U.S. Pays Pakistan to Fight Terror, but Patrols Ebb

[RamboLiberal]

Source: NY Times

The United States is continuing to make large payments of roughly $1 billion a year to Pakistan for what it calls reimbursements to the country’s military for conducting counterterrorism efforts along the border with Afghanistan, even though Pakistan’s president decided eight months ago to slash patrols through the area where Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters are most active.

The monthly payments, called coalition support funds, are not widely advertised. Buried in public budget numbers, the payments are intended to reimburse Pakistan’s military for the cost of the operations. So far, Pakistan has received more than $5.6 billion under the program over five years, more than half of the total aid the United States has sent to the country since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, not counting covert funds.

Some American military officials in the region have recommended that the money be tied to Pakistan’s performance in pursuing Al Qaeda and keeping the Taliban from gaining a haven from which to attack the government of Afghanistan. American officials have been surprised by the speed at which both organizations have gained strength in the past year.

But Bush administration officials say no such plan is being considered, despite new evidence that the Pakistani military is often looking the other way when Taliban fighters retreat across the border into Pakistan, ignoring calls from American spotters to intercept them. There is also at least one American report that Pakistani security forces have fired in support of Taliban fighters attacking Afghan posts.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/world/asia/20pakistan.html?hp

---

More taxpayer $$$$s down that black hole. I wouldn't be surprised to wake up some morning to find out there's been a coup in Pakistan and Gen. Pervez Musharraf has been overthrown.

[cliss]

1. Where does this money come from?

I'm serious about this. Here, we're paying (how much?) about $4 billion per month in Iraq alone. I believe we've already spent about $500 billion for Iraq & Afghanistan. Not ONE dime of this has been paid out of current funds. It's all borrowed from the future.

So where the Hell do we get $1 billion/year to throw Pakistan's way??

I remember when we were going to invade Iraq, we were bribing the Turkish government to the tune of $24 billion to let us use Turkey as a staging ground and invade from the north, like Rumsfailed + Wolfotwit wanted.

How much more are we sending to other rogue regimes? Hard to believe, who is underwriting this?