Pakistan friend or foe, asks US Congress panel

[barbarosa]

Pakistan is friend, if the other will friend, but the friend of enemy is enemy.

 

[pakistani342]

http://www.dawn.com/news/1270078/pakistan-friend-or-foe-asks-us-congress-panel

@pakistani342 seems the current mode in the capital hill is quite hostile towards Pakistan, thus all is not well as the jernals would want people in Pakistan to believe.


____________________

WASHINGTON: Senior US lawmakers and their witnesses are gathering on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to once again ask Pakistan if it is America’s friend or foe.

The House Subcommittees on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade and Asia and the Pacific are jointly holding this hearing, hoping that it would help them determine how to deal with Pakistan, an old ally many in Congress no longer trust. The chairman of one of the subcommittees is a Republican lawmaker, Congressman Ted Poe, who never makes an effort to hide his dislike for Pakistan.

“This hearing will give members the opportunity to learn more about Pakistan’s longstanding ties to terrorist groups and allow for a more informed reassessment of US foreign policy priorities vis-à-vis Islamabad,” said Mr Poe while explaining why he had called the hearing.

Former US ambassador to Afghanistan and United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, is one of the three witnesses who have been asked to explain Pakistan and its policies to the lawmakers.

The other two witnesses are Bill Roggio, senior editor, Long War Journal, and Tricia Bacon, Assistant Professor, American University.

In a recent statement, Mr Khalilzad urged the United States to adopt a policy of total isolation against Pakistan and turn it into a “second North Korea” to force it to cooperate in Afghanistan.

“The United States has spent tens of billions of taxpayer dollars in aid to Pakistan since 9/11. Now, 15 years later, Pakistan’s military and intel services are still linked to terrorist organisations and little success has been made to stabilise the region,” said Congressman Matt Salmon, who heads the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.

“We must take a closer look at US goals, expectations and our aid spending in the region. In this hearing, we will discuss the Administration’s failed policy towards Pakistan and debate the best way forward,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2016

It sure is -- again it is irrelevant vs-a-vis Afghanistan

To give you an indication of how important this news is: there is no major publication carrying this news that I could find other than Dawn

I cannot see any circumstance where US interests would prioritize Afghanistan over Pakistan. From an Afghan perspective that is the only relevant question vis-a-vis Pakistan and by extension vis-a-vis the Taliban insurgency

 

[A-Team]

It sure is -- again it is irrelevant vs-a-vis Afghanistan

I think it is very relevant to the Afghanistan, here is a quick quote.

The United States has spent tens of billions of taxpayer dollars in aid to Pakistan since 9/11. Now, 15 years later, Pakistan’s military and intel services are still linked to terrorist organisations and little success has been made to stabilise the region

In other words Pakistan is directly undermining the region or Afghanistan in particular, AF a strategic ally of the USö

 

[masud]

yeah........ that,s a good question.

 

[A-Team]

Pakistan is neither friend nor foe, we only care about our own interests

Our people hate afghans and dont want to aid aimless self serving American ains in Afghanistan, the generals don't have anything to do with it

The first part of your statment carries weight the second part is a bunch balloonies

 

[pakistani342]

I think it is very relevant to the Afghanistan, here is a quick quote.

The United States has spent tens of billions of taxpayer dollars in aid to Pakistan since 9/11. Now, 15 years later, Pakistan’s military and intel services are still linked to terrorist organisations and little success has been made to stabilise the region

In other words Pakistan is directly undermining the region or Afghanistan in particular, AF a strategic ally of the USö

I updated my answer -- yes, and you think the US congress is just finding out?

Tell me what is it in Afghanistan that is more important than Pakistan to the US?

Afghanistan is only a strategic ally of the US in Afghan minds -- Pakistanis thought similarly too -- I think they are more realistic this time round.

To be a strategic ally of the US you need to have -- some of the below:
1. Size
2. Population
3. Influence
4. Wealth
5. Economic clout

Afghanistan does not have any of the above and is not going to have any of the above in the near future.

