No, not really, what they are doing is shovelling money out the door and not looking at where it goes or what it does. Just hand the Pakistan military the money and they''ll go after the Taliban and the terrorists in Northwest Pakistan. No need to put controls on who gets the money and how it is used - the Pakistan military is reliable just like the American military, right? Hey, it worked in Iraq! All those pallets of cash bought - I wonder where that money actually went? Probably graft to contractors and administrators. But that's what Republicans do best, isn't it? Corruption and sharing the graft?
Apparently it never occurred to the Bush administrators that the Pakistan military was the key supporter and organizer for the Taliban in the first place. Instead of helping the Pakistan military to build up and go after the Taliban and the terrorists, the money is being diverted to graft, corruption, and building up the Pakistan military to combat the Indian army. From the New York Times:
After the United States has spent more than $5 billion in a largely failed effort to bolster the Pakistani military effort against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, some American officials now acknowledge that there were too few controls over the money. [Snip]What's the surprise? Where you find Republicans in government you find corruption and incompetence. Why should anyone be surprised to find more of it in shovelling money out to the Pakistani military? And what would you expect their partners in crime in Pakistan to tell the Press when called? "Oh, yeah. THAT money. No, No, it was spent properly and we resent the implications that there is gambling going on here -- no,wait. That was in the Movie Casablanca, wasn't it?"
In interviews in Islamabad and Washington, Bush administration and military officials said they believed that much of the American money was not making its way to frontline Pakistani units. Money has been diverted to help finance weapons systems designed to counter India, not Al Qaeda or the Taliban, the officials said, adding that the United States has paid tens of millions of dollars in inflated Pakistani reimbursement claims for fuel, ammunition and other costs.
“I personally believe there is exaggeration and inflation,” said a senior American military official who has reviewed the program, referring to Pakistani requests for reimbursement. “Then, I point back to the United States and say we didn’t have to give them money this way.”
Pakistani officials say they are incensed at what they see as American ingratitude for Pakistani counterterrorism efforts that have left about 1,000 Pakistani soldiers and police officers dead. They deny that any overcharging has occurred.
The $5 billion was provided through a program known as Coalition Support Funds, which reimburses Pakistan for conducting military operations to fight terrorism. Under a separate program, Pakistan receives $300 million per year in traditional American military financing that pays for equipment and training.
Civilian opponents of President Pervez Musharraf say he used the reimbursements to prop up his government. One European diplomat in Islamabad said the United States should have been more cautious with its aid.
“I wonder if the Americans have not been taken for a ride,” said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity. [Snip]
Early last week, six years after President Bush first began pouring billions of dollars into Pakistan’s military after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Pentagon completed a review that produced a classified plan to help the Pakistani military build an effective counterinsurgency force.
The plan, which now goes to the United States Embassy in Islamabad to carry out, seeks to focus American military aid toward specific equipment and training for Pakistani forces operating in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas where Qaeda leaders and local militants hold sway.
For their part, Pakistani officials angrily accused the United States of refusing to sell Pakistan the advanced helicopters, reconnaissance aircraft, radios and night-vision equipment it needs.
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