Friday, November 9

USA extremely upset with Pakistan's Military Rule! (NOT!!!!)

So USA is very upset with how an autocrat is doing a military coup, ruining the legal system, putting democratic civil leaders in house arrest, cutting off media links, shooting people and arresting people. So it is threatening sanctions, grievous bodily harm, international efforts to pound on the generals, and so on and so forth. That's Burma. What do they suggest for Pakistan? Look at what the US State Department is recommending, and it is amazing and breathtakingly hypocritical.

While the President has the authority to immediately halt all or some U.S.
assistance to Pakistan, there are no signs that he intends to do so. In “reviewing” U.S. aid programs, Administration officials could place holds on certain items, such
as F-16 combat aircraft being purchased by Pakistan as a Foreign Military Sale.
Acute and historic Pakistani sensitivities to such U.S. policy choices — combined
with repeatedly voiced concerns that Pakistan’s full cooperation in counterterrorism
efforts continue — have most analysts doubting that the United States would halt
delivery of defense supplies to Pakistan. Congress already has legislated conditions
on U.S. aid to Pakistan and pending legislation would provide for further
conditionality.23 However, many analysts, including those making policy for the
Bush Administration, assert that conditioning U.S. aid to Pakistan has a past record
of failure and likely would be counterproductive by reinforcing Pakistani perceptions
of the United States as a fickle and unreliable partner.
Numerous commentators on U.S. assistance programs for Pakistan have
recommended making adjustments to the proportion of funds devoted to military
versus economic aid and/or to the objectives of such programs. For most of the post-
2001 period, funds have been split roughly evenly between economic and securityrelated
aid programs, with the great bulk of the former going to a general economic
(budget) support fund and most of the latter financing “big ticket” defense articles
such as airborne early warning aircraft, and anti-ship and anti-armor missiles. Only
about 10% of the more than $10 billion provided to Pakistan since 2001 (including
coalition support) has been specifically devoted to development and humanitarian
programs. The Bush Administration and/or Congress may find it useful to better
target U.S. assistance programs in such a way that they more effectively benefit the
country’s citizens. Some analysts call for improving America’s image in Pakistan
by making U.S. aid more visible to ordinary Pakistanis.


In effect, NOTHING!

All this to be taken with a grain of piquant salt!!!

2 comments:

IanPJ said...

Sorry as I am to say so, but I think that what is happening in Pakistan, is soon to visit us all.

http://thejournal.parker-joseph.co.uk/blog/_archives/2007/11/8/3340751.html

IanPJ said...

try this tinyurl for the link above

http://tinyurl.com/2hpx85