ISLAMABAD, Pakistan | The United States’ plans to bring in hundreds of more staff and expand its embassy compound in Pakistan have given rise to a slew of conspiracy theories in a population already teeming with anti-U.S. sentiment.
Among the false - or unsubstantiated - rumors: that 1,000 U.S. Marines will land in the capital, that Americans will set up a Guantanamo-style prison and that the infamous security contractor once called Blackwater will come in and wreak havoc.
The frenzy, much of it whipped up by the Pakistani media, blogs and Islamist political parties, shows the difficulties facing the United States as it increases its engagement with a country where a flourishing militant movement threatens the war effort in neighboring Afghanistan.
The United States says it must expand its presence mainly to disburse billions of dollars more in aid to Pakistan, a poor nation of 175 million people.
But Pakistanis tend to view outsider - and especially U.S. - motives with suspicion, pointing to a history of American support for the country’s past military rulers and involvement in its internal affairs, which they say has stunted the economy and democratic aspirations.
Sometimes, conspiracy theories have serious consequences. For example, militants outlawed polio shots for children in the Swat Valley when they took over in 2007, claiming the vaccinations were a Western conspiracy to make Muslim children infertile.
Authorities regained control of Swat in June, and on Monday they began a three-day campaign to inoculate more than 200,000 children who had missed vaccinations. Six cases of polio have been discovered.
Many Pakistanis think the United States is out to end Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program, a source of domestic pride.
“Even an illiterate person knows that the Americans are against our nuclear program, and they will not miss any opportunity to destroy” the nuclear facilities, said Humayoun Qaiser, 23, a student at an Islamic university in Islamabad.
In recent weeks, several newspapers have published unconfirmed reports that 1,000 U.S. Marines will be posted at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad - which would be a significant jump from the nine Marines there now. U.S. officials say at most the number may reach 20. Marine security guards are routine at U.S. missions abroad.
The head of the Islamist political party Jamat-e-Islami, which has demonstrated against the expansion, recently claimed that the United States also plans to build a prison similar to the one at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to a newspaper report. The United States denies the claim.
Rumors aside, the U.S. mission has some big plans.
It wants to reconstruct the buildings on its 38-acre compound and acquire an additional 18 acres, much of which will be used for apartments, embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire said.
About 1,450 employees work for the embassy: 1,000 Pakistanis, 250 Americans posted to the site and an additional 200 Americans on short-term assignments. The plan is to add about 400 people, including about 200 more posted U.S. staffers, Mr. Snelsire said.
The major reason for the growth is a proposal in Congress to triple nonmilitary aid to Pakistan, he said.
The legislation would provide $1.5 billion a year over five years in humanitarian and economic aid. The goal is to improve education and other areas, thereby lessening the allure of extremism.
“There are congressional demands for oversight of where that money is spent,” Mr. Snelsire said, explaining the need for more personnel.
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