WASHINGTON – The U.S. military has dropped plans to assign the former commander of the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Pakistan, after sharp criticism of his Guantanamo command in Pakistani media, The New York Times reported yesterday.
Army Maj. Gen. Jay Hood would have become the top U.S. officer in Pakistan, a partner in the U.S.-declared global war on terrorism, at an important time in the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan's tribal areas.
Although the decision to withdraw the assignment has not been formally announced, the Times said it appeared to reflect a widening shadow cast by the military prison at Guantanamo over U.S. foreign policy.
In Islamabad, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the government had asked Washington to cancel Hood's proposed assignment to head the Office of the Defense Representative to Pakistan.
