via Pakistan freed of anti-terrorism obligations; U.S. billions flow instead – KansasCity.com.
The Obama administration has refused for
the first time to declare that Pakistan is making progress toward ending
alleged military support for Islamic militant groups or preventing al
Qaida, the Afghan Taliban or other extremists from staging attacks in
Afghanistan.
Even so, Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton has quietly informed Congress that she’s waived the legal
restrictions that would have blocked some $2 billion in U.S. economic
and military aid to Pakistan. Disbursing the funds, she said in an official notice, is “important to the national security interests of the United States.”
Clinton’s decision illustrates how far the
administration apparently has determined that it must go, after a
near-breakdown in relations, to ensure Pakistan’s cooperation in the
uphill U.S. effort to prevent Afghanistan collapsing into all-out civil
war when American-led international combat forces complete a withdraw by
the end of 2014.
Some experts, however, warned that the
move might backfire. The waivers could encourage a belief among
Pakistani commanders that their cooperation is so crucial that
Washington will continue overlooking the Pakistani military’s refusal to
end what U.S. officials charge is its support for Afghan insurgent
groups or to shutter militant sanctuaries, they said.
“The army is going to think that no matter
how angry the Americans are at them, they are utterly indispensable and
they can violate in any way, shape or form U.S. law and the United
States will massage its law to accommodate them,” said assistant
professor Christine Fair, an expert at Georgetown University. “That’s
how they are going to read this.”
Comments: In spite of the recent developments in the ME, regardless of the expressed statements by Islamists that jihad is in play, the Obama Administration circumvents the Congress and "doubles-down" on a policy that does not work-what more do you need to have a change in administration?
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