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"Pakistan received an estimated $1.2 billion in military and security aid in the last fiscal year and another $1.4 billion in economic aid from the U.S.
That will have to be re-examined, Levin said, especially if the U.S. doesn't get satisfactory answers to its concerns about bin Laden's stay in Pakistan. Levin said he's not ready to call for hearings, but that could change. He'll be briefed on the operation today and may change his mind." From Lawmakers wonder how much of an ally U.S. has in Pakistan.
How could they not know that UBL was living so close to the country's capital in an ostentatious compound? I think Glenn Beck brings up some really great points in THIS 2 minute video.
My question is, Should the U.S. and us as Taxpayers continue to fund this country? OBVIOUSLY - there are details to figure out and I don't want to jump to unfair conclusions, but how do you feel about this issue?
Jared, while you might not like to jump to conclusions Glenn Beck sure does. A cover story in Time described Beck as "a gifted storyteller with a knack for stitching seemingly unrelated data points into possible conspiracies", proclaiming that he has "emerged as a virtuoso on the strings" of conservative discontent by mining "the timeless theme of the corrupt Them thwarting a virtuous Us."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1924348,00.html?xid=rss-topstories
What we are missing here is that regardless of UBL's notoriety, he is still an individual in a city of 1.2 million and can hide. Yes it is quite embarrassing for Pakistan, but I think we need to stop "pulling a Beck" and jumping to conclusions. Lets ask the pertinent questions and be open to the response.
It is difficult to believe that Pakistan was unaware of Bin Ladin's presence near such a military compound. To me it is doubtful that Pakistan will remain an ally, but it is best to keep our enemies closer than friends.
ReplyDeleteChris, you are bringing in your own personal biases against Beck, even though in this situation he is making very insightful points. You are just trying to be contrarian. I am glad you could find the Time article from 2009 - that surely has little relevant information to Bin Laden's death.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you mention that it wouldn't be hard to hide in a city of 1.2 million people. Actually, Abbottabad, the city where he was found and killed, is a military city that has a population of 120,000 (2006). I think that a compound would stick out like a sore thumb in a city like that, comparable to the size of Kalamazoo.
Back to the main topic.
(FYI For All - Chris and I are roommates and enjoying bantering...he is obviously wrong here :))
ReplyDeleteI'm with Chris for a number of reasons.
ReplyDelete1. It's not like he was near a military base. He was near a military training academy. Do we really think that a bunch of cadets are going to be out on the lookout for a guy who never did anything wrong to them? I hope not.
2. And, if we do, do we think that these unqualified soldiers in training would be able to find him, when it took the US CIA 10 years? I'd say he's pretty good at hide and seek.
3. This wasn't some compound that was constructed one day when Osama thought it might be a nice spot. The building had been there for years, why would anyone suspect anything?
4. Like Obama said, the US surveillance team never sighted him once in the entire time they were assessing the compound. He wasn't out and about on leisurely strolls, mingling with the town folk. He is kind of a high profile fugitive, what do we call it? Public enemy number 1? I think he might be content to just chill in a dark room and have his amigos bring him whatever he needs.
Let's be serious, even if the people trying to sell news want to raise questions, we don't need to bite.
Dane, I think you bring up some very interesting points (many of which I agree with) regarding the average Pakistan citizen as well as the Pakistan cadadets at this nearby training camp. To me it sounds like there would not be any reason for any suspicion. Like you said even our US serveillance team never sighted him... but as the most wanted man in the world, why would you show your face? Either way, that's not what I'm concerned about... I think there is no way that some high ranking person in Pakistan did not know that he was living at that compound. And for that, I think it's bullshit that we have given aid to them. I think they are an important ally to keep, but some questions certainly need to be answered for that to continue in the future.
ReplyDeleteMatt, I really like your final conclusions here. 100% agree.
ReplyDeleteI have never been agreeable to paying Pakistan to help us with our war on terror and in Afghanistan. I think Pakistan hides a lot of the Afghani rebels in their cities and as a whole the zeigeist there is very anti American.
ReplyDeleteI think that we do have different goals and opposing viewpoints and that giving Pakistan aid has not helped them help us. In fact I think perhaps it might have hindered our efforts. I think the US is okay with raiding a compound by themselves, only Americans albeit in a foreign country because we needed high security to do the raid and whoever was living there probably was very influential in the Pakistani system as they had lots of money, and they were able to live in such a small city. Usually as the case goes, whoever has the most money in small town gets the most influence so I have no doubt that whoever lived in the compound had a lot of influence.
And the other question is, if USA gives billions of dollars to Pakistan in aid, I am assuming to be spent on military needs where are all the arms and all the soldiers we have paid for? Where has the money gone?
I have to agree with Matt and Jennifer here. Like Senator Levin said "It's hard to imagine that the Pakistani military and intelligence didn't have any idea of what was going on." The economic and military aid that the US provides Pakistan feels a lot like a gesture to ensure that Pakistan emulates our feelings towards al-Qaida in Afghanistan to the west. I also feel like they are trying to appease Pakistanis so that regional turmoil with India over Kashmir doesn't escalate into a major war. I am glad Obama made it clear from day 1 when he was inaugurated that he was going to take all necessary precautions while trying to capture Osama. He was also very clear that he would take measures to deal with the situation in Pakistan. So it doesn't make sense to make Pakistan an enemy since the may have many nuclear weapons. I agree that the harder questions need to be asked because someone had to have known where Bin Laden was, but its easier said than done.
ReplyDelete