Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Sunday, what is being touted as a new plan for dealing with Pakistan. The plan involves an expansion of development assistance in an effort to keep Pakistan on-board in the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban. This is not a new plan, it’s the same old plan wrapped in new paper.
The idea that we have to pay someone to fight on our side against an enemy they clearly don’t see as an enemy themselves is tantamount to blackmail. I like Clinton, and give her a good overall rating as Secretary of State, but her announcement Sunday should come as no surprise, since Congress appropriated this money for Pakistan last year.
The announcement only means they have finally figured out exactly how they are going to spend our tax dollars. Congress has committed $1.5 billion a year in aid to Pakistan over the next five years, and Sunday’s announcement earmarks a half million to help Pakistan with water, energy, agriculture and health care issues; this, all for the wasted effort of winning over the hearts and minds of people who will not change their minds because we shove money in their faces.
Richard Holbrooke, the Obama Administration’s special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, had it right when he said we “must change our core relationship with Pakistan,” but giving them more financial assistance is not a change in that relationship.
What Pakistan, Afghanistan and the rest of the world need to understand is that the US Treasury is not an ATM machine and their credit with us does have limitations – that would be a change in our relationship. Congress, who has already agreed to the $7.5 billion aid bundle, is now starting to question past decisions.
According to an Associated Press story Senators John Kerry (D-Mass), Richard Lugar, (D-Indiana) and Carl Leven, (D-Mich) are questioning their support for the Afghan War – and surely must be questioning our commitment to Pakistan. Nita Lowey, (D-N.Y.) has placed a hold on almost $4 billion in aid to Afghanistan due to concerns about corruption and is requesting that the Afghan government be held accountable.
Kerry almost got it right when he said it’s unclear that we have a “solid strategy for prevailing.” At least he is beginning to doubt the failed strategy, as are many others in Congress.
According to the National Priorities Project, our nine-year war in Afghanistan has already cost us about $285 billion. Americans have also lost 5, 568 lives in Afghanistan. Now we learn we are to give Pakistan more money to help us fight the Taliban and al-Qaida in an effort to limit their hold on parts of Afghanistan.
If Pakistan doesn’t already clearly see the Taliban and al-Qaida as enemies, they never will. America cannot afford to keep handing corrupt governments like Pakistan and Afghanistan a blank check while we have needs at home that go unattended.
The cost of fighting terrorism and feeling safe has been huge and has affected our way of life and thinking since 9/11, but it seems we are still using the same failed tactics of pouring gasoline onto an already burning fire.
Sunday’s announcement does not amount to a change in strategy; it only amounts to business as usual in the Middle East. It seems we learned nothing from Vietnam because we are still holding onto that domino theory; if one country falls the one next to it will fall also. This is the only reason we are fighting to maintain control in the Middle East. The Middle East will go where it will; sacrificing American lives and American dollars will not change that course.
