Strategic Ally, Pakistan
Nov 5th, 2007 • Posted in: What They're Saying“If you don’t have television, you don’t have crowds.”
– Pakistani TV news anchor Kashif Abbasi, talking to the Washington Post after Pakistan’s president Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule over the weekend, suspending the country’s constitution, “raiding the homes of opposition party leaders and activists, arresting at least 500,” and blacking out independent broadcasters on radio and TV. Musharraf says he is fighting militancy in Pakistan, but many critics and observers believe he actually is trying to block court rulings and criticism that could cost him power.
“It’s hard to make arguments that the bulk of what is being provided by the U.S. is very effective for counter-terrorism operations. A lot of the military assistance has been much more useful for a potential war with India.”
– Alan Kronstadt, a specialist in South Asian affairs at the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, talking to the Los Angeles Times about how Musharraf has allocated the more than $7 billion in military aid provided by the United States. According to the Times, Pakistan has shunted the bulk of funds away from counterterrorism efforts and toward “heavy arms, aircraft, and equipment that U.S. officials say are far more suited for conventional warfare with India, its regional rival.”
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