Seriously, @A-Team you think Afghanistan is a strategic parter for the US ???

Ask yourself is the Democratic Republic of Congo a strategic partner of the US? Democratic Republic of Congo is what Pakistan would be if you remove the population and nuclear weapons to the US. Now tell me where do you think Afghanistan figures?

 

[hussain0216]

The first part of your statment carries weight the second part is a bunch balloonies

Not anymore, i used to be pro afghan, considered them poor Muslim brothers oppressed by soviets, war lords, taliban and americans.

Then over the last two years something emerged, I realised the Afghans were namak harams they have millions of refugees in our country.
We have given them space, food, work, protection because we saw mo difference between us and them, so even though our own people were poor we were poor together

Then we realised the afghans didn't care, they spread drugs and criminality in Pakistan, they hated Pakistan regardless of our sacrifices.

They invited india and help them harm Pakistan

No your mistaken, many Pakistanis have woken up, whilst we dont hate the average poor afghan, we hate your country snd your betrayal with the indians.
We want you out of Pakistan and for our government and military to act against the Afghan threat, create a border, set up a strict visa system, punish Afghanistan for working with India, restrict afghan access to Pakistan, our facilities, our road, rail and ports

And to generally accept that Afghanistan is a threat, there are no more pie in the sky brother relations and the responsibility of military and government is not to suck afghan and American balls but to deal with the rhreats against our state.

I will tell you one more thing Pakistan is a tenacious, resourceful, vengeful enemy and Afghanistan will regret if they keep pissing us off

 

[Nefarious]

Just foreign funded mouth pieces in US occasionally voicing after a fresh cash injection. Meanwhile, US respects Durand line and any violations of border by ANA should be met with full force.

 

[Jana Assassin]

A festival of clowns nothing more. What can they do that they havnt done already. They already played out all of their cards.

They weren't clowns wen u were beggin them fr F-16s!! Nw tat they knw pak is on its way to become North Korea they r clowns... Hats off man spoken lyk a true pakistani...

 

[Path-Finder]

Not anymore, i used to be pro afghan, considered them poor Muslim brothers oppressed by soviets, war lords, taliban and americans.

Then over the last two years something emerged, I realised the Afghans were namak harams they have millions of refugees in our country.
We have given them space, food, work, protection because we saw mo difference between us and them, so even though our own people were poor we were poor together

Then we realised the afghans didn't care, they spread drugs and criminality in Pakistan, they hated Pakistan regardless of our sacrifices.

They invited india and help them harm Pakistan

No your mistaken, many Pakistanis have woken up, whilst we dont hate the average poor afghan, we hate your country snd your betrayal with the indians.
We want you out of Pakistan and for our government and military to act against the Afghan threat, create a border, set up a strict visa system, punish Afghanistan for working with India, restrict afghan access to Pakistan, our facilities, our road, rail and ports

And to generally accept that Afghanistan is a threat, there are no more pie in the sky brother relations and the responsibility of military and government is not to suck afghan and American balls but to deal with the rhreats against our state.

I will tell you one more thing Pakistan is a tenacious, resourceful, vengeful enemy and Afghanistan will regret if they keep pissing us off

I could not have said it better.


I was quite humbling towards afghnas However they are pure haram khor. The afghans since the 1950's have been harboring anti Pakistan proxies with their indian mates and that is before taliban were around. so this contentious bull dropping the indian allied farsi speaking afghans put forward falls face first into horse manure. If they have the ghairat then answer this question. why did they host proxies against Pakistan since the 50's. If time could be changed then we should never have helped them during soviet occupation and today they would be speaking Russian and writing Cyrillic.

 

[pakistani342]

http://www.dawn.com/news/1270078/pakistan-friend-or-foe-asks-us-congress-panel

@pakistani342 seems the current mode in the capital hill is quite hostile towards Pakistan, thus all is not well as the jernals would want people in Pakistan to believe.


