The Congress begins to turn on Pakistan for sheltering bin Laden
As I stated in this post, I find it ludicrous to think that Pakistan had no knowledge that Osama bin Laden was hiding in his fortified compound in an affluent town right next to a military complex in their country. There is no doubt in my mind that Pakistan was sheltering the world’s most wanted man, and now it appears as if the Congress is starting to ask questions about the Pakistani government’s role in protecting Osama bin Laden.
While it is true that Pakistan has been a United States ally in the war on terror it is safe to say that they have been a dubious ally at best. By aligning themselves with the United States they have estranged themselves from other Arab nations in the region and I think that it is highly likely that Pakistan would have tried to shelter bin Laden in an attempt to help endear them to the nations which we are fighting against.
The Congress is now taking a second look at the United States’s relationship with Pakistan and the billions of dollars we send to them for their “help” in the war on terror.
Congress expressed fury at Pakistan Tuesday for its role in housing Osama bin Laden for the past several years, as a wide range of powerful lawmakers are raising new questions about the billions in foreign aid the United States has spent propping up what many believe is an unreliable ally.
Lawmakers from both parties are weighing whether to put limitations on Pakistani aid, either through new accountability measures, tougher oversight – or even withholding portions of the funding if Pakistan fails to divulge how bin Laden was able to live in a huge compound just outside the country’s capital of Islamabad.
And while a complete cut off of funding seems highly unlikely, it’s clear that Pakistan is losing support on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers expressed disbelief at the Pakistani government’s contention that officials were unaware of bin Laden’s presence.
This is what Lindsey Graham had to say about this uneasy relationship:
You can’t trust them, and you can’t abandon them,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), top Republican on a Senate subcommittee responsible for doling out foreign aid. “One thing that’s just not an option to me is to sever ties – that to me is a formula for a failed state.
I am no big fan of Lindsey Graham, but in this instance he has nailed the dilemma facing the United States in regard to Pakistan; we need them and the need us and while this is not the perfect marriage of allies we are in a tight spot here. As the article I linked to above states, it is highly unlikely that we will ever cut off all funding to Pakistan but that does not mean that we cannot hold back funding until an investigation takes place and Pakistan explains herself.
I want answers, the American people want answers, and now it seems as if the Congress wants answers and I think that we deserve to know the truth. If Pakistan did in fact privately shelter bin Laden while publicly claiming they were trying to help find him the American people need to know about the ruse this country was conducting against both the government and the people of the United States of America.
I can only hope that the Congress is serious about this issue because on the surface Pakistan sure looks guilty as hell, and if they sheltered bin Laden it is totally unacceptable and they need to feel repercussions for their duplicitous actions. If they want our money they need to prove once and for all that they are a reliable ally and not just another terrorist sponsoring nation.
America's Watchtower 
I understand the strategic importance of Pakistan to the US but I’m not sure that Pakistan needs the US. China has been making overtures to Pakistan that they would be a better ally.
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A good point, we probably need them more than they need us and that puts us in an even tighter spot.
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One thing we all know is that when it came to this most crucial of military actions, the President played his cards extremely close to the vest, not sharing any information at all with our putative allies. Those who follow such events know that sharing this kind of information is usually done as a matter of courtesy, even if it’s sometimes withheld until the very last minute. In this case, the tradition was ignored and the President was magnificently discourteous to Pakistan. I’m convinced that if he’d given them any kind of notice at all, attacking the compound would have been like a rerun of Geraldo opening Al Capone’s safe . . .
Graham’s right, though. Pakistan’s an Islamist nuclear power with a somewhat unstable government, bordering two global powers and a bunch of regional wannabe powers. We can’t abandon them, but it’s going to be hard to trust them.
Take good care and may God bless us all!
TGY
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I think you hit the nail on the head TGY; the fact that Barack Obama didn’t trust Pakistan enough to let them in on the attack beforehand says all that we need to know. They cannot be fully trusted and I agree, if we let them know there is the real chance he would have escaped. You summed up our problem in Pakistan perfectly.
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This uneasy alliance has gone on for years but now events (and the obvious truth) will force some difficult decisions to be made. If Pakistan were to turn against us would we be better off? I think withholding military aide would help but this may be an example of real politik at work.
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I don’t think there is too much we can do, we need them on our side (as much as possible) if for nothing else so that we can keep a check on them.
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Our alliance with Pakistan is predicated on two facts, they have nukes, and we are allies with India, who also has nukes. Muslim Pakistan hates Hindu India, and they are two nuclear powers right next to each other. We aren’t friends with Pakistan, and we aren’t giving them money for any other reason besides a pay-off to keep them from lighting off World War III.
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And therein lies the problem, but what can we do about it?
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I say if a nation cannot stand by their principle than what kind of nation are they. I say cut them loose. If China wants an ally like Pakistan then by own means take her. Let us look to India. They have been more of an ally than Pakistan ever will be. We need to start shoring up our relationships with nations that we have had long standing partnerships with like Australia, Great Britain, Israel, and Japan. Cut the money off for the rest. This is about principle…period.
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Great point John, we have been neglecting our tried and true allies under Barack Obama, and it is time to start repairing our relationships with them.
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I think what everybody needs to understand is that the Pakistani government is not one entity. I doubt if the civilian government knew anything about or had any involvement in hiding or protecting Bin Laden. However the Pakistani military and intelligence services is the real power in Pakistan even now, and there can be no doubt now that they are the biggest sponsor of terrorism in the world and have been for a long time. All roads to terrorism in the world seem to have one common thread – they point back to Pakistan. The Pakistani military and intelligence services are running their own show and using the civilian government as a front to sanitize their involvement in world terrorism, and the US government is funding them with billions of dollars of US taxpayers money.
Pakistan is a tricky and dangerous issue which needs to be dealt with and dealt with intelligently. It is not only the world’s biggest sponsor of terrorism and islamic fundamentalism, but also a nuclear armed terrorist sponsor.
What is clear though is the US policy of paying money to what is in effect a terrorist sponsor is not working, and will never work. The US has to find other means of dealing with Pakistan. I think the reason appeasement didn’t work and will never work, is because the Pakistani military and intelligence services are riddled with islamic fundamentalist sympathisers at all levels. While they will happily take billions of dollars of US aid, especially if it will help their islamic fundementalist cause, they are not going to change their philosophy simply because the US gives them the aid. The US needs to think of containing Pakistan’s nuclear capability by discretely applied technology sanctions – particularly with regard to transfer of nuclear and missile technology from China to Pakistan, and also needs to realise that contrary to previous strategy, an economically weak Pakistan is easier to control and strong-arm into compliance than an economically strong one.
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Great points! There is no doubt that something has to be done, we cannot just ignore the fact that this country sheltered bin Laden for six years.
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Did some part of the Pakistani government know about bin Laden hiding in their midst? I would say the likelihood of that is almost 100%. I understand the reasons for our military aid, but I have to agree with John on this, ie. it’s time to cut them off. They have proven they can not be trusted and even President Obama understands that.
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There is no doubt in my mind that they knew where he was all along and played this game with us for years. It is time to stand up to them and show them that this is unacceptable.
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