WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- To bring Taliban and al-Qaida to heel in the tribal areas, Pakistan told the United States it needs helicopters -- and lots of them. They know that in the Vietnam War the United States lost 3,305 Huey helicopters, including 2,202 pilots killed in action. All the United States could come up with were 10 Russian-made helos; four of them were useless. No spare parts. U.S. services now fly some 2,000 Blackhawks. So do a score of other nations, including Gulf Arabs. But Pakistanis are told they’re not qualified. Why not?

WASHINGTON, July 28 (UPI) -- Britain calls for a change in Afghan strategy, urging the Afghan government to engage in diplomacy with “moderate” Taliban. Trouble is CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus doesn’t believe in moderate Taliban. But Pakistani strategy is now based on some kind of accommodation with Taliban. This is also Britain’s new position.

BERLIN, July 20 (UPI) -- Pakistan appears to be losing patience with Germany over a deal worth some $1.5 billion to boost its 10-strong fleet of submarines, or it is playing a reluctant Berlin administration against Paris.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, June 9 (UPI) -- Three men in a bomb-laden minivan set off a huge explosion at a five-star hotel in Peshawar, killing 11 people and injuring dozens, Pakistani officials said.

TORONTO, May 20 (UPI) -- Canada's defense minister said after meeting with Pakistani President Asif Zardari he is considering ending an 11-year-old arms embargo.

WASHINGTON, May 13 (UPI) -- Last week's trilateral meeting of the presidents and senior officials of Afghanistan, America and Pakistan was meant to continue the process of forging greater cooperation and coordination in defeating and dismantling the existential dangers posed by extremists and religiously induced terror. But unfortunately, the meeting did not focus on all of the critical issues that will determine success or failure in this daunting struggle. Focus rhetorically remains on defeating and dismantling al-Qaida and not on the broader threat of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. That speaks volumes about the treacherous road that lies ahead.

WASHINGTON, May 5 (UPI) -- As today's trilateral meetings among U.S. President Barack Obama, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Zardari begin, the mood in Washington, amplified by a media that reports Pakistan is in chaos and could implode, is especially grim. Many observers see this as Obama's greatest foreign policy test and one in which no U.S. option looks particularly appealing.

WASHINGTON, April 28 (UPI) -- Next week, Presidents Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and Asif Zardari of Pakistan will meet U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington at the trilateral talks aimed at arriving at a coordinated strategy for the troubled region. The news is not good. In testimony to Congress last week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke of the insurgency in Pakistan as posing a "mortal" threat to the United States. And Central Command head Gen. David Petraeus predicted that Afghanistan will be more difficult than Iraq in seeking a successful resolution.

WASHINGTON, April 27 (UPI) -- Politics as usual in Islamabad seemed strangely irrelevant as formations of the Taliban’s religious-extremist insurgents gnawed at Pakistan’s body politic -- and advanced to within 60 miles of the capital, where the pro-Taliban Red Mosque was back in business.