yanks give more money to musharraf

feb 25th, 2007

ah yes, give more money to musharraf so that he can use it against us, and against you as well.

there is something completely unholy about the american embrace of pakistan.
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From: Shahryar

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/05/america/NA-GEN-US-Budget-Foreign-Aid.php

Afghanistan, Pakistan would see boost in Bush's proposed aid budget

The Associated Press
Monday, February 5, 2007
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WASHINGTON: Crucial U.S. South Asian allies Afghanistan and Pakistan would see increases in aid under the proposed budget that President George W. Bush introduced Monday.

Israel and Egypt would continue as the top beneficiaries of U.S. aid in the proposal, but both would see their aid cut slightly.

The proposed budget also includes a major boost in money to Kosovo, a breakaway province of Serbia, which could gain some autonomy soon under a U.N. plan.

Bush's foreign aid requests were part of a $37.4 billion (€28.9 billion) State Department package in a $2.9 trillion (€2.2 trillion) spending plan that Bush proposed Monday.

All the proposals are subject to change in negotiation with Democrats, who for the first time in Bush's tenure control both houses of Congress and must approve the president's proposals.

The administration is recommending an increase in funds to Afghanistan from $968 million (€748.9 million) in the last budget to slightly more than $1 billion (€770 million) to pay for programs for drug eradication and job training programs.

Pakistan's aid would increase to $785 million (€607.4 million) from $499 million (€386 million). The figure would include a proposed $300 million (€232 million) in military aid aimed in part at helping Pakistan fight terrorism.

Under long-standing plans, military aid to Israel for 2008 will be $2.4 billion (€1.9 billion), and Egypt will receive $1.7 billion (€1.3 billion).

Bush, who has made African aid a priority, is proposing an increase of more than 40 percent for the continent, to focus on AIDS/HIV programs.

Some of that increase reflects a boost for the aid and good government program called the Millennium Challenge Corp. The proposed budget would more than double the program's outlays from $1.1 billion (€850 billion) to $3 billion (€2.3 billion). The Millennium Challenge Corp. doles out U.S. foreign aid using business principles to set fiscal and other benchmarks for developing countries to meet.

Indonesia would receive $158 million (€122.2 million), an 18 percent increase in overall funding, if Bush's budget proposal was accepted. Aid to Kosovo would increase greatly to $151 million (€116.8 million).

Some countries, including India, which the Bush administration believes have reached a greater level of development would see decreases.

Financing of counternarcotics efforts in the Andean region of South America will remain much the same, although some money will be shifted to other parts of the budget.

The budget proposals received some immediate criticism from Congress. Republican Sen. Richard Lugar said he would push to increase money for the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program for dismantling nuclear weapons in the republics of the former Soviet Union and finding work for former weapons scientists.

Democratic Rep. Tom Lantos, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, criticized the level proposed for the United Nations, which he said would leave a $130 million (€100.6 million) shortfall in the account used to pay U.S. dues