News Donald Trump attacks Pakistan claiming 'they have given us nothing but lies and deceit' in return for $33bn aid

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Donald Trump attacks Pakistan claiming 'they have given us nothing but lies and deceit' in return for $33bn aid


Donald Trump has accused Pakistan of “lies and deceit,” saying the US was “foolish” to have given the country more than $33bn in aid.

The American President launched the scathing attack in his first tweet of 2018, claiming Pakistan “give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt” and think “of our leaders as fools”.

It follows reports the US is considering denying Islamabad $255 million in aid in a show of discontent with its efforts to fight terrorism.


Mr Trump wrote: “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies and deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools.

“They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!”

The President made no further comment on the issue and it was not immediately clear if his tweet signalled a decision to cut off aid to Islamabad.

Relations between the US and Pakistan have soured since Mr Trump entered the White House.



Earlier this year the President announced a “a change in our approach to Pakistan”, which he claimed “often gives safe haven to agents of chaos, violence and terror”.

In a televised speech in Washington in August, he said: “We can no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens for terrorist organisations, the Taliban, and other groups that pose a threat to the region and beyond.

“Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our effort in Afghanistan. It has much to lose by continuing to harbour terrorists.”

The Trump administration later attached new conditions to financial assistance given annually to Pakistan. Washington said Islamabad would only receive the $255 million military aid if it did more to crack down on terror networks launching attacks on neighbouring Afghanistan.

The New York Times last week reported the White House was strongly considering withholding the delayed money after Pakistan refused to allow the US access to a captured militant from the Taliban-linked Haqqani network.

The militant was arrested in October by Pakistani forces as they rescued a Canadian-American family who had been held captive for five years, and the US had hoped he could provide valuable information of other American hostages.

In November, Washington strongly condemned Pakistan’s release of the alleged militant accused of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that killed more than 160 people.

The White House said Hafiz Saeed’s release from house arrest “after Pakistan’s failure to prosecute or charge him sends a deeply troubling message about Pakistan’s commitment to combatting international terrorism”.

“If Pakistan does not take action to lawfully detain Saeed and charge him for his crimes, its inaction will have repercussions for bilateral relations and for Pakistan’s global reputation,” added press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Pakistan has since reportedly drafted plans to seize control of charities and financial assets linked to the Islamist leader, who is designated a terrorist by Washington.

The Financial Action Task Force, an international body that combats money laundering and terrorist financing, had warned Islamabad it faced inclusion of a watch list for failing to crack down on funding terrorism.

Pakistani Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said he had ordered authorities “to choke the fundraising of all proscribed outfits in Pakistan“.

He denied the Islamabad was taking action under US pressure, telling Reuters in a statement: ”We’re not pleasing anyone. We’re working as a responsible nation to fulfil our obligations to our people and international community


Donald Trump accuses Pakistan of 'lies and deceit' in his first tweet of 2018
 
The India Israel USA alliance, India USA Japan Australia Quad Alliance to be joined by UK, France and Germany soon ...
  • What actually US will do?
  • And how India will respond to this geopolitical change (if any)?
  • Will India do something (like buying F-16) to strengthen this mentality with economic cooperation or even access Predator C /Avenger Ng and bomb the safe havens under a combined effort?3.
  • is Afghanistan just a pretext of something bigger?

This is massive...


Edited to add Afghanistan point
 
@Hellfire
Will require your views.. is this the start of a long road to take things out like USA had planned originally for Pakistan? or is this another of the lip services...

Or this is a reaction to China Angle and USA being spooked about it.. So using Afghanistan just as a ruse.
 
Hopefully this outburst is a sign of things to come. America can make pakistan bankrupt if they want but they don't have any alternative to their jugular vein of supply route to afghanistan.
Americans can get their supplies through chabahar with their personal flying in and out through other rely points. Im sure Iranians already have a back channel deal with Indian and American counterparts to allow American goods through Indian logistics companies.
If a joint coalition army with multiple nations is operational to handle pak nukes, they obviously would have planned contingencies if things went south.

This may turn out to be a big thing down the line
 
The India Israel USA alliance, India USA Japan Australia Quad Alliance to be joined by UK, France and Germany soon ...
  • What actually US will do?
  • And how India will respond to this geopolitical change (if any)?
  • Will India do something (like buying F-16) to strengthen this mentality with economic cooperation or even access Predator C /Avenger Ng and bomb the safe havens under a combined effort?3.
  • is Afghanistan just a pretext of something bigger?

