The new conditions on aid to Pakistan set by the Kerry-Lugar bill recently passed by the US Congress will not be removed, and President Obama has indicated he intends to sign the bill very quickly. These new conditions will put increased pressure on Pakistan to reform its military and have it cease support for terrorist groups, and to keep it within its constitutional role.
Will the new legislation be able to bring Pakistan to heel?
5 comments:
san, please consider reposting this article:
India must take firm stance against China
There is a law in Delhi requiring all scooter and motor cycle riders to wear helmets. Yet, one can see hundreds of such helmet-less riders. Also, Sikh men and women are exempted from the "law". You can also see as many as six persons riding on a two-wheeled scooter, as well as all kinds of motor vehicles moving on the wrong side of the road.
There are also laws against: plastic shopping bags; playing loud music after 10:00 pm; smoking in a public place; littering a public place or spitting there; and so on, almost endlessly.
The "Kerry-Lugar bill" could end up being just as effective. It is even possible that USA has no intention of enforcing it. Even otherwise, it stands to reason that if you give the Pakis "$1.5 billion in non-military aid", whatever money they are already spending on "non-military" items can now be diverted now to "military" items.
Briefly stated, "Kerry-Lugar" bill is probably an elaborate deception.
Well, it's not that clear to me. From what I see, the US would like to bell the Pakistani cat, to make it toe the American line more. They want to get the Pak military under control, because the military is resistant to the manipulation the US applies against Pak politicians. If the US wants to de-fang the Pak military, and to de-Islamize Pak society, then I don't mind. Yes, we all know that US wants to use Pak as its catspaw, but the main challenge the US faces is in breaking Pak's will to make it more obedient.
Let the US and the Pak military fight it out. We'll be the winner regardless.
Excerpt from New Delhi should stand by Tehran
Remember the Pressler Amendment of 1984? It linked continued US aid and military sales to Pakistan to presidential certification that Islamabad does not possess a nuclear explosive device, and that new aid ‘will reduce significantly the risk’ of its possessing one. Successive American Presidents routinely gave this certificate to Congress, though aware of Islamabad’s activities.
San, you wrote: "Let the US and the Pak military fight it out. We'll be the winner regardless."
More relevant would be if Taliban (various factions of it), the Paki military, and the Paki govt fight it out among themselves - as is PERHAPS happening. At the same time, it is not evident that US is fighting anything in Pak.
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