Last Updated 10/8 12:20 PM EST
In the latest indication yet of growing opposition to the conditions tied to a US offer of billions in aid, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Parvez Kayani lodged a formal protest with US General Stanley McChrystal, declaring that the military was “furious” at the observations made in the bill and comments made by US officials since its passage.
The Kerry-Lugar Bill, which the Senate passed last week, pledges to triple non-military aid to the economically struggling Pakistan. But the bill also issues demands about continuing the military offensives against militants across the nation, and also seeks to establish US oversight to ensure that the nation’s civilian government has primacy over its military.
The offer of aid will come under debate in Pakistan’s National Assembly, and amid growing uproar the debate is almost certain to be a contentious one, underscoring the rising opposition to American influence in and over the nation. Yet the National Assembly’s support will not be required to move the bill forward.
The ultimate decision lies with Pakistan’s controversial President Asif Ali Zardari. He has been a long-time advocate of closer ties with the US and his office claims the opposition to the bill is a personal insult to him. His dwindling supporters suggest that the government could basically ignore the requirements in the bill with impunity.
Gen. Kayani has long gone out of his way to avoid meddling in governmental affairs, a rarity for Pakistani military leaders in a nation with a rich history of coups d’etat. But the danger to the military’s long-standing independence is palpable, and may force an inevitable confrontation.
Zardari et al. doesn’t seem to get the objections, noting that President Musharraf never saw these kinds of complaints when he was negotiating aid deals. Yet Musharraf was the result of a coup himself, and served as both the leader of the military and the ostensibly “civilian” government during his reign, rendering questions of oversight between the two largely moot. If Zardari presses the battle between civilian and military government, everything in Pakistan’s history suggests the military will win.
The basic problem is that Pakistanis don't like Americans.
form the latest Pew Global Attitudes Project, Aug 13, 2009:
"Opinions of America and its people remain extremely negative. Barack Obama's global popularity is not evident in Pakistan, and America's image remains as tarnished in that country as it was in the Bush years. Only 22% of Pakistanis think the U.S. takes their interests into account when making foreign policy decisions, essentially unchanged from 21% since 2007. Fully 64% of the public regards the U.S. as an enemy, while only 9% describe it as a partner."
http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID…
Fully 64% of the public regards the U.S. as an enemy, that's not good.
The basic problem is that Pakistanis don't like Americans.
form the latest Pew Global Attitudes Project, Aug 13, 2009:
"Opinions of America and its people remain extremely negative. Barack Obama's global popularity is not evident in Pakistan, and America's image remains as tarnished in that country as it was in the Bush years. Only 22% of Pakistanis think the U.S. takes their interests into account when making foreign policy decisions, essentially unchanged from 21% since 2007. Fully 64% of the public regards the U.S. as an enemy, while only 9% describe it as a partner."
http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID…
Fully 64% of the public regards the U.S. as an enemy, that's not good.
Our country gives aid to other countries and expects to have a say in how the money is spent, and more. We interfere. Our banks lend money to other countries and have a say as to how the money is spent and how the government runs things, even though the same banks are eventually paid back, with interest. Is it too much to expect China and Japan to one day demand that our government change the way it governs to suit its lenders? And I don´t hear anybody talking about ever paying back our foreign debts.
The Swat operation conducted under US pressure cost the people of Pakistan billions of dollars, if Zardari continues on this foolish path Pakistan will soon be in a deep economic and political trouble. How that will help the war hawks in Obama administration is anybody's guess. I think Kerry-Lugar bill is too little, too late, and too imperialistic.
This is good. They should reject the aid and serve the interests of their own people, rather than doing what the US wants. In fact, that's probably the best way for the country to gain "stability". The internal conflict is largely caused by the fact that the government is doing the opposite of what the vast majority of their people want.