tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259162911831467271.post8229312413948906948..comments2008-09-23T06:23:11.321ZMisanthropehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17953279344816380313noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259162911831467271.post-68429471733938320882008-09-13T10:31:00.000Z2008-09-13T10:31:00.000ZInteresting. I find Mosharraf Zaidi's complaint that Pakistan "deserves" more aid, and his comparison with Georgia, rather pathetic. Per capita, per GDP, and per body-count aid figures are irrelevant. Aid for different countries is negotiated and handed out on the basis of differing geopolitical calculi vis-a-vis the interests of the United States. MZ concludes that the "Senator Biden and his colleagues...perpetuate the impression that Pakistan is primarily a tool for the pursuit of US national security objectives". Yet, in actuality, it is MZ himself who is perpetuating this impression. The inability of Pakistan's intellectual elite to break out of the shackles of this American-constructed world view continues to astound me.Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783273757211651424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259162911831467271.post-89218162800056136562008-09-09T14:41:00.000Z2008-09-09T14:41:00.000ZAbsolutely agree. The aid needs to be unconditional and tied to very specific projects. I don't know if you read Dexter Filkins' report in the NYT magazine which is making the rounds all over the internet -- many commenters are surprised at Filkins' source in the Pakistan army who admitted that Pakistan has been supporting the Taliban to get more conditional military aid from the US, but why this should be surprising to anyone who has looked at the pattern of US military aid to Pakistan over the last 7 years is a mystery.Rabiahttp://www.grandtrunkroad.comnoreply@blogger.com