US Continues to Cut Aid to Pakistan
As the US looks to “confront” China in every way they can think of, they have found themselves in the process of deepening military ties with China’s neighbor, and regional rival, India. This is having a growing impact on America’s already weakening relationship with Pakistan.
Throughout the 15-year occupation of Afghanistan, the US has cozied up to Pakistan, giving them growing amounts of aid, usually putting them at or near the top of America’s annual recipients of military aid. They’ve also made Pakistan a regular scapegoat when the war isn’t going well.
Long-standing acrimony between Pakistan and India, means the US would struggle to be too close with both at the same time, and with Congress increasingly irked at Pakistan for not obeying American demands to target specific militant factions at specific times, Pakistan is quickly sliding down the list of America’s top allies.
Ironically, all those years of scapegoating Pakistan have given officials 15 years worth of ready-made excuses to withhold not just aid from Pakistan, but money they actually owe Pakistan’s military for services rendered in joint operations, which is likely to give this effort more momentum.
Source: news.antiwar.com
