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Subscribe to RSSIn a press conference on Capitol Hill today, House Speaker John Boehner reiterated his support for continued U.S. aid to Pakistan, despite calls from some of his House Republican colleagues to re-examine the U.S.-Pakistan relationship after Osama bin Laden was killed hiding in the country.
Boehner said:
It's also important in my view, that we use this moment, to strengthen the ties between our country and Pakistan. Al Qaeda and it's extremist allies have made Pakistan a target. The people of Pakistan have suffered deeply as a result. Taking on Al Qaeda and radical extremism is absolutely vital to the interests of both of our countries. It's not a time to back away from Pakistan; it's time for more engagement with them and not less.
Boehner's pro-Pakistan stance means that all the criticism of Pakistan coming from more conservative members of the House GOP will most likely subside in the coming days.
With House appropriations bills set to be marked up in the coming weeks, Boehner’s support for Pakistan suggests that funds for U.S. aid to the country will avoid being cut.
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Why I'm shocked I SAY!
Why wouldn't we continue to spend over a billion dollars a year on a country that was clearly hiding Public Enemy #1 while decimating what's left of the middle class here in the U.S.?
Life is interesting in ConservatiVille - Land of the illogical and Home of the afraid!
Wasn't it Trump last week complaining about building schools in Afghanistan that get blown up, but we can't build a school in New Jersey? The GOP truly doesn't care about US education - after all, the wealthy can afford private schools. Too bad, so sad for the rest of us.
A line from the Godfather is appropriate here:
Keep you friends close and your enemies closer.
Being honest with ourselves, had Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid suggested precisely what Boehner is saying here, I can't imagine Feisty would be disagreeing with either of them outright - if anything, I could see her singing their praises, or at least being altogether more civil in her difference of opinion.
Isn't this kind of attitude endemic of what I keep railing against? This knee-jerk reprisal of the "other side" regardless of potential merit in the argument?
Wasteful spending ought to be curbed, sure, but knowing what we know about where Osama was and for how long he was there, doesn't it make a bit of sense to keep closer tabs on Pakistan? Better to have a direct line to our enemies than be left to sit and wonder in the dark.
I'm sure there's a compromise somewhere on how much to spend on matters of foreign policy and how to bolster funding for some of the social programs that were recently cut.
But that compromise is NEVER going to arrive so long as we all continue to hide in our tree forts flinging acorns at one another.
Exodite Dragon,
I'm sure there's a compromise somewhere on how much to spend on matters of foreign policy and how to bolster funding for some of the social programs that were recently cut.
It looks as if you are the only one on this thread considering to keep funding Pakistan. Doesn't make you wrong, there could be some benefit to keeping intelligence funding options and cooperation open. It may be better to work with the Paks half the time when they aren't lying to us then to not work with them 100% of the time. By the way, I think OBL was being protected by high ranking figures of the Pak intelligence. It may be prudent to keep sources contacts to watch this area, but I find it hard to see giving the Pak intelligence organization funding.
Looking at the other side, I do not want politicians to use this incident to garner support for upgrading our involvement inside Pakistan. At some time there needs to be an end to this perpetual war.
In Afganistan perhaps naively I would like to use this juncture to hasten our departure from that country. I see no other moment that will allow us to walk away with any semblance of having accomplished our goals. The taliban is in disarray. OBL is dead. The afgani government is autonomous albeit weak and corrupt. We shouldn't have to wait the years and decades until Afganistan can become a strong government. Time to cut our loses and exit.
Being honest with ourselves, had Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid suggested precisely what Boehner is saying here, I can't imagine Feisty would be disagreeing with either of them outright - if anything, I could see her singing their praises, or at least being altogether more civil in her difference of opinion.
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The Nasty Redhead making her decisions to praise/condemn based on which person makes the statements rather thah the actual facts?? THAT would be a sign of a weak mind and intellectual dishonesty.
Say it ain't so.
Piss poor timing Boehner! No one wants to spend any money on Pakistan without them turning over the remaining 12 Al Qaeda leadership traveling inside Pakistan. Results equal money! I don't even want to give them any until we go through all the intel we gathered on Sunday and make sure top brass and political leadership is 100% not involved in the hiding of Al Qaeda members.
I just read some regional history on Afghanistan because I wanted to see why Russia invaded them in the first place. Learned than in the 90's it was Pakistan that trained and gave aide to the Taliban so they could go take over Afghanistan. Do you really think Pakistan has no interests in the Taliban and Al Qaeda. I think they are in bed together and milking us for every penny they can while laughing at our stupidity!
Good strategy, as long as you remember to keep your enemies close. Obviously, we didn't.
Feisty Redhead Roselle, IL
hey feisty, when it come to war we're never broke.
republicants will keep chasing shadows and our president will keep doing the peoples job.
