When are we going to stop the "Pakistan is our ally" bullshit.

Pakistan is not our ally. Anyone that doesn't know that they've been shielding Bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders for years is brain dead.

So why all the make believe? Because Pakistan is a nuclear power. -- Yes, they have The Bomb and have had it for years. And their enemy next door, India, is also a nuclear power.

The bottom line is that we don't want a nuclear exchange to happen anyplace in the world, so we've been treating Pakistan with kid gloves.

But make no mistake about it. They are, and will go on, shielding those who would do us harm.

So what do we do about them and their neighbor, Afghanistan? (Look at a map if necessary.)

My personal take is that we just walk away and ignore the whole lot of them. Al Qaeda isn't in one place. It's an organization spread out over Asia, North Africa, Indonesia, and probably Brooklyn. Let's pull out of Pakistan, Afghanistan and every other sewer we're dumping billions into.

Of course, this won't happen as American companies like G.E. sell them weapons, technology and everything else which builds up the profits. The fact that what G.E. and others sell them can do us harm is of no consequence. When billions of dollars are at stake, corporations don't place any meaning on the word "enemy."

Until the American people snap out of their collective coma and realize that the "enemy" is our own giant corporations, we will go on pouring billions into rat holes and getting fucked.

To repeat, Pakistan is not our ally. And every time you hear NBC tell you that they are, keep in mind that NBC is owned by G.E.

We'll keep supporting Pakistan because there are elements there that can be reasoned with.

world is more complicated than simple good/evil thinking. That type of thinking was so W administration and it got us nowhere.

That would be my guess...

The "aid" we give them is actuallly just money that is given to Pakistan (and other countries) that is then directly funneled back to US munitions manufacturers, which then give all these dictatorships weapons.

The US military/industrial/congressional complex is a global enterprise.

I'm going to have to write 100 times on the board, CORPORATE PROFITS ARE WORTH MORE THAN LIVES.

Unrecced.

They are turning out more engineers, doctors, and other highly skilled professionals than we are. The 21st Century could turn out to be a very ugly one unless China gives more freedom to its two billion plus people. And the best friend we have in Asia to counter balance China, is India.

Don't know what makes you think that India is an unreliable ally. And as far as unreccing, you've broken my heart.

programs. Yeah, how democratic is THAT. :eyes:

I wouldn't argue that anyone should trust Pakistan more than India, but Pakistan needs us - and strategically, we need them. They are the one state in a rough part of the world that, at the end of the day, will help the US achieve necessary strategic objectives.

and it only 3 % that of NASA's. Furthermore most of the expenses are covered by the commercial satellite launching ISRO does. Compared to the average growth rate of 8% india maintained in the past decade.. the measly 0.1% is nothing..especially when one looks at the benefits

Furthermore it has the world's largest number of satellites dedicated to Crop and Oceanographic data monitoring; an endeavor that saves Billions worth of crops and enables efficient Agri-planning.

Please come up with some valid criticism..rather than cooking some up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Space_Research_Organisation



But yeah...lets not get facts get in the way of sensationalism!

Care to back up that assertion? :shrug: I don't understand what data you're using to reach that conclusion.

I just knew it!

However, we can't simply walk away from the region either.

There are snakes, there are "good" factions, and it is really the only region in the world right now where we have access to and intelligence on radical islam. Of course, Pakistan also has nukes and we need to be involved to ensure (or at least try to prevent) groups like AQ don't gain control of them.

In short, there may be more reasons to maintain a relationship and presence in areas where we aren't loved than to justify having military bases in places like Germany.

Start the new one. :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: x's a thousand.

That doesn't mean that they are our friends, nor that they won't screw us if they can.

nt

who know a hell of a lot more about it than we do.

while they tell us likely Pakistani harboring of Bin Laden is "an opportunity to improve US-Pakistani relations?" The same experts who tell us Bush dropped the ball by diverting US forces into Iraq? As if invading and occupying a country is an understandable mistake.

This is all double think. Why should the public trust these so called experts?

They took the money but they couldn't find Bin Laden. We found him without their help. Should we continue to pay them that money??

Ignoring them would be far cheaper. So far, all they've done as an "ally" is jerk us around, screw us, take our government's billions, and feed it back to American arms manufacturers.

The "intelligence" we need from Pakistan is the CIA's job. Why keep paying through the nose to keep so many "boots on the ground?"

Aside from which, the word "ally" implies that it takes two to play. With allies like Pakistan, who needs enemies. They harbored Bin Laden because their own interests have nothing to do with ours. Further, there government is as corrupt (and probably more corrupt) than our own. Why keep feeding them billions when most of that money keeps bouncing back to our homegrown corporations who have no loyalties except to their own profits?

...I've been asking the same thing for 25 years.

It's in the Military Industrial Complex's interests for the US to continue military aid...which get funneled back into the Arms companie's coffers.