Pak - US

Pakistan Not Doing Enough? - Part II

By Khalid ⋅ March 12, 2007 ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

It seems very funny that coming off the multitudes of statements about Pakistan not doing enough in the War on Terror, the Democrats would want to curtail foreign aid until they do more. I have been following the debate in the US Congress this past week, led by Senators John Kerry and John McCain, about how the United States shouldn’t give Pakistan the F-16s that have been purchased and paid for since 1998, along with other military technology, until the White House certifies that Pakistan is fully cooperating with the US in the War on Terror. Ok, no problem. Would you like to return the money as a Cashier’s Check or in Cash? But wait…

I remember long ago, when a pissed off cowboy called up a 3rd world General and asked for help. The General said sure, but I have some conditions. First, remove the sanctions. Second, give me my stuff. Third, your troops can’t attack our soil. The US Congress, the same congress that John Kerry and John McCain were part of, voted unanimously to lift the sanctions against Pakistan and to make preparations for the transfer of technology in return for its assistance. This was one of the conditions of our participation in this ego exercise. Ego exercise… yes I said it. This is not a war, this is a test of Dubya’s ego in the face of Cheney and Rumsfeld. But I digress…..

So now, the US Congress sees it fit to introduce a “non-binding resolution” that the White House must certify that Pakistan is being fully co-operative with Coalition Forces in the war in Afghanistan. One question, if it’s non-binding, then what exactly is the point? Is this what Americans pay their Congressmen for: to write memos and call them non-binding resolutions? No wonder, Matt Taibbi called this the Worst Congress ever.

Now, there are few times that I am so proud of the individuals that serve in our great country as I was this week. The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defence, after vigorous debate, announced that Pakistan could end cooperation with the US in the war on terrorism if the US Congress passed any law or resolution imposing sanctions on Pakistan.

“The Standing Committee on Defence in its meeting unanimously noted the fact that Pakistan’s contribution to the war on terror is far higher than any other country. Current legislation under discussion in the American Congress/Senate to put unwarranted restrictions on Pakistan is uncalled for and amounts to downgrading our contribution. The resolution/law if passed by the US Congress, whether binding or otherwise, calls for a reciprocal action from Pakistan, including complete or partial non-cooperation in the war against terror.”

Add to that our National Assembly’s announcement that if the US attacked Iran, Pakistan would no longer allow its country’s military bases to be used by US or Coalition Forces. As Pakistan, along with the rest of the intelligence international community, has held firm that the only resolution to the Iranian nuclear issue is through talks, not unilateral action. If it worked with North Korea, why not try it with Iran?

So, coming back to our discussion about F-16s.

Keep the F-16s. We don’t need them. Just wire us back the millions of dollars that we paid you for the military equipment and we will get our weapons from China. With the already increased Chinese investment into Pakistan coupled with the “flip-flop” decision making of the US administration, it would serve Pakistan’s interests better. And, we all know that the Chinese are less tempermental than the Americans.

More importantly, it would give Pakistan an exit from the War on Terror and we can concentrate on securing our own country, leaving Afghanistan to the Americans… once and for all.

The United States started this conflict with the Soviets and it is about time you cleaned up your own mess!

Tags: Afghanistan, cheney, china, congress, Dubya, f 16s, john kerry, John McCain, matt taibbi, military, Pakistan, rumsfeld, United States