks to Charles Gibson during their recent TV interview.

ISLAMABAD // As US vice president, Sarah Palin could fuel a clash between civilisations, analysts in Pakistan say, because the Alaska governor, unlike her Democratic rival, lacks a deep understanding of issues surrounding Islamic militancy. The self-described "pit bull with lipstick" hockey-mother has stolen the limelight from Barack Obama, who heads the Democratic ticket, helped hijack his all-defining "change" slogan and apparently pushed her running mate, John McCain, to the front of opinion polls.

Although her foreign affairs positions are almost unknown, her social conservative views are well-documented and give rise to expectations of a hardline stance on critical foreign issues. Mrs Palin "is obviously very conservative and may not take a very favourable position in trying to understand the causes of militantism and Islamic radicalism, and might just resort to military means instead", said a retired general, Talat Masood, now a senior political analyst.

"She may accentuate the differences between various faiths because she is also very religious. She would not be very helpful in bridging the gap between various faiths." Mr McCain's surprise vice presidential pick made her first comments on Pakistan in a television interview on Thursday, as tension rose between Pakistan and the United States - allies in the "war on terror" - after seven air raids and an attack by US commandos inside Pakistan in which 15 civilians were killed.

Mrs Palin backed the Bush administration's new policy of cross-border raids on purported militant targets inside Pakistan without its ally's consent. "I believe that America has to exercise all options in order to stop the terrorists who are hellbent on destroying America and our allies," Mrs Palin replied when pushed for her views on the unilateral strikes. Relations between Washington and Islamabad are at their most strained in the seven years since the September 11 attacks, as strategists on both sides of US politics retrain their gaze on the Pakistan-Afghan border haven where al Qa'eda is alleged to be hiding. The territorial incursions and cross-border killings by US forces are outraging Pakistanis, and the army has threatened to respond.

Pakistan yesterday said it would deal with Washington diplomatically over the stepped-up attacks, retreating from suggestions made Friday that it might confront US troops making raids into its territory in search of Islamic militants. "Anybody in the US who thinks that strikes inside Pakistan are good for the US is outright arrogant and selfish," said Rasul Bakhsh Rais, a professor of political science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. "To act without the consent of Pakistan shows a lack of any understanding of the complexity of the region."

Mrs Palin's first foreign policy answers - on Russia, Iran, Israel and Pakistan - were greeted as hawkish by some observers in the United States. Mr Rais disagreed: "Hawkish implies some level of strategic thinking. This popular sentiment of going after militants with no regard for Pakistan's territorial integrity shows confusion and misunderstanding of this region's history and structure. I consider her quite ignorant of the region. She is bellowing from above without being on the ground."

Mr McCain ridiculed the Democrats' presidential aspirant early in the US election campaign when Mr Obama advocated raids inside Pakistan to go after high-value targets: "Will we risk the confused leadership of an inexperienced candidate who once suggested bombing our ally, Pakistan?" Mr McCain mocked. Mr Obama later moderated his stance. Mr Joe Biden, his running mate, is a foreign affairs expert who chairs the Senate foreign relations committee. Mr Biden, who introduced a bill proposing a new package of non-military economic assistance to Pakistan US$1.5 billion (Dh5.5bn) a year for at least five years, "is one of the very few people who has a good understanding of Pakistan and the region," said Mr Masood. "He's very strong on foreign policy, and Obama will give weight to his opinion. Secondly, Senator Biden understands the value of economic and social assistance, and of institution-building, as more important than just pumping in military aid. He shows great emphasis on building civilian institutions and capacity, rather than focusing on individual [leaders].

"I think the Democrats are generally more interested in promoting genuine democracy in Pakistan than the Republicans." Until last year Mrs Palin had never travelled beyond Canada or Mexico, which neighbour the United States. Mr Biden has made frequent visits to Washington's strategic partners, including several to Pakistan. He was in Pakistan twice last year to lead assessments of its preparations for parliamentary elections and made frank criticisms of the administration of Pervez Musharraf, who was president and an ally of Washington at the time.

Mrs Palin scorned Mr Biden's record in her TV interview: "We've got to remember what the desire is in this nation at this time. It is for no more politics as usual and somebody's big fat résumé that maybe shows decades and decades in that Washington establishment, where, yes, they've had opportunities to meet heads of state." Dick Cheney, George W Bush's vice president, leaves an immediate precedent for vice presidential influence on foreign policy. Mrs Palin is unlikely to wield such power, Mr Rais said: "It's not in her experience or her own personal political heritage. She's more likely to be dependent on what she hears and what others say and advise her."

Mr Masood said she may have no say at all. "It's quite possible that McCain, once elected, may ignore her. He may just be using her to get votes out of diehard conservatives and to boost his image as a blue-blood Republican." * The National