This is massive...


Edited to add Afghanistan point


This is just geopolitics being played out. The Americans envisaged the rise of China much before anybody else. They are also aware of the economic clout developed by the Chinese over the past couple of decades. The need of the time was to choke the Chinese of resources. And create areas of disturbance near the Chinese mainland to prevent their ability to project military power beyond that.

Choking of resources.
The Chinese have built the capability to invest and capture resources globally. Be it Africa, Asia or South America. If you cannot out bid them, only alternative is to let them sink in the investment and then choke the supply chain. Russians, while being friendly with the Chinese are not going to defend them in a war.
The sea routes, cannot be defended by the PLAN. That is something they are aware of, hence the rush to build the over land route, using subservient countries. The Americans will never leave Afghanistan and the middle east. Being here they can control the supply routes via land and sea. The CPEC, directly is in conflict with American plans in the containment of China. While the fight to contain the Soviet Union was played out in Afghanistan, the fight for China will be fought in Pakistan. Disruption of the supply chain at Gwadar will enable the choking of future resources to the Chinese machinery. Also, it will make them dependent on Russia for overland routes. And we all know what happens when Putin knows he has a choke hold on you.

Areas of disturbance
South China Sea and Sino-India border are the main two which can escalate. If one were to think rationally, the easier one would be to sign the deal with the GoI and close the border dispute. But, it does not look set to happen. Our given shelter to the Dalai Lama seems to have been taken personally. So be it. The South China Sea issue cannot be solved. Too many players and too many countries with high stakes. North Korea is another area of problem for the Chinese.

Honestly, over the next 10 years, I see major freedom struggles springing up in the Pakistani state. We should not get overly carried away with what happens there and concentrate on what benefits us. A free Balochistan will result in a double whammy for the Americans. Iran and China. What we should have is control over the port city of Karachi and a border with Balochistan.

Forming of the Israel-US-India grouping is a done deal. This will be economic, intelligence and technology sharing. India Japan US is a very possible grouping. But, I am still not sure if Australia will be part of this. They change opinions based on who is in power.
 
Honestly, over the next 10 years, I see major freedom struggles springing up in the Pakistani state. We should not get overly carried away with what happens there and concentrate on what benefits us. A free Balochistan will result in a double whammy for the Americans. Iran and China. What we should have is control over the port city of Karachi and a border with Balochistan.
In my opinion, you are going too far. Pakistan breaking up isn't an option, de-nuking it could be. They would rather go North Korea way than the breakup.
PA is already ensuring they have the religious backing as seen a month ago. The breakup can only happen if they have any democratic values left by the end of the next decade.
China will make sure they take the North Korea route if it comes down to that.
 
The India Israel USA alliance, India USA Japan Australia Quad Alliance to be joined by UK, France and Germany soon ...
  • What actually US will do?
  • And how India will respond to this geopolitical change (if any)?
  • Will India do something (like buying F-16) to strengthen this mentality with economic cooperation or even access Predator C /Avenger Ng and bomb the safe havens under a combined effort?3.
  • is Afghanistan just a pretext of something bigger?

This is massive...


Edited to add Afghanistan point
Australian economy is heavily dependent on China. So Australia shouldn't be counted in the quad at all.
 
Australian economy is heavily dependent on China. So Australia shouldn't be counted in the quad at all.

That, then there's the fact that their society is deeply infiltrated by China (they have a big Chinese community which is in touch with the mainland and still largely does their bidding). To make things worse, even their halls of power are now infiltrated by Chinese money (as we saw in the Sam Dastyari case).

So while it would be great to have Australia as a token member in the chorus of nations opposing/condemning China's position/actions; India should not count on Australia for any sort of substance/action. Which is a perfectly fine arrangement as long as we know what to expect.
 
In my opinion, you are going too far. Pakistan breaking up isn't an option, de-nuking it could be. They would rather go North Korea way than the breakup.
PA is already ensuring they have the religious backing as seen a month ago. The breakup can only happen if they have any democratic values left by the end of the next decade.
China will make sure they take the North Korea route if it comes down to that.

I like the idea of denuking, it should be explored (US has much intel and options on it). India can deal with the long term post-denuke situation on its favourable terms.

Political destabilisation etc (given PA and their jihadi elements propensity in such situations) should not be attempted seriously while they still got nukes....so your sequence is correct. Later whatever is most stable situation for both sides can be done. We missed a real chance to do it before nukes entered the whole equation in 1971....we should have gone all out then....but hey lets at least explore all the cure options, missing the prevention is spilled milk.
 