____________________

WASHINGTON: Senior US lawmakers and their witnesses are gathering on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to once again ask Pakistan if it is America’s friend or foe.

The House Subcommittees on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade and Asia and the Pacific are jointly holding this hearing, hoping that it would help them determine how to deal with Pakistan, an old ally many in Congress no longer trust. The chairman of one of the subcommittees is a Republican lawmaker, Congressman Ted Poe, who never makes an effort to hide his dislike for Pakistan.

“This hearing will give members the opportunity to learn more about Pakistan’s longstanding ties to terrorist groups and allow for a more informed reassessment of US foreign policy priorities vis-à-vis Islamabad,” said Mr Poe while explaining why he had called the hearing.

Former US ambassador to Afghanistan and United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, is one of the three witnesses who have been asked to explain Pakistan and its policies to the lawmakers.

The other two witnesses are Bill Roggio, senior editor, Long War Journal, and Tricia Bacon, Assistant Professor, American University.

In a recent statement, Mr Khalilzad urged the United States to adopt a policy of total isolation against Pakistan and turn it into a “second North Korea” to force it to cooperate in Afghanistan.

“The United States has spent tens of billions of taxpayer dollars in aid to Pakistan since 9/11. Now, 15 years later, Pakistan’s military and intel services are still linked to terrorist organisations and little success has been made to stabilise the region,” said Congressman Matt Salmon, who heads the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.

“We must take a closer look at US goals, expectations and our aid spending in the region. In this hearing, we will discuss the Administration’s failed policy towards Pakistan and debate the best way forward,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2016

The thing you have to consider is the the GHQ probably considers Afghanistan on par with the building of the Nuclear weapon: it is an "eat grass" enterprise -- and you can't really blame the Pindi boys given Afghanistan's actions post 9/11.

Pakistan was the US's most sanctioned ally in the 1990s if you remember. The sanctions did not help achieve US's interests -- it actually badly hurt them -- what you see today is a remnant of that policy: there is no constituency in the US to completely cut Pakistan off because the results were so disastrous the last time around.

Do you think Afghanistan is more important to the US than nuclear non-proliferation? No [just see how the US sanctioned Iran and Pakistan on this issue but nothing happened vis-a-vis Afghanistan or Iraq for Iran]

Today the US has many pressing issues compared to the 1990s when it was a hyper power:
1. The Middle East is in Turmoil
2. The rise of China to contend with

Lets us say the US sanctions Pakistan circa 1990s -- do you think that will change Pakistan's calculus? Here are some scenarios
1. Yes -- Pakistan backs down and sanctions removed on the same speed as were with Iran
2. No -- Afghanistan continues on a decline -- Pakistan also starts a decline or continues to muddle
3. No with a Pakistan more aggressively supports the Taliban
-- Afghanistan continues on rapid decline -- Now does the US scale the pressure back ?
-- Highly unstable Scenario
4. Yes -- but it takes 10 years to change Pakistan's behavior [like with Iran]
-- Afghanistan's turn around pushed back another 20-40 years on top of where we are today (Afghanistan is still sliding downwards)

Note -- Afghanistan's primary problems are internal -- the GHQ just exploits these. These problems are not going to go away -- as things are they are getting worse.

 

[A-Team]

Not anymore, i used to be pro afghan, considered them poor Muslim brothers oppressed by soviets, war lords, taliban and americans.

Then over the last two years something emerged, I realised the Afghans were namak harams they have millions of refugees in our country.
We have given them space, food, work, protection because we saw mo difference between us and them, so even though our own people were poor we were poor together

Then we realised the afghans didn't care, they spread drugs and criminality in Pakistan, they hated Pakistan regardless of our sacrifices.

They invited india and help them harm Pakistan

No your mistaken, many Pakistanis have woken up, whilst we dont hate the average poor afghan, we hate your country snd your betrayal with the indians.
We want you out of Pakistan and for our government and military to act against the Afghan threat, create a border, set up a strict visa system, punish Afghanistan for working with India, restrict afghan access to Pakistan, our facilities, our road, rail and ports

And to generally accept that Afghanistan is a threat, there are no more pie in the sky brother relations and the responsibility of military and government is not to suck afghan and American balls but to deal with the rhreats against our state.

