Posted on 03/27/2009 9:41:18 AM PDT by MyTwoCopperCoins
WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Friday affirmed a tripling of US economic aid to Pakistan to $ 1.5 billion annually over the next five years, calling it a ''down payment'' for America’s future security even though he unambiguously accused the country of being a safe haven for al-Qaida and its leadership.
Obama announced what seemed like a buy-out strategy while unveiling his administration’s new Af-Pak policy in which there was a pronounced shift to Pakistan as the central front in the so-called war on terror. In an oblique indictment of Islamabad, Obama implied that Pakistan's military strategy was the root cause of trouble in Afghanistan, and Pakistani actions, or inaction, was hurting its own people and Afghans, besides threatening the whole world.
''Make no mistake: al-Qaida and its extremist allies are a cancer that risks killing Pakistan from within,'' Obama warned, even as he repeatedly expressed support for the Pakistani people and outlined policies to stabilize the troubled country. ''That is why we must focus our military assistance on the tools, training and support that Pakistan needs to root out the terrorists.''
However, in a clear message to Islamabad that it has to shape up and deliver, the US President warned that it would be held accountable for the generous aid he is requesting from Congress.
''After years of mixed results, we will not provide a blank check. Pakistan must demonstrate its commitment to rooting out al-Qaida and the violent extremists within its borders. And we will insist that action be taken – one way or another – when we have intelligence about high-level terrorist targets,'' he said.
Obama also announced that together with the United Nations, Washington will forge a new Contact Group for Afghanistan and Pakistan ''that brings together all countries who should have a stake in the security of the region,'' including India, Iran, Russia, China, Gulf nations, Central Asian states, and NATO allies. ''None of these nations benefit from a base for al-Qaida terrorists, and a region that descends into chaos. All have a stake in the promise of lasting peace and security and development,'' he said.
Obama also acknowledged in passing Pakistan’s insistence that its troublesome security outlook was tied to disputes with India, saying ''to lessen tensions between two nuclear-armed nations that too often teeter on the edge of escalation and confrontation, we (US) must pursue constructive diplomacy with both India and Pakistan.'' He did not elaborate.
The US President announced that over and above the 17,000 additional troops Washington was deploying to Afghanistan, he would be sending a further 4000 troops to train Afghan security forces whose eventual readiness to take over duties would pave way for a US withdrawal. ( Watch )
Obama was blunt in repeatedly putting Pakistan — and not Afghanistan, which he suggested was a victim — in the cross-hairs of the war on terror.
''Multiple intelligence estimates have warned that al-Qaida is actively planning attacks on the US. homeland from its safe-haven in Pakistan...They have used this mountainous terrain as a safe-haven to hide, train terrorists, communicate with followers, plot attacks, and send fighters to support the insurgency in Afghanistan.'' he said, adding that the future of Afghanistan is inextricably linked to the future of Pakistan.
Obama also sought to distance Washington from Pakistan’s overarching military, saying the US has great respect for the Pakistani people and empathized with their struggles and aspirations which was the same as the people all across the world.
''The single greatest threat to that future comes from al-Qaida and their extremist allies, and that is why we must stand together,'' he said.
0bama is such a fool
The Pakistanian government continues to protect the terrorists.
It's their job to rout them out of the border areas.
We would be glad to help.
Maybe they are going to give/sell Osama to Obama so he (Obama)can get all of the glory...maybe he is buying Osama....????
>>I’d put MY money on being able to keep them open in Pakistan.
I think you’d lose, there have been numerous attacks on staging areas for the convoys, destroying numerous trucks, causing much loss of materiel, remember the jihadis manage to hijack a truck with a helicopter last year.....
Peashwar, the logistical hub, is virtually a jihadi run city.
The move to Russian supply routes was undertaken by Bush because of the deteriorating situation in Peshawar.
Idjets
If anyone can by the other, it'd be Osama buying Obama.
Or maybe he already did.
There are no more terrorists, just “man made disasters.”
There is no more war on terror, just Overseas Contingency Operations.
Which of course leaves out fighting terrorists in their numerous cells in this country.
Good job with semantics there, Obumbler.
Yeah, BUT the supply routes in Russia are drying up as well. All I’m saying is, we’d stand a better chance if we went up against Pakistan (God forbid the need arises), than if we took on Russia (and China) again. That was really a nasty mess the last time around.
Neither is a good situation, but how many in the Western World or the Asian world would RUSH to help out Pakistan — China has their own problems with an irate Muslim population, just as Russia has.
