Really? Pakistani Military Spokesman Says Country Doesn't Need U.S. Aid For Counter-Terror Support

From Jihad Watch:


Really? Pakistani military spokesman says country doesn't need U.S. aid for counter-terror support







The urge to downplay the loss or suspension of $800 million in aid is understandable, but Major General Abbas just may have been a little too emphatic there.



"Pakistan: Military spokesman says army doesn't need US aid to fight militants," from AdnKronos International, July 11:



Islamabad, 11 July (AKI) - Pakistan's army on Monday brushed off the United States' suspension of $800 million in military aid saying it doesn't need American help to combat insurgents.



“The army in the past as well as at present has conducted successful military operations using its own resources without any external support whatsoever,” military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told the AFP news agency.



The US said it would withhold about one-third of the $2.7 billion in annual military aid it provides to Pakistan.



The relationship between Washington and Islamabad has long been mutually suspicious but took a dramatic turn for the worse in early May when US commandos secretly flew into Pakistan from Afghanistan to kill Osama Bin Laden.



Relations were already strained after an American CIA contract worker was released from a Lahore prison, where he was being held after shooting dead two people in an act the assailant described as self defence.



White House chief of Staff William Daley on Sunday speaking on the American Sunday morning political chat show circuit confirmed a New York Times report about the military aid.



The suspended funds includes $300 million to pay back Pakistan for the expense of sending more than 100,000 troops to fight insurgents along the border with Afghanistan.



The move came following Pakistan's demand that the US slash the number of military personnel in Pakistan.



Posted by Marisol on July 12, 2011 12:46 AM