I will tell you one more thing Pakistan is a tenacious, resourceful, vengeful enemy and Afghanistan will regret if they keep pissing us off

Emotional statements and not real politik.

The thing you have to consider is the the GHQ probably considers Afghanistan on par with the building of the Nuclear weapon: it is an "eat grass" enterprise -- and you can't really blame the Pindi boys given Afghanistan's actions post 9/11.

Pakistan was the US's most sanctioned ally in the 1990s if you remember. The sanctions did not help achieve US's interests -- it actually badly hurt them -- what you see today is a remnant of that policy: there is no constituency in the US to completely cut Pakistan off because the results were so disastrous the last time around.

Do you think Afghanistan is more important to the US than nuclear non-proliferation? No [just see how the US sanctioned Iran and Pakistan on this issue but nothing happened vis-a-vis Afghanistan or Iraq for Iran]

Today the US has many pressing issues compared to the 1990s when it was a hyper power:
1. The Middle East is in Turmoil
2. The rise of China to contend with

Lets us say the US sanctions Pakistan circa 1990s -- do you think that will change Pakistan's calculus? Here are some scenarios
1. Yes -- Pakistan backs down and sanctions removed on the same speed as were with Iran
2. No -- Afghanistan continues on a decline -- Pakistan also starts a decline or continues to muddle
3. No with a Pakistan more aggressively supports the Taliban
-- Afghanistan continues on rapid decline -- Now does the US scale the pressure back ?
-- Highly unstable Scenario
4. Yes -- but it takes 10 years to change Pakistan's behavior [like with Iran]
-- Afghanistan's turn around pushed back another 20-40 years on top of where we are today (Afghanistan is still sliding downwards)

Note -- Afghanistan's primary problems are internal -- the GHQ just exploits these. These problems are not going to go away -- as things are they are getting worse.

Important point. ( bolded part)

 

[SurvivoR]

Pakistan's reply should be... USA... Friend or Foe?

 

[IceCold]

@pakistani342 seems the current mode in the capital hill is quite hostile towards Pakistan, thus all is not well as the jernals would want people in Pakistan to believe.

And what do you think the Generals want Pakistani people to believe? You take Pakistani people to be that naive? I suggest you keep your ignorance on the subject at check. Neither the generals nor the people of Pakistan have any doubts over US intentions and where US Pakistan relations lies. Having said that it does not mean we start gun blazing on them.

They weren't clowns wen u were beggin them fr F-16s!! Nw tat they knw pak is on its way to become North Korea they r clowns... Hats off man spoken lyk a true pakistani...

At least learn to write properly on an international forum before commenting. This is not a chat section where you are using slang.
So anything Pakistan wants certainly becomes begging? Wow Indian logic 101. Care to explain what part of it was begging?

 

[maximuswarrior]

Just a lot of hot air and nothing much else. The Americans have been threatening to ditch Pakistan ever since things got sour back in the days. After every attempt to ditch Pakistan, suddenly we receive more military and economic aid. If the Americans are really serious about ditching Pakistan, they would do it immediately instead of wasting time by holding meaningless congressional events.

This is what the Americans must understand because if they don't they will remain stuck in a vicious circle. Afghanistan is a failed society and it has been for a very long time. It is ruled by ruthless and corrupt Uzbek/Tajik warlords who earn their living through illicit opium trade. The entire Afghan economy depends on opium production. Its people don't have a future and seek refuge in Pakistan in the millions. The Afghan government cannot take care of its people let alone its territory. Even with the help of the world's superpower Afghanistan couldn't be stabilized. Blaming Pakistan won't change anything at all. It amounts to hiding your head like an ostrich. Afghanistan is a lost cause and blame games is an admission of this fact.