Buying friends: U.S. to unveil large aid package to win the hearts of Pakistanis

[unhappycamper]

U.S. to unveil large aid package to win the hearts of Pakistanis
By Saeed Shah | McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Sunday, July 18, 2010

ISLAMABAD — The U.S. will announce Monday hundreds of millions of dollars worth of civilian aid projects for Pakistan, American officials said, in an attempt to demonstrate that Washington has broadened its relationship with the country, away from just anti-terror cooperation to helping the people of Pakistan.

Hillary Clinton, on her way to a key international conference in Afghanistan, will unveil a raft of U.S.-funded development projects Monday. They will cover sectors including water supply, electricity production, agriculture and health, as the U.S. implements its pledge to triple civilian aid to key ally Pakistan. The previous administration of President George W. Bush had focused most aid on Pakistan's military, which then ruled the country, causing resentment in the country that felt it was being manipulated to further U.S. goals.

The Obama administration vowed to "transform" the nature of its relationship with Pakistan when it came into office, insisting that Pakistan was at least as important as Afghanistan. Up until now, Washington has not been able to provide concrete evidence of that change. The U.S. is seeking to counter virulent anti-Americanism in Pakistan by backing the current democratic government and reaching out to the population with money for tangible aid projects that are visible and serve basic needs.

"The (Obama) administration didn't feel good about what we inherited in Pakistan. We felt the relationship was much too much transactional," said a senior U.S. official in Islamabad, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official announcement was not yet made. "No country is more important to us than Pakistan ... This represents a sea-change in our approach."

The aid comes as a result of controversial and much-delayed U.S. legislation, known as the Kerry-Lugar Bill, which allocated $1.5 billion a year to Pakistan for the next five years. Although the legislation appeared to make the funding contingent on Pakistan cracking down on terrorist groups, those funds are now ready to be dispersed, Clinton will say.




unhappycamper comment: The United States government was actually considering cutting back on food stamps to pay for this?

[doc03]

1. And we don't have money for unemployment and SS

and Medicare has to be cut! Oh according to Mitch McConnell yesterday suspending the Bush tax cuts is a tax increase and we don't need any tax increase in this economy and don't need to pay for it.