The US & others working with Pakistan

[MikeF]

I'd like to know what everyone thinks about Sec Clinton's remarks in Pakistan. Personally, I think it is a good thing. She is being direct about the (or lack of) responsibility and accountability of the Pakistanis to secure areas of their nation-state and hunt down al Qaeda.

Highlights include:

“I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are, and couldn’t get to them if they really wanted to,” she said to a group of Pakistani journalists on her second day here. “Maybe that’s the case; maybe they’re not gettable. I don’t know.”

“Slowly, but insidiously, you were losing territory,” Mrs. Clinton said. “If you want to see your territory shrink, that’s your choice. But I don’t think that’s the right choice.”

“I am more than willing to hear every complaint about the United States.” But she said the relationship had to be a “two-way street.”

Best

Mike

[slapout9]

Pretty good article Mike thanks for posting. She did the best she could I suspect, she had a lot guts to keep to her schedule no matter what was happening and I like guts.

[davidbfpo]

Mike F refers to Mrs Clinton's remarks

She is being direct about the (or lack of) responsibility and accountability of the Pakistanis to secure areas of their nation-state and hunt down al Qaeda.

First big mistake is the wording; it should have read: She is being direct about the lack of Pakistani military and state responsibility and accountability to all Pakistani. To secure areas of their nation-state and hunt down our common enemies (al Qaeda, Pakistani Taleban and 'foriegn militants).

Was this really the advice of the State Dept. to make such remarks in Pakistan? Given the common public view that the USA is the enemy, her remarks are rude, even critics of the Pakistani state and military will be bewildered - and silent.

Then add: We share a common enemy and that is why we offer our help. Not for hi-tech weapons, simple things for the police and others in the fight.Our help is for non-military change too.

davidbfpo

[MikeF]

David,

I disagree. When I receive my monthly bills in the mail, I don't consider that it is rude for the bank to demand in such an informal tone that I pay the required amount.

We've given billions to Pakistan (avg $50 Billion/yr I think) since 9/11. They squandered most of it on building a conventional army to defend against Pakistan. This is not an equal partnership. Regardless of how xenophobic or anti-American some of the Paks may be, they still absorb our money. That's not an equal partnership.

v/r

Mike

[tequila]

$50 billion a year? Not that much ... more like $11 billion total from 9/11 to 2008, I think.

http://www.americanprogress.org/issu...d_numbers.html

The vast majority of it is to the military. Most Pakistanis, of course, never see any American aid.

The Kerry-Lugar bill, which sought to rebalance some of this, caused the Pakistani military to throw a massive bitch fit, supposedly because this impinged on Pakistani national sovereignty.

It's emotionally satisfying for me to hear Sec. Clinton give the Pakistanis a little bit of honesty given the military's duplicity, but I'm a bit afraid that this will only feed the Pakistani political sphere's basic anti-Americanism.

[MikeF]

$50 billion a year? Not that much ... more like $11 billion total from 9/11 to 2008, I think.

http://www.americanprogress.org/issu...d_numbers.html

The vast majority of it is to the military. Most Pakistanis, of course, never see any American aid.

Are Tequilla's numbers correct? If so, we're spending pennies in Pakistan compared to Iraq or Afghanistan. That's strange. Moreover, that report cited that only 2% of the funds went to education or development.

Mike

[tequila]

Additional figures from the Congressional Research Service via FAS:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/pakaid.pdf

From 2002 - 2008, this adds up to 12.087 billion.

The FY 2009 request is for 3.352 billion.

[MikeF]

Additional figures from the Congressional Research Service via FAS:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/pakaid.pdf

From 2002 - 2008, this adds up to 12.087 billion.

The FY 2009 request is for 3.352 billion.

I gotta rethink my comments now. I guess that I had some assumptions wrong . For an area that we consider the center of gravity or main effort, we are not pushing a lot of effort there.

Mike