Yellowdog, there certainly seems to be a MUCH stronger argument in favor of cutting our losses and bailing on such a high note - but I do think back on historical precedent and Patton's unheeded, if caustic advice, to invade Russia and put down Stalin's government when the opportunity was ripe for the picking.
I know it's a stretch to compare Pakistan and Afghanistan now to the USSR then but you have to admit, it's interesting to consider that the five or six decades of the Cold War could've potentially been avoided by smashing Moscow in the immediate aftermath of WWII. How long did Afghanistan flourish as a haven for terrorism under the theocratic rule of the Taliban? My concern is that, while we might save US treasure in the short-term by withdrawing our support of the Pakistani government, allowing it to fall and become the region's next Islamofascist state could cost us more in the long-term.
Anna Molly - It's kinda hard sometime to tell who our friends are much less who are our enemies.
Summertime ~ Maybe, but in this case it wasn't that hard. Thinking people have known about Pakistan for years. Don't tell me YOU didn't?
The issue is -- they'll cut medicare to our citizens and give aid to Pakistan. Ver BAD position...especally now since it i known Pakistan is where Osama Bin Laden was. There is no denying that.
Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal....to keep giving Pakistan money is a BAD choice. It ticks me off to see our citizens suffering while those in control in Pakistan live in luxury.
And there you have it, folks. A proposal to pour more money down the rabbit hole.
What else could we expect from Tweedle-dum?
Emphasis on dumb.
And for anyone who doubts my credentials on this particular issue, there are others out here who know I've been banging the drum about the corruption of Pakistan since 2007. So I'm not just being contrary, although I'm pretty good at that, too. Bush poured tens of billions of dollars into Pakistan, supposedly to fight the warlords and Al Qaeda, and it all disappeared while bin Laden was hiding there in plain sight, and probably under the protection of the military, which has always been known to be in bed with the warlords.
You have to wonder whether any of our money was used to build that compound where bin Laden lived, and more than that, you have to wonder why on earth we would want to pay them even more when we know their track record, and we also know that they've never been our true partner in this venture.
And what really irks me is that Boehner will tell you we have no money for Planned Parenthood or for NPR or for Medicare or Medicaid. But we've evidently got plenty of money to waste on Pakistan -- $25 billion or so and counting.
That money would build a lot of schools in this country, pave some roads, and help find the cure for cancer, for AIDS, for diabetes, for ALS, and for a myriad of other dreadful diseases which kill Americans every year. Instead, it will be used to line the pockets of Pakistani military officials and their warlord allies, and enrich the military industrialists, like Halliburton, who have no scruples about playing both sides to turn a profit.
Be for that, if you want, Republicans, but just remember what happened here could easily happen again.
GOP House So Petty That It Won't Honor SEALS Bin Laden Mission
The Senate passed a resolution honoring the successful but risky military mission that lead to getting OBL.
The majority GOP House will not follow suit
The decision by GOP leaders follows new rules they enacted in January scrapping the tradition of congratulatory measures, which they complained clogged up the House floor
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/05/04/973223/-
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How come Speaker Boehner has enough time to discuss Pakistan but can’t spare a half hour to take a vote Honoring the Troops. Pitiful just plumb T pitiful.
Let me add pathetic!
Aren't these the same 'usual suspects' that hollar about Country First & Flag Pins EVERY election?
*shakes head*
And don't forget, they have time to regulate women's reproductive rights as well.
AnnaMolly,
Luckily we didn't pay Pakistan with marked bills, else that $750 in bin Laden's pocket could be traced back!
LoL While they "clog up the House floor" with thoroughly useless legislation, like Ryan's budget plan, repealing HCR, and multiple bills, doomed to failure, to stop federal funding for abortion, which was stopped many years ago.
What they need on the House floor is DRANO.
LoL And go figure that. Saddam had almost a million dollars he no doubt got from us during the period when we liked him.
So, Anna Molly, are you exercising your right to remain silent with regard to the question I posed to you over on First Thoughts #1.21??
Yes. No. I don't know. What was it again? ;-)
Oh, yes, I think it had to do with hypocrisy as applied to killing bin Laden while we claimed KSM had to be tried.
Maybe it is, and maybe it's not. But why pick on me? I don't remember saying that KSM had to be tried. But if you tried him, it would be short. Just play the tapes of his claiming to be the mastermind of September 11.
The garden variety guys at Gitmo, on the other hand, maybe so.
Besides, KSM is already in custody. If we had taken bin Laden into custody, then I probably would have said try him. But, again, it could have been very short. And I consider that to have been a thoroughly risky proposition that would just prolong the agony and enflame and embolden his followers.
