Slashing aid for Pakistan
The Obama administration plans to hold back $800 million of the $2 billion it grants to Pakistan in annual military aid.
Frustrated with Pakistan’s uncooperative behavior, the Obama administration announced it would hold back $800 million of the $2 billion it grants the country in annual military aid. Administration officials said Pakistan has been expelling U.S. Special Forces advisers and arresting Pakistanis who helped the U.S. prepare its raid on Osama bin Laden’s Abbottabad hideout in May. They also said Pakistan’s military refuses to purge itself of Taliban collaborators or conduct operations against Afghan rebels in North Waziristan. “Until we get through these difficulties,” said White House Chief of Staff William M. Daley, “we’ll hold back some of the money that the American taxpayers have committed to give.”
Bravo, said Investor’s Business Daily in an editorial. It’s time for Pakistan to “show its cooperation is more than just a façade to milk the U.S. for more cash.” Sure, the Pakistanis have immediately begun “huffing and bluffing,” saying they’ll turn to China instead. But that’s nothing new; they may already be using U.S. aid to buy Chinese nukes. And our generals say the Pakistani government sanctioned the torture and killing of reporter Syed Shahzad after he revealed that Pakistan supports the Taliban in Quetta and the Haqqani group operating out of Pakistan’s tribal region.
But withholding aid could backfire, said Tony Karon in Time​.com. Pakistanis see the Taliban as their proxy in a struggle with archrival India for control of Afghanistan. In their view, Hamid Karzai’s beleaguered government there could end up as a puppet regime of India. Meanwhile, the Pakistani public is furious over U.S. drone strikes on Pakistani soil. So no one should be surprised “if Pakistan’s response to Washington anteing up is not to fold but rather to double down.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Exactly, said the Peshawar, Pakistan, Frontier Post. Our “overstretched military cannot afford to pile up more load on its back” by taking on phantom militants in North Waziristan. This American money just replaces what we have to spend ourselves “on the American war.” We should refuse to fight against our own interests and forgo “this mythical U.S. aid.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Republicans want to silence Israel's opponents'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 19, 2024
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - priority delivery, USPS on fire, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published