In a rare show of bi-partisan unity, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 30-0 to withhold $33 million in military aid to Pakistan as a result of Islamabad’s conviction of the doctor who assisted the CIA in finding Osama bin Laden. The panel cut $1 million for each year that Dr. Shakil Afridi was sentenced for treason and stipulated that the money would not be released until Afridi was pardoned.
Republicans and some former intelligence professionals expressed anger at the administration for failing to protect Dr. Afridi. Representative Peter King (R-NY) suggested that the White House “put him [Afridi] out there,” but the administration immediately denied the charge, suggesting that it was Pakistan that leaked Afridi’s name.
While the cut may be small, it comes on the heels of a re-examination of aid to Pakistan by Congress. In light of the closing by Pakistan of the primary truck route into Afghanistan last November following a friendly fire incident, the subcommittee on foreign aid voted recently to cut military assistance to Pakistan by 58%. And the anger expressed by senators over the treatment of Dr. Afridi suggests that a sea change may have occurred in congressional opinion regarding support for Pakistan, as members appear tired and frustrated with Islamabad’s double game of supporting terrorists while reluctantly assisting US intelligence in tracking down members of al-Qaeda.
Who is Dr. Shakil Afridi and what was his role in the bin Laden raid? The top medic in the Kyber tribal region, Afridi was recruited by the CIA to run a fake Hepatitis-B vaccination program in Abbottabad in order to acquire a DNA sample from one of bin Laden’s children in the compound where he was hiding. An investigation by the Pakistani intelligence agency, the ISI, concluded that Afridi probably didn’t know he was helping the CIA find bin Laden specifically. Brig. General Shaukat Qadir, who conducted the investigation, wrote in a report obtained by the BBC that, “He was merely paid to follow instructions.”
The mystery is why Afridi, who was arrested less than 3 weeks after bin Laden was killed, stuck around after the raid. It may be that Afridi believed his assistance to the CIA in killing bin Laden would please the Pakistani government. It is even possible that Afridi didn’t know he was working for the CIA. Regardless, the Obama administration apparently did little to persuade the doctor to leave Pakistan.
Former intelligence analyst Peter Brookes of the Heritage Foundation told Fox News, “You probably wouldn’t want to have tipped him off ahead of time, but maybe the day right afterward you would have wanted to have helped him leave Pakistan — and the same with anybody else who was working with us.”
But former military intelligence officer Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer told Fox News, “From what I’m hearing, we did pretty much nothing,” he said. “We did nothing diplomatically at all, didn’t raise a finger. … From what my sources tell me, we did nothing to try and help this guy.”
State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland disputes that, saying the administration had “regularly taken up” the issue of Dr. Afridi with the Pakistani government. Shaffer suggests that if they did, they did not press the issue due to the sensitivity of ongoing negotiations over re-opening the truck route into Afghanistan.
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But another situation of too little, and too late, . . .
I mean, of course, too little, too late from this particular group of USA leaders(?). So often, they appear like faux Americans, . . .
US-Pakistani relations are deteriorating by the day. Recall that Pakistan is a fragile democracy and raising tensions could lead to Islamic fundamentalists for the first time gain control over nuclear weapons.
True, Andrew… A frightening thought. However, how much longer are we going to throw money that we don't have at a situation that seems will inevitably bite us in the behind? Democracy and Islam don't, and will never, coexist.
I think we are kidding ourselves if we think that truth and right will win out over Sharia wackiness.
Indeed, Valo. And…given the inevitability of the situation, it makes no sense whatsoever to live in fear of the "possibility" of things going horribly wrong in Pakistan. Things have ALREADY gone horribly wrong in Pakistan…as evidenced by their treacherous harboring of a known and wanted mass murderer and international terrorist for almost a decade.
All the while smiling in our faces, taking our money and protecting our enemies.
We may not be able to make Pakistan respect us, but, by God, we CAN make them FEAR us! We should have carpet bombed them further into the stone age the minute we proved they had betrayed us.
It's only matter of time until they accomplish that, anyway. So, let's all line up and kiss their behinds and continue to be held hostage by them! First, lets send them a lot of money!!
Why not $33,000,000 for each year of Dr. Afridi's sentence?
A mil for each year is loose change & wont be missed. Why not just cut all aid to Pakistan, a blind man can see that they are not a friend of the US or the west for that matter.
Whilst it does not apply to all your politicians, just like my own here is Aus, the US government is weak.
Weak and cowardly…at the moment. I'm hoping all that will change beginning in November. The Islamic world is at war with us. It's about time we got on a war footing ourselves.
"The Islamic world is at war with us."
This is the core of the issue, whilst we may not be @ war with the Islamic world, they certainly are at war with the west & openly admit same. As you said, its time for the west to wake up, the time has long since passed for our weak politicians to treat the Islamic world in kind, Pakistan being a case in point.
Indeed. Pakistan and Iran are the modern day poster boys for Islam's war on Western Christianity. Both are deserving of a good old nuking. We have the mistaken impression that each successive generation improves on the state of humanity and civilization. That somehow we “know better” than our progenitors.I think that the Crusades era Christians had a much better grasp on the realities of Islam than we ever did…and they waged Holy war for hundreds of years. Their only failure was not finishing the job. If we had half their resolve we could end the global threat of radical Islam in a decade. As things stand today, we might all as well start boning up on Sharia law. Everyone is more afraid of being called a bigot than of living under a lifetime of sadistic theocratic tyranny.
It's good to see that the Senate did something, but has Obama signed. Just recently, he disregarded Congress to do what he wanted., executive privilege(or what ever it's called) They should, the world should insist that the man be set free…..
The equivalent of a $ 25.00 fine for slugging an Umpire. Truly pathetic and yet these fools pat themselves on the back for thinking they are doing something. Just totally pathetic !
Of course Obama did nothing! What better way to discourage other people from aiding the US government in tracking down muslim terrorists?
Typical the traitor in chief sold out a friend of the US.
I have wondered for years why we give any foreign aid to countries that harbor terrorists… It should be cut out completely.
It's because we've turned into a nation of cowards!
9/9/2009 Mayan Calendar, turning point of the war
.
September 2009 Obama leads 50,000 Muslim Men in a Muslim Day of Prayer where
they prayed from morning till night for "The Soul of America." Which in the world of Freemasonry,
determines the "Future Destiny" of America.
It is also an act of "surrender" to Islam.
That is why the MSM is turning a blind eye to covering Islam. That is why our State Department appears to be
siding with Islam. That is why our former allies are now on the way out and the MSM is hailing democracy and the
Muslim Brotherhood is a breath of fresh air in the Middle East. Globalization goes hand and hand with Islam.
If you "ain't no Dhimmi",why do you say that The Muslim Brotherhood is a "breath of fresh air in the Middle East"?
CONGRESS What a pathetic group of spineless %$^&* . The Paks get close to TWO Billion annually,
and they hold back 33 Million???… Watch ! Even this paltry amount will be quietly reinstated in 6-8 months
That's some clear headed thinking, Leopold. You're exactly right. That is why this November's elections are so crucially important to the future of this country.
We citizens also fit that description!
Not another cent to any of these countries. Listen, we are there helping them. If they can't kick in for their own good to hell with them.
Pathetic. The 'angry' senate? Thirty three million is a joke.
The U.S. Senate is the REAL joke. Right along with the current Executive branch and half the House of Representatives.
"It certainly appears at this point that there has been a hardening of hearts toward Pakistan and that congressional patience with their playing both sides of the fence in the war against Islamic extremism is at an end."
IT'S ABOUT TIME!
Our country and our Congress CAN'T Harden hearts enough,towards these cretins.
By PERSECUTING Alfridi,Pakistan PROVES they they were sheltering Bin-Laden,willfully and knowingly.
Don't go getting excited just yet. This is all much ado about nothing. We aren't going to do jack squat when all is said and done. And I promise you we will keep sending extortion money to Pakistan in the future in the hopes that they won't go and start some nuclear crap storm.
Our leaders are ALL amoral cowards.
Yes they are cowards and morality was lost by them years ago. Maybe when the majority of
rats in the Senate and Congress are replaced in the November elections there will be enough
patriots taking office to return America to a righteous path and make those who have
demeaned us wish they were never born………William
The Posturing Pampered-Poodle Senate gets publicly exercised during an election cycle. yawn.
Our Emperors (who opt themselves out of OBAMACARE laws) – wear no jock-strap.
They need no jock strap.
Don't distract me with your really funny repartee, when I am too busy supporting Obama's Permanent Welfare Class, Itinerant immigrants, America's Foreign Enemies, and the 49% deadbeat-class!
A happy parasitic host is a productive parasitic host! I'm just doing my part to try to take some of the pain out of the process for you.
… to the vector belong the spoils……..
I had to walk my mind through the CDC lexicon before getting that one. That was a real brain sprainer.
Looking4Sanity,
I was a biology major before switching. I minored in Ogden Nash.
That's a pretty eclectic curriculum you had going there!
Looking4Sanity :
Do you think my mind is maturing late, or simply rotted early?
~ Ogden Nash
"If you're not Liberal when you're 25, you have no heart. If you're not Conservative when you're 35, you have no brain." – Winston Churchill (?)
*this attribution has been contested by some.
Replying to Looking4Sanity: Totally unrelated:
Bumper sticker on the back of a Texas truck had a picture of Obama on it.
It read:
"DOES THIS ASS MAKE MY TRUCK LOOK BIG?"
Good one!
All money to Pakistan needs to be cut. While we're at it we should cut all aid to any Muslim nation.
This would be a good time to start pulling out of all the countries in which we have our noses and U.S. taxpayer money. We should cut off the funds we give them, reinforce our defenses here at home, put all of the troops we withdraw on our borders, get busy drilling for oil and natural gas, produce more coal, and strive for more renewable energy(with no taxpayer subsidies)! We should begin to keep within the states the amount of money sent to the Federal government, and send the Federal government the amount the states normally keep. To a man, all countries of the world hate us!! So I say, let them go on their own and let's take care of our own people. We are now being held hostage by the Islamists!! Let's leave the rest of the world to it's own devices!!
The United States of America is the laughing stock of the entire world, thanks to one man, 0samb0, and a few hundred Dandies…[borrowed from above]…Where is the Generals when a military coup is in order…
The U.S. has been laying the public relations groundwork (on another site) for sending help (money) to the Syrian rebels!
ALL aid to Muslim nations should be cut. It should be redirected to those nations genuinely deserving of aid and know how to genuinely say "Thank you".
Alaska?……………………………William
In my opinion,the Pakistanis have no one to blame but themselves for the lost aid. If they would quit coddling terrorists like the Taliban and those like them,they wouldn't be in the situation they're in now.
This is a good start. But Obama has overriden the Senate in restoring funds to the PA terror gangs and the radical Islamic, anti-American regime in Egypt. I'll bet he tries to override them again.
Seeing the Senate under Harry Reed getting it right is a bit irregular. I thought Sen. Reed had reduced the Senate to the point of, you can't fall out of bed if you are laying on the floor. We need the Senate in these days of defending our Republic from the left's predatory politics. I hope the left screws up a little more frequently in the future. If you see any of the left wingers, you might want to tell them this:
The defifnition of our Republic is its Constitution; all other definitions are false or incomplete.
Redefining our Republic as "our democracy" is false.
Marvin E. Fox
it is sad that we are giving them any money at all, dont you think we should work on our defficiet and debut before handing out cash to other nations?
Here at home we are closing schools, shutting down medical facilities, disappearing into potholes,
plagued by criminal gangs and much more that if we had the funds we could improve life but no,
Americans come last……..the elites fiddle and we burn……………….William
Can't disagree with any of the above comments, but I would go much further in the area of cutting funds. At the present time I understand that we 'contribute' 22% of the total UN budget each year – this should be reduced to no more than our EQUAL share (if there are 180 member countries in the UN, we would pay 1/180th as our share). That, coupled with a total ban on foreign aid to all countries, until they demonstrate their loyalty to the US, should open some eyes to the fact that we are serious about our alliances!
I might go further Walt and boot the UN out of America, cut off funding of anything that does
not directly benefit American citizens and add all of those funds to rebuilding our infrastruture
first and military might second. If wish lists were viable I would fire everyone working for the
Federal Government, reform it small enough to only do what the Constitution calls for, then
maybe Americans would get back their motivation to produce it's needs and profit from the
experience……………………………………..William
Truck route. Truck route – they had from May to November to push for this guy's release and did nothing. As usual Obama and his minions are sharia compliant and would never do anything to 'offend' the Islamic establishment.
I think $1 million per year is far, far too little, but the probably could only wring that much out of the Senate because we have to have something for "cowboy poetry" which is such a vital component of our life, liberty, and America's mission in this world. Now where in the Constitution did I see something about cowboy poetry? LOL!!!
It was our government who released the name of this gentleman. In the future, who will help us while knowing that our government will throw them under the bus?
It was our government that released the timetable of the our military withdrawal from Afghanistan!!
"Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence."
Thomas Jefferson