[snip] US President Barack Obama on Friday affirmed a tripling of US economic aid to Pakistan to $ 1.5 billion annually over the next five years, calling it a “down payment” for America’s future security even though he unambiguously accused the country of being a safe haven for al-Qaida and its leadership. [end]
US May Expand Anti-Militant Efforts To Baluchistan
NPR | March 27, 2009 | Jackie Northam
Posted on 03/26/2009 9:38:01 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2215892/posts
Absolute insanity. At a point in history when South America is being lost to Socialist Tyrants, Central America is about to Erupt with a Civil War on and across our Southern Border, Eastern Europe is under threat from Russia Invasion (Georgia) and Civil War (Ukraine), the Middle East is about to erupt with an Iran/Israel War, the United States leadership is sending more troops to Afghanistan to protect the Poppy and Goat trade. The reality is that this is all about the loose nukes in Pakistan that are in the hands of terrorist sympathizers.
Your drug warrior mentality betrays logic ...
AQ, and the Taliban are growing stronger, Pakistan has nukes, and you accuse the US military of protecting poppy traders ...
The reality is that this is all about the loose nukes in Pakistan that are in the hands of terrorist sympathizers.
>>The reality is that this is all about the loose nukes in Pakistan that are in the hands of terrorist sympathizers.
Well, wait til they fall into the hands of the jihadis themselves. As it is, that’s barely a generation away as the majors and colonels, indoctrinated in an Islamist Jihadi mindset begin replacing the current crop of secular, albeit India hating generals like Musharraf and Kiyani, the former for all his faults, is a pragmatist like Kiyani, and hence did begin a detente rapprochement with India over the past few years.
It is part contingency planning and forward thinking in case Pakistan (God Willing or shall I say Inshallah) has a major meltdown - anarchy, chaos, a state close to civil war!
Voila! The US seems to have completely given up on the Khyber route....
New NATO supply route through Dushanbe in Tajikistan Non-lethal supplies for NATO have begun arriving in Kunduz, Afghanistan from Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The US built a bridge across the Panj River to create this new route. The Tajiks have agreed to permit 250 trucks a day - 5000-tons of supplies - via this route. That’s just a bit less than cross the Khyber every day.
From - orbat.com
Really! This appears to be great news. Thank you. You have no idea how relieved and happy I am to hear about this.
People tell me I shouldn’t worry. I tell people it’s my hobby.
>.I tell people it’s my hobby
Hobby is good, because sometimes it seems worrying is the main activity of America today.
Somewhere along the line we seemed to have turned into a nation of worrywarts and chicken littles.
I know. I try not to, but every now and then when I think of my son deploying to Afghanistan, I get the heebie-jeebies. I try to never let him know. I keep my game face on, but I haven’t like the smell of this new front for whatever reason. It’s just a down day, I guess.
Well, this MAY improve your day.....
Just another day in Afghanistan The article below is useful because it describes a typical day in Afghanistan, this time for a platoon of the 10th Mountain Division new to the area and setting up to assert itself.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KC27Df01.htm
The article has a minor patronizing tone which is programmed into the typical Brit before s/he is born. We are unsure, for example, why the Brit mediaperson chooses to call the platoon “motley”. Is he referring to the soldiers not presenting a uniform racial face as is the case with the British Army? If so, he has to understand America is not Britain. Is he calling the platoon motley because its men are from different backgrounds? Well, isn’t the same true of the British Army. Is he referring to the less than stellar personal histories of some of the troops? Well, isn’t the same thing true of the Brits? More to the point, perhaps he needs to appreciate that men with less than the best backgrounds make very good soldiers if they are properly trained and controlled, for the simple reason they know their violence and they know how to survive.
The Editor’s father, who was no fan of the US Army for many reasons, in the 1960s would caution other foreigners who thought Americans were too soft to make good soldiers. He’d say the bulk of the American infantry was drafted from the urban ghettos or from rural areas where most males learned to hunt and kill before they reached puberty. Such men, he would say, were very tough and shouldn’t be underestimated.
But that said, the article is a fair and informative account of life on the ground.
I did read the whole post. I do believe NO one is GONNA let the Pakistani nukes go anywhere. We all know this. Everyone who has been reading FR since 2001 knows this.
And I still dislike the remark about US soldiers protecting poppies. It is not our job to destroy poppies or protect them. Most Taliban money does not come from the p plant trade/opium harvest like some drug warriors try to pretend ... the Taliban's money comes through robbery, ransom, most importantly wealthy Arab donors and the Pakistani ISI. I'm not saying they don't get any money from it, but the majority is not.
People with drug warrior mentalities are often blinded by hate.
If they are in the hands of Jihadists sympathizers, then they should be considered to be in the hands of the Jihadists. This, prop the democratic Pakistani government up at all costs, approach is gonna get some cities nuked, is gonna drag the US military into Pakistan and could provoke an Invasion from India. Don't know how the slickmeisters in DC possibly see any other outcome. Their original plan for democracy in Iraq had similar problems. Note the talk now of a 'surge' into Afghanistan.
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