Altogether, and I think you know this, all you're accomplishing here is that you're revealing me to be much less liberal on national defense -- and even criminal -- issues, then I am otherwise. Okay, I admit it. Except that I hate war and I hate killing, and especially wars and killing over religion; and frankly, I'm glad bin Laden is dead, however it was achieved, to the extent that his death creates a slim chance -- if we unite together and seize it, joe -- of turning the tide of history.
Oh, yes, I think it had to do with hypocrisy as applied to killing bin Laden while we claimed KSM had to be tried.
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Actually, it was a little more nuanced than that. My problem is that Holder and the WH are now arguing that killing OBL was legal and within the rules of war as an “enemy commander”. They also argued that KSM should be tried in a criminal court where we deal with common criminals, not in a military tribunal as an enemy combatant. OBL and KSM are guilty of the same act: the 9/11 attacks. All I’m asking is that Holder and the WH be consistent in their treatment of two people guilty of the same act and admit that they were wrong about the criminal courts for KSM, and that the military tribunals were the correct venue all along.
If they can’t/won’t then I stand by my statement: You know, I’d almost prefer that they just be hypocrites, but, I fear they are simply incompetent morons.
But why pick on me?
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I was responding to you taking my post wholly out of context (partial copy below) and trying to clarify it for you
@ Judge Joe ~ Please give it a rest, Joe. Your partisan slip is really showing.
This operation was carried out under the aegis of Bush's Defense Secretary, and I suspect General Petraeus, as incoming Defense Secretary, knew something about it, too. Your criticisms go to them, and to the Navy Seals, as well as to the President.
I see several differences between the OBL and KSM cases.
We have KSM in custody. We have had him for many years. We never had OBL in custody.
KSM has been held for many years, OBL was essentially still a commander in the field.
We have determined to try KSM. We never said anything of the kind with regard to OBL. The problem we are having is that no locale outside of Guantanamo wants any part of a KSM trial. Some claim that KSM cannot be tried by a tribunal as he is not military. Others claim that he cannot be tried in a civil court because he is a combatant. If we were to simply execute KSM now, we would face a lot of condemnation at the hands of world opinion.
KSM admitted to the 9/11 attacks. OBL was responsible for much more. OBL was KSM's boss.
I think the cases of these two men are different and I don't think we can lump the two together. The details of each case unfolded in different ways and we took different paths in each case. We have committed to two different resolutions.
@ Judge Joe: Ah. I see. Thanks for the clarification, your honor.
On the merits, I currently don't have an opinion, and really never have had a strong opinion, one way the other about how to try enemy combatants.
My only gripe with that has always been having to take the administration's word for whether they were enemy combatants in the first place. As for KSM, and certainly bin Laden, that seems pretty plain. As for the rest it seems to me that there has to be some minimal threshold of proof or due process in order to establish whether they can be classified that way at all, much less where you try them if they are. Otherwise, the whole thing is open to incredible abuse. But this particular case doesn't qualify as abusive, at least not in my opinion.
I can't believe YOU actually think there was a problem with getting bin Laden the way he was got. Otherwise, who COULD you kill in wartime?
Of course, if they had to call the wars off because no one qualified to die, so much the better.
AM: I have no problem at all with the way OBL was taken out. You may recall that an early Monday FR post of mine congratulted President Obama and the military and intelligence professionals on a job well done.
Joe in Albany,
No one is denying the fact that the plan was to shoot to kill OBL. Unless he was standing NAKED with his hands up, there was no plan to give him a chance to shoot or to blow himself up along with everyone else around him. Hesitating 5 seconds could have been a disaster and a death sentence to the Navy Seals. But who cares about there lives, right? Or maybe you would rather wait for a moment where we could have tea with bin Laden and then after the tea we could ask him nicely to surrender.
We are not talking about an average criminal; we are talking about the #1 terrorist who did not hesitate to order killing of as many Americans as possible.
We are so broke we don't have money for medicare, but we have money for Pakistan. When your old, you have to go to Pakistan I guess?
Mr. Speaker, Pakistan was, at best, negligent and, at worst, complicit in allowing bin Laden to hide in their country. Does this not bother you?
Why, I seem to remember the Orange Deputy Dawg and his posse were wailin' just days ago 'bout the country being so broke that Medicare would HAVE to be dismantled.
A few billion gathered around here (KOCH money), a few billion strewn around there on things only them & theirs care about (Halliburton/social-scientific re-enginering/back-pedaling efforts; best of all killing the evil unions) is pretty demoralizing when one is excluded but what about US All.
Can't we spend something on the American Middle Class for a switch?
What gives?
Can't we spend something on the American Middle Class for a switch?
You said it Missy!
If they do we promise to promptly spend it, and I got a feeling that would help the economy.
Missy ..........Yes , Yes , Yes !!
Did he call for continued support for some jobs-bills?
What job bills? Are there any to be voted on?
Can we just go ahead and agree that the idea of a "jobs bill" is a red herring used by Democrats AND the Republicans to lure in desperate swing voters?
I've yet to see ANY evidence that EITHER side is concerned or even capable of producing legislation that would immediately put 10 million people to work.
The leader of the Cabbage Patch mentality must enjoy getting hit by a stupid stick.
Hell yell !!!! give more money to Packy but screw the American long term unemployed you jerk WHERES THE JOBS ??? and pass H.R. 589 if you really care
I'll tell you what, Speaker Boehner - you tell me how the Pakistani Government could miss a 6' 6" man dragging his dialysis machine down to his compound right in their backyard and NOBODY knows NOTHING about him and nobody sees anything.
The obvious answer is that THEY KNEW.
Any you still want to give them money?
Are you SERIOUS?
How about you take that money you want to give to Pakistan and create a few JOBS for AMERICANS??
Watch the republicans who own stock in the company's who service the wars.. all agree with Jonny boy
And still no mention of jobs !
Boehner-- You want too continue to send money to Pakistan? What about the President's budget that you all want to slash? What about Medicare that you all were hell bent on cutting?
Pakistan is "so call" warning us and you're talking about kissing their a$$? So they didn't like how President Obama went into their country and took OBL? Some nerve!
We had a license to kill Osama bin Laden from the global community but, we should always respect the sovereignty of other nations; regardless of the foreign aid we provide. We aren't leasing air space or property in Pakistan.
Journey;
Are YOU serious? Have you been following our involvement in Pakistan? We've given them 20 Billion Dollars in Military aid...
Their government has lied and fence sat for years. Someone in the UPPER level of their government has accepted bribes from one person too many...
In another twist...have you cvonsider the fact that you or I have NO idea of what deals or stipulations was placed on that 20 Billion Dollars worth of Aid...
I would be will to wage a bet that Pakistan is embarrassed by the fact that they've been caught with their drawls down and got the a$$es spanked.
Sorry, Anita....but the mere thought of another country invading the borders of the United States with a special ops team is extremely unappealing to me. Perhaps we should invite a Pakistani special ops team over as a gesture of friendship. Though it would be tempting; especially if they came for the Cabbage Patch Ryan Doll...the rest of Congress might get riled-up. There would no one left to cut the federal budget.
Does that thought appeal to you?
I don't care about Pakistan....I care about foreign aid while we are in dire financial straits in this country. I wouldn't give my kids their allowance if they acted against my best interests -- a micro example admittedly but why should be support a country that condones terrorism against the United States.
Nothing that comes out of Republican party`s mouth make any sense anymore. Pakistan denied Bin Laden was in their country in plain sight and Boner thinks we should still provide aid to them. It`s just unbelievable to me that these idiots are running or I should say ruining our country.
We can not help the poor in our country but we can pay for this WTF over
Barb , I agree , and the people of this country , see what these jerks really stand for , and it's not us !!!
who cares about those towel heads.....what about sending aid to all of those who are losing their homes. cars, jobs and money
"Bonehead Boehner" wants to pay individuals in Pakistan for not doing their jobs in defeating terror. Oh! That's right! We are also paying the "Hoodlum's On The Hill" for not doing their jobs either. The "Bonehead Boehner Bunch" and "Crazy Cantor's Cronies" love to give away money to those who do not earn it. Now. The idea of keeping our economic safety nets intact is Socialism/Welfare according to the GOP/RNC "Doctrines Of Dumbness." Destroying Medicare and Medicaid in their "Economics Of Evil" is a great idea, and funding a Terrorist Government is also wonderful. What! Lower the tax burden of the Middle Class? Nonesense! Give tax free money to a Pakistan Government that does not know what is going on right in their backyard. What a joke America!
That's the Repub "jobs" bill. They are taking us into an idiocracy at light speed....
if boehner votes for suport it must have something to do with his PIMPS making money.
I would oppose foreign aid to Pakistan not just because of the belief that they are our enemies, but also because the money never gets to their people, but goes either into their military or the black hole of corruption.
How about using money here in the US , but the repubs , (great oil party) , (carnival barkers) , (tea party) , would rather take away from the Seniors and Women , here in the US.
Exodite , you're an idiot !!!!!!
I can actually remember when right wingers were conservative and Republican. The new Republicans sold their soul with social stances and pseudomoral values to attracted more voters, the fridge and the unbalanced. They lost me to NPA with Bush Sr's term.
What the country is becoming is breaking my heart....we must now vote against any Republican, because of the Philosophy of the conservative agenda and TeaParty. They are a cancer to our country which must be purged but unlike what the right wing talk show said about "shooting thugs" -- we MUST do it with votes! The supreme court (low case done on purpose) when supporting the baptist church that makes funerals more horrible than they are -- will uphold the right of the conservative talk show hosts. We need the likes of the night time MSNBC talk shows to balance out the horror now attempting to kill and make a civil war of our country.