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Summary Cable reveals UK officials thought Zardari is corrupt and may not remain in office for long but now they think that he ll be in office for few more years.
Leaked U.S. diplomatic cables reveal that British officials initially considered Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari a numbskull who would not last long in office.In cables from 2008 released Saturday by the WikiLeaks website,a diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in London said the British government makes no attempt to hide from us its disdain for Zardari.The memo says British officials saw Zardari as highly corrupt and lacking popular support, simply having benefited from his wifes unfortunate demise. They predicted he would be out of office within a year.In a meeting the next month recounted in a separate cable, the then-head of the British military, Air Chief Marshall Jock Stirrup, told U.S. officials that although Zardari has made helpful political noises, hes clearly a numbskull.While Zardaris political lifeline was unclear, Hickey said (Britain) now assesses that he will be in office for a few more years, the cable said.
