• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Pakistan pays US lobbyists $75K a month to ensure their foreign aid...

Should the US continue giving foreign aid to Pakistan?

  • Total voters
    7
MaggieD

MaggieD

DP Veteran
Joined
Jul 9, 2010
Messages
43,244
Reaction score
44,664
Location
Chicago Area
Gender
Female
Political Leaning
Moderate
Pakistan is paying US lobbyists $75K a month to ensure that they'll get the $2 billion in foreign aid that's in our 2012 budget. Pakistan pays U.S. lobbyists to deny it helped bin Laden | Reuters

Don't foreign countries even have to "play nice" to get money from US taxpayers?

There is absolutely no way the government of Pakistan didn't know that OBL was hiding in plain sight:

A unique compound with 12-ft barbed-wire topped walls in a subdivision of military (and other) retirees...down the street from the police station...a short distance to the Pakistani equivalent of West Point...registered under a bogus name...built with "entrapment corridors" inside the walls...no garbage service like everyone else (they burned theirs)...I'm sure there's more.

Do you think the United States should continue giving foreign aid to Pakistan?
 
If we want to continue our mission in Afghanistan I don't see that we have much of a choice, unless we want to shift the burden onto Afghanistan's northern neighbors, the other "'Stans"
 
As much as I don't want us giving taxpayer-funded bribes to any country around the world... and as much as I'd like to take Pakistan's "foreign aid" and ram it up their collective butts... SB75 is right. As long as we're in Afghanistan we need to grit our teeth and continue paying them off. But damn, it stings. :(
 
I voted no_Of course I think all foreign aid should be cut off period.
 
DiAnna said:
As much as I don't want us giving taxpayer-funded bribes to any country around the world... and as much as I'd like to take Pakistan's "foreign aid" and ram it up their collective butts... SB75 is right. As long as we're in Afghanistan we need to grit our teeth and continue paying them off. But damn, it stings. :(
Click to expand...

It's not even just that. Pakistan has nukes. We also know that they are probably the biggest hotbed of Islamic violent extremism in the world, and although it seems that their government/security apparatus has firm control of those weapons for now, it could potentially become a precarious situation. Our mission in Afghanistan cannot be divorced from the happenings in Pakistan. The war is happening in both countries; it just so happens that we can only fight it in one.
 
Pakistan isn't getting "aid". It is a direct bribe to the government in return for conducting attacks on their soil and keeping the supply route open. It is a simple quid-pro-quo agreement. If we cut off aid, we have to pull out of Afghanistan and stop hunting for terrorists on their soil.

In addition, keeping their current regime stable also provides a better safeguard on their nuclear weapons. There may be other options than throwing money at the problem, but it would be dangerous to cut off the aid without an alternative plan in place.
 
How is it that our system provides a foreign govt with more access and influence in our American govt than American citizens have?

I think the system is broken.
 
Simon W. Moon said:
How is it that our system provides a foreign govt with more access and influence in our American govt than American citizens have?

I think the system is broken.
Click to expand...

Americans have plenty of influence. We don't use it effectively.
 
I feel like replying like Moynihan would to one of his staffers saying they should stop funding something because it is not quite working out the way they desire:

"Oh?..."
 
MaggieD said:
Pakistan is paying US lobbyists $75K a month to ensure that they'll get the $2 billion in foreign aid that's in our 2012 budget. Pakistan pays U.S. lobbyists to deny it helped bin Laden | Reuters

Don't foreign countries even have to "play nice" to get money from US taxpayers?

There is absolutely no way the government of Pakistan didn't know that OBL was hiding in plain sight:

A unique compound with 12-ft barbed-wire topped walls in a subdivision of military (and other) retirees...down the street from the police station...a short distance to the Pakistani equivalent of West Point...registered under a bogus name...built with "entrapment corridors" inside the walls...no garbage service like everyone else (they burned theirs)...I'm sure there's more.

Do you think the United States should continue giving foreign aid to Pakistan?
Click to expand...

Yes and for one reason, they have nukes and we should seek to influence them as much as possible and gain as much control over those nukes as we can.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom