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Old 02-10-2004, 16:54   #6
CRad
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Loup City NE
Posts: 419
British India was given independence shortly after WWII. At the same time it was partitioned with Pakistan being made up of the area with a majority Muslim population. One exception was Kashmir which was mostly Muslims so it should have gone with Pakistan. India wanted to show it was founded on secularism and not religion, and it wanted the region too. The two countries started fighting and a UN peacekeeping force was sent in. As far as I know it’s still there 50 odd years later.

The Eisenhower Doctrine was maintain US interests in the Middle East, and give financial and military to ME Countries resisting communism. An “Agreement of Cooperation” was reached between the US and Pakistan in ’59. They got 13 million in direct and indirect aid and we got the use of facilities at Peshwar. A lot of U-2 flights took from there and a lot of them flew over Russia. Since Pakistan had sided with us India aligned itself with Russia which gave credence to the Eisenhower Doctrine.

In ’65 India and Pakistan went at it again and instead of the US helping Pakistan kick India’s ass like they thought, the US withdrew support and the Russians stayed neutral as well. Pakistan didn’t win; they started looking elsewhere for support, and Russia went back to supplying India. And President Johnson placed an embargo on both countries.

Things stayed pretty chilly about ’71 and Nixon who, in my opinion, was a very smart guy. President Ford lifted the embargo in ’75. Along comes Carter in ’79 and cuts off all aid except food because we “found out” Pakistan was trying to build a nuclear weapons program. That was a big fat DUH since Bhutto had said in ’65 that if India built a bomb his country would “eat grass, or leaves—or even go hungry—but we will get one of our own.” What’s more we had sent scientists, equipment and trained them in nuclear reactor technology way back in the ‘50s under the Atoms for Peace program. What did we think? They were going to leave it at efficient means of home heating? Not to mention that alliance with China and in 1966 China tested a nuke like the one Pakistan had blueprints for.

What should happen about 1979 but Russia invades Afghanistan. So here comes Carter (Zbigniew Brzezinski actually) with an offer of a $400 million US aid package. General Zia turned him down flat. Another big DUH! It wasn’t enough to buy any weapons but it was enough to make the Russian look at Pakistan as if it were an active enemy. Plus it would make them look like “stooges” to the rest of the Islamic countries, particularly Iran, who by the way, still had American hostages. On the plane back from the meeting with Zia one of the guys joked and said “we just saved the US Treasury $400 million.” What a buffoon!

When President Reagan took office he made a deal with Pakistan worth $3.2 billion. The restrictions on Pakistan Nuke program were waived for 5 years. Then until 1990 the sitting President certified to Congress each year that Pakistan did not have nuclear capabilities. George Bush certified them in 1989 before the Russians pulled out of Afghanistan but their certification was a no go in 1990.

WE didn’t sell them anymore big weapons after that but we gave them aid. That is until old Slick boy Willie cam along and his whole foreign policy was based on sanctions. It cracks me up to hear about sanctions and how well they work.

Out of the appox 120 times the US slapped economic sanctions on other countries between 1918 and 1998 more than half of them came from the Clinton Admin.
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