Finally, the U.S. Stands Up to Double-Crossing Pakistan

It's about time.

That was my thought when I woke up this morning and saw the New York Times headline "U.S. Differs Millions in Pakistani Military Aid". According to the article, the Obama Administration is finally taking concrete action against a Pakistani government that can't decide whose side they are on in the fight against terrorism. Tension with Pakistan has been building ever since Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. Special Forces there back on May 1st. Since that incident, American officials have questioned whether or not Pakistan is truly a reliable ally. Some people believe that the Pakistanis simply have lax and inept counter terrorism skills, while others believe that they are in cahoots with the radical Islamists that they claim to be fighting. I for one believe the latter to be true, as I discussed in my May 9th article concerning the nefarious activities of the ISI. There have been numerous instances over the last decade in which the ISI has been unwilling to cooperate with American intelligence officials, and there is even evidence suggesting that they have directly operated against us.

According to the NYT article, the final straw came after a couple of incidents. Firstly, there has been a  series of "botched" counterrorism operations by the Pakistani military in recent weeks. In one case, American officials gave Pakistan the locations of a few bomb making factories used by militants. However, the Pakistani military failed to act quickly on the intelligence, and the militants fled the sites soon thereafter.

Personally, I don't believe it was a botched operation. I think that those militants were tipped off by the ISI. It would certainly follow the pattern our great "ally" has chosen to produce in recent years.

Secondly, Pakistan recently kicked many American military trainers out of their country. These trainers were teaching the Pakistani military how to fight Al Qadea and Taliban militants located along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Without American support, the relatively weak Pakistani military most likely will not be able to combat those enemies effectively. But that's the whole point: Pakistan doesn't want to fight Al Qaeda, they want to assist them. In my mind, it's a painfully obvious fact, and White House officials finally seem to feel the same way.

The cuts in aid are steep, impressively so. Senior U.S. officials say that these cuts could result in holding back $800 million dollars from the Pakistanis. That money makes up about 33% of our yearly military aid to these con artists who claim to be our friends. These cuts will not only prevent us from wasting money, they will also serve as an ultimatum to Pakistan. Now, the Pakistanis can either decide to fully support our efforts, or they can continue to assist Al Qaeda in their endeavors to kill as many Americans as possible. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta recently said that "We have to continue to emphasize with the Pakistanis that in the end it’s in their interest to be able to go after these targets as well." I hope that they listen to his advice.

However, I don't believe they will listen to it. Time and time again, Pakistan has proven to be sympathetic towards the lawless brutes that massacre the innocent, oppress women, and pervert religion. Our government needs to stop deluding itself. Pakistan is not a friend, it is a full-fledged enemy. They aided Osama bin Laden, they've been responsible for several terrorist attacks in India, and they have closely aligned themselves with the Taliban since the mid 1990's. If I had it my way, I would've thrown out all of the aid we deliver to the Waziristan Wafflers. The aid we give to Pakistan is almost like ransom money. I believe that because they have a nuclear arsenal, our government feels the need to appease the ISI just so they won't let one of those nukes fall into the hands of Al Qaeda. If that is what is really going on, it is an unacceptable and unsustainable practice. President Obama needs to continue distancing the United States from Pakistan. It is the right move, and in the end we can only rely on ourselves when it comes to protecting our nation.