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Haggling Over How Much To Steal
A large chunk (over a fifth) of the $20 billion the U.S. has given to Pakistan since September 11, 2001 has been stolen. Now the U.S. is holding back nearly a billion dollars in aid. The $800 million being withheld is largely for "reimbursements" for what the Pakistani military has spent to fight terror groups. Audits have revealed that this is where much of the theft takes place. So holding back this money will do the least harm to the Pakistani military effort (such as it is) and the most damage to the corrupt officers who steal American aid. Pakistani politicians are already upset that the $3 billion in American aid for the next year is mainly going to the military, and comes with strings (cut corruption, tax the rich, who often pay nothing at all). The U.S. is the largest aid donor, but all this pressure to attack Islamic radicals and stop diverting aid to private use is annoying to Pakistani officials. Ironically, when accused of corruption, Pakistanis react by denouncing Americans for attacking Pakistani honor. Meanwhile, Pakistani officials insist that negotiations continue with the United States. What is not said that these talks are basically about how much the U.S. will allow to be stolen, in return for how much effort Pakistani will actually, or pretend, to make against Islamic terror groups.Pakistan's rulers are not concerned about how well they can run the country, but with how thoroughly they can plunder it. For example, Pakistan's government budget for next year has been set at $29.1 billion. A third of this is borrowed or gifts from foreign nations (mainly the U.S.). Pakistan is the second largest recipient of American foreign aid, but about a third of the annual aid is not being spent because no one honest enough to handle the aid can be found in Pakistan. Posted by: Eohippus Phater7165 2011-07-12 |
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