Ever since this government came into power, not a week has passed when our friends from US did not visit us. What fascinates them so much about this country remains unknown. Perhaps it is the welcome they get that brings them back again and again. A princely welcome accorded to a lowly assistant secretary would make him look for an excuse to come back when he does not have much to do back home. US visitors are newsmakers in our land. Ever present on each visit is the smiling Bryn Hunt, the rotund diplomat usually clad in a local dress. Mr Hunt is probably a bloated form of the barrel-chested Richard Armitage who used to visit us some years ago. When Negroponte arrives, our citizens think they have seriously erred. He is the man with a whip in hand and known for whipping many nations. Lately, a lot of senators and US congressmen have paid us friendly visits. They all need to ponder the question that why do a large majority of Pakistanis think of them as enemies rather than friends. -DR A. P. SANGDIL, Oslo, Norway, via e-mail, June 3.