Resolution in US Congress for suspending Pak military aid

[JF-17 Thunder]

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[Awesome]

Gary Ackerman is also the chairman of the Indian Caucus on Capitol Hill.

Wow India sure doesn't waste any time!

 

[JF-17 Thunder]

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[blain2]

We currently have the Americans by the balls (in other words we have leverage by the tonnage) and Ackerman can run his mouth off all he wants to but he is not getting his way. Obviously he wastes no chance to hurt Pakistan as he does it on behalf of his India Caucus.

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Gary Ackerman is also the chairman of the Indian Caucus on Capitol Hill.

Wow India sure doesn't waste any time!

Not quite, Asim.

The report below will indicate that India has no desire to up the ante!

Fewer Pak Rangers, but no let-up in vigil

NISHIT DHOLABHAI

A BSF jawan at an outpost. Picture by Nishit Dholabhai

Kakkar (Indo-Pak international boundary in Punjab), Nov. 17: A lone BSF jawan at a border outpost here looks bored — there are hardly any Pakistani Rangers on the other side to keep watch on these days.

Islamabad appears to have reduced forces along the border here to tackle unrest in other parts of the country after President Pervez Musharraf imposed a state of emergency a fortnight back.

The Telegraph - Calcutta : Nation

Blain,

No one has got anyone by the gonads.

One should not underestimate the US. It can, if it wants, create real problems in Pakistan.

Money and igniting the desire for power amongst some (and many are waiting for the same in Pakistan and in the wings) can create real problems.

Funnelling money and assistance, moral and otherwise, can re-ignite old insurgencies that are now dormant.

Therefore, one has to play by the ear and ride the wave as best as one can without getting on to anyone's back!

One should never underestimate US' 'dirty tricks' department.

In fact, they are already in Pakistan 'assisting' Pakistan against the terrorists. How do you think so many people have simply 'vanished' and about whom the ex CJ is all het up about?

 

[Tang0]

Really it has jack all to do with India. The U.S electorate just doesn't care about it any more than it does about Pakistan. The real issue is trying to make Bush look foolish for supporting someone who is now fairly well into the military dictator zone by (Admittedly liberal) U.S standards. Notice the word "Democrats" in bold. And by the way blain2, what "Leverage" are you talking about? The U.S has no significant trade relationship with Pakistan, nor is Pakistan in any position to threaten any significant U.S strategic resource. What it does have, is one huge border with Afghanistan, which from all appearances it does not have any good measure of control over. (Not to say that the U.S, or really any nation with a extremely long border does either) Pakistan has nukes, but I don't call that "leverage" so much as "liability" from a U.S perspective.

 

[Awesome]

Really it has jack all to do with India. The U.S electorate just doesn't care about it any more than it does about Pakistan. The real issue is trying to make Bush look foolish for supporting someone who is now fairly well into the military dictator zone by (Admittedly liberal) U.S standards. Notice the word "Democrats" in bold. And by the way blain2, what "Leverage" are you talking about? The U.S has no significant trade relationship with Pakistan, nor is Pakistan in any position to threaten any significant U.S strategic resource. What it does have, is one huge border with Afghanistan, which from all appearances it does not have any good measure of control over. (Not to say that the U.S, or really any nation with a extremely long border does either) Pakistan has nukes, but I don't call that "leverage" so much as "liability" from a U.S perspective.

This isn't the first time Ackerman has been all up in Arms against Pakistan. A simple google would reveal his crusade against Pakistan in over 100 cases.

Oh and he just happens to be heading the Indian caucus on Capitol Hill.

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Asim,

Just because he is a part of the Indian Caucus, does not mean that he abdicates his right to opine or act the way he wants.

 

[Tang0]

I have no doubt that Ackermann has a pro-India approach, but I was referring to the wider support for a limit in U.S aid to Pakistan. That is not the result of Indian lobbying. They are simply not a significant enough minority in the U.S to have more than a couple of congresspeople by the privates, despite the impression you might get from visiting any of the U.S's engineering campuses, or calling tech support.

 

[Flintlock]

I have no doubt that Ackermann has a pro-India approach, but I was referring to the wider support for a limit in U.S aid to Pakistan. That is not the result of Indian lobbying. They are simply not a significant enough minority in the U.S to have more than a couple of congresspeople by the privates, despite the impression you might get from visiting any of the U.S's engineering campuses, or calling tech support.

Thanks for that...I was wondering how in the world India started influencing US foreign policy in ways even its allies find hard to do.

 

[fatman17]

Aid can now only be cut/suspended by presidential waiver which the dems passed in their last session of congress. Bush will use the waiver as a last resort.

 

[Always Neutral]

We currently have the Americans by the balls (in other words we have leverage by the tonnage) and Ackerman can run his mouth off all he wants to but he is not getting his way. Obviously he wastes no chance to hurt Pakistan as he does it on behalf of his India Caucus.

Are You sure you have the Americans by the balls ? Care to explain why Gen M is bending backwards to meet a lowly official like N'Ponte to explain why he declared emergency ? Why N'Ponte and other officials visit / call Mr BB and the Pakistan Election Commission at their own whim and fancy ? I am sure they did not visit your Election Commission for help to conduct their next Presidential Election in USA or maybe I could be wrong !

Sorry to us it seems the other way around ?

Regards

 

[Tang0]

On the subject of leverage.... Pakistan has an approx. 18 billion dollar national budget, while it has over 20 billion dollars in loans from the United states or it interests, with 36 billion in foreign debt overall, and receives about 300 million dollars a year in direct military aid with no expectation of repayment from the united states alone. Ignoring the US generalized reach, just the financial situation, and the fact that much of Pakistan's IT capital comes from clients in the US, would make it seems that the US has all the leverage. Were precisely, do you think the 8.4 percent GDP growth per year is coming from? It's coming from the same places that India's 8% growth is coming from, US outsourcing. (Not to imply that it is all the result of the US, but I can reasonable state that at least 3-4% of it is.)

 

[Spring Onion]

Lets see if their favourit BB Is not coming into power they will cut it indeed but wait and see.
guess their new plan to cut Pakistan in pieces is much dangerous than their aid benefit to us.

 

[Tang0]

Hmm. Bush wants BB to go away, as she would cause alot of problems since Bush has a buddy-buddy relationship with Mush in the eyes of the western media. However, there is no way to make her go away and even be pretending to respect democracy at the same time, and so his advisers come up with a ridiculous power sharing plan. Regardless of what happens, so long as Islamofacists don't come into power, the IT money will not leave. The Issue is all of the loans the U.S has been giving out, and the military support. That is going to disappear if things continue down there current road, which is either Mush officially and totally a military dictator, or with yet another corrupt civillian government. The ugly bit is that depending on how the situation unfolds, the U.S. might conclude that it needs to deal with the AQ holed up in the tribal areas personally, since it can't trust the current leadership. This is unlikely though, since they seem fairly well contained at the moment (No attacks inside the US since 9/11). Mostly the administration won't be able to do anything but sit and cringe if General M. refuses to back down, and then punitively cut off aid. This all simply pushes Pakistan into the sphere of Chinese influence etc. etc. etc. Bad news for the US in any case, and the CIA can't simply find a new strong man, not with this many camera's, and the fact that Pakistan's military is very disciplined. BB makes the news simply because she looks like the persecuted woman in the Muslim country. That sells, seeing as women in the U.S make about 40% of the money, and control more like 70% because their husbands don't want to be bothered with it.