Has the Pakistan Army Changed Its India Policy?
General Qamar Bajwa’s comments to the Pakistani Senate raised hope for better India-Pakistan relations.

By K.S. Venkatachalam
December 28, 2017



The history of India-Pakistan relations show that, every time an attempt is made to build relations, Pakistan’s army sabotages the peace talks by either escalating tensions at the Line of Control (LoC) or sending trained militants to India to launch attacks. On January 2, 2016, for example, a heavily armed group from Pakistan attacked the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot. This attack came immediately after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s impromptu visit to Lahore to meet his counterpart, Nawaz Sharif. This was followed by another attack carried out on September 18, 2016, where four heavily armed militants, belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed, managed to cross the porous border and launch a surprise attack on an army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of 17 soldiers.

Another worrying recent development was the release of Hafiz Saeed, of the banned Jamaat-ud-dawa, one of the masterminds of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack, where over 160 lost their lives. Saeed was released by the Lahore High Court due to the failure of the government, probably under pressure from the army, to produce evidence in court.

However, in spite of the continued hostility, both India and Pakistan did keep the composite dialogue going through their national security advisers. Sadly, both countries are now experiencing a low point in their relations, with a virtual breakdown of the mechanism set afloat in Lahore to settle disputes through dialogue.

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Pakistan needs to review its strategy of waging a proxy war with the help of militants to create disorder and mayhem in Kashmir. This strategy has proved counterproductive, besides inviting international condemnation. Recently, the Indian army has managed to neutralize the militants sent across the border; more than 190 militants have perished this year alone.

The best way forward is to look for “out of box solutions” to solve this complex problem. One way would be to grant autonomy to the people of Kashmir (on both sides of the border), so that there is free movement of people and trade on both sides of the valley. This will help in reducing the mistrust between the two countries.

It is in this context that Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa’s first briefing to the Senate Committee assumes significance, mainly on two counts. First, he indirectly accepted the supremacy of the parliament. According to Dawn, Bajwa’s appearance at the briefing suggests “that the military is aware that the constitutional order and national security need to be strengthened by inter-institutional cooperation.” Second, in a major shift in the army’s ostrich approach on Pakistan’s India policy, he told the Senate to improve ties with India. However, when asked about Hafiz Saeed, the general replied that the Islamist leader was free to pursue the Kashmiri cause. This has caused confusion in India about Bajwa’s real intentions.

Be that as it may, both India and Pakistan should welcome this development, as the general’s briefing could mark a historic departure in the Pakistan Army’s attitude toward India.

Due to the complexity of the disputes, especially over Kashmir, no immediate settlement is possible, but talks can go a long way in easing the tensions between the two countries. It is here Pakistan can learn from China and India, which, while continuing to explore ways to settle their border disputes, have attempted to improve trade and commerce. In the last five decades, since the 1962 war, not a single bullet has been fired by both sides, despite several tense encounters. Contrast this with India and Pakistan, where cross-border shelling has become the order of the day.

At a time when there is tension in many parts of the world, there is now an urgent need to make sincere and genuine attempts to improve bilateral ties, as this will bring peace and prosperity to the people of both countries.

We have seen in the past that attempts to boost ties — such as the composite dialogue, Lahore-Delhi bus service, and opening of cross-LoC trade in both India- and Pakistan-administered Kashmir — did contribute in the easing of tensions between the two countries, though for a very short period. It now depends on the matured leadership of both countries to take the relationship forward in a meaningful and constructive way. It may be a worthwhile to include the army representatives from Pakistan in all future peace talks to get their unbridled support. Both countries should forget the bitter past and work toward ending the hostility.

Let 2018 mark a new chapter in India-Pakistan relations.

Something to do with recent nsa meet I guess.
 
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This is just another step towards India buying the f16. Trump and his sundry officials chastise Pak, then to follow up and show some concrete stepa are being taken they stop aid and perhaps will take a couple of more stringent punitive stepa in the coming days.

This will allow GoI to show that the leopard has indeed changed its spots and the Uncle Sam is firmly with India. There will be a slew of articles extolling Indo US relations and there strategic potential. Trump will call India has second home etc. All this to subtly prepare mindset for induction of an American fighter. And then voila one day we will see the f16 deal signed and announced as the greatest strategic move between two great powers since the time the US came on the AllieD bandwagon to push back old Adolf.
 
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