DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan – A U.S. drone fired two missiles at a compound in northwestPakistan on Wednesday, killing four suspected militants in anattack that comes as Washington is running out of patience withIslamabad's refusal to reopen supply routes for NATO troops inAfghanistan. U.S. drone strikes have complicated negotiations over the routes,which Pakistan closed six months ago in retaliation for U.S.airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers along the Afghanborder. Pakistan's parliament demanded the strikes stop in the wakeof the attack, but the U.S. has refused. The latest strike took place in Datta Khel Kalai village in theNorth Waziristan tribal area, said Pakistani intelligenceofficials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were notauthorized to talk to the media. Parliament also demanded an "unconditional apology" from the U.S.for killing its troops. The Obama administration has expressedregret but is not willing to tender an apology out of concern thatit could open the president up to attacks by Republicans angry atPakistan's lack of cooperation on the Afghan war. Despite these disagreements, Pakistan appeared close to reopeningthe supply routes last week, prompting NATO to invite PresidentAsif Ali Zardari to a major summit held May 20-21 in Chicago. Butnegotiations have faltered on Pakistan's demand for much highertransit fees, and the U.S. made its frustration clear at thesummit. President Barack Obama refused to meet one-on-one with Zardari anddid not mention Pakistan in the list of countries he thanked in hisspeech Monday for helping get war supplies into Afghanistan. On Tuesday, a Senate panel approved a foreign aid budget for nextyear that slashes U.S. assistance to Pakistan by more than half andthreatens further reductions if it fails to open the NATO supplyroutes. Lawmakers are also frustrated by suspicions that Pakistan is aidingmilitants who use its territory to attack U.S. troops inAfghanistan -- allegations Islamabad has rejected. There is alsolingering resentment over the fact that Usama bin Laden was foundhiding deep inside Pakistan. But the U.S. cannot afford to turn its back on Pakistan entirely. The U.S. and other NATO countries fighting in Afghanistan shippedabout 30 percent of their non-lethal supplies through Pakistanbefore the attack in November that killed Pakistani troops. Thecoalition has had to compensate since then by using a far moreexpensive path through Russia and Central Asia. The route through Pakistan will become even more important as theU.S. begins to withdraw a decade's worth of equipment in theprocess of pulling out most of its combat troops from Afghanistanby the end of 2014. Pakistan is also seen as vital to negotiating a peace deal with theAfghan Taliban and their allies given the country's historical tieswith the militants. The Pakistani government is also keen to repair relations with theU.S., partly to receive over a billion dollars in American aid itneeds to fill out its budget as it looks ahead to nationalelections scheduled for 2013. But patching up ties is politicallysensitive in a country where anti-American sentiment is rampant. The issue of drone strikes is also complicated by the fact thatsome elements within the Pakistani government and military arewidely believed to have supported the attacks in the past. Thatcooperation has declined as relations between the two countrieshave deteriorated, but many analysts believe there is still somesupport within Pakistan's senior ranks. The U.S. refuses to discuss the covert CIA program in detail inpublic, but officials have said in private that the strikes are avital anti-terror tool and have killed many senior Al Qaeda andTaliban commanders. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Neodymium Pot Magnet Manufacturer , Bonded Ferrite Magnet for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Magnetic Motor Assembly.
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