Why do we support Pakistan? Please read the story before answering.?

Question

An Indian friend of mine sent this link:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Jehad_calls_against_India_in_Pakistan_national_assembly/articleshow/2269673.cms

This is not someone off the street this is equivalent to a Congressman Make such a statement in The House.

Answer 1

Pakistan is a good ally to the United States, and one of the only real allies we have in the whole region. Also remember that Pakistan has between 30-50 nuclear weapons and we CAN'T allow those to fall into the hands of Islamic extremists, especially ones associated with Al Qaeda. Pakistan has helped and cooperated with the U.S. military in going after Islamic extremist fighters in the tribal regions of Pakistan. Unfortunately, there are thousands of miles of mountain ranges with underground weapons smuggling routes, making it easy for Al Qaeda leaders to avoid detection.

Unfortunately President General Pervez Musharraf is in a horrible situation right now. After attempting to fire a supreme court justice, which he supposably did illegally, Pakistan's judges, politicians and a large number of the public wanted him to be removed from power. Thousands of angry Pakistani citizens held marches on the basis that President Musharraf should be removed from power. President Musharraf also screwed up when he attempted to seize the Red Mosque which was held up with terrorist suspects. Because many Pakistani terrorists and soldiers were killed in the operation, Pakistan's citizens grew distrustful of Musharraf even further. This incident also allowed the terrorists to use propaganda to gather more people to their cause. For the week or two after the seizure, suicide bombings went off killing close to 200 innocent Pakistanis. This angered and enraged the public even more. Pakistan's public is also angry with Musharraf because they believe their national sovereignty has been violated by the United States. This tension has been growing for quite some time. Musharraf has also been targeted in many failed assassination attempts in the last few years. So, Musharraf is increasingly at odds with his public, there are terrorists who want to kill Musharraf, and many politicians and judges want him to be removed from power. This creates an almost hopeless situation for a leader to be faced with. Just remember, Pakistan has nuclear weapons, and we can't allow the Islamic extremists to get their hands on the weapons.

Thanks, hope I answered your question!

Answer 2

Well, we have Senators that call for bombing parts of Pakistan - no real difference.

Pakistan became a US ally because the Soviets supported India. Now it is because they border Afghanistan. One might find that if martial law is called, people such as that Senator might just find themselves in hot water as the small minority of radical Islamacists in Pakistan would likely be weeded out. Another possibility, with President Bush's largely overlooked (by the "press") rapprochement with India and the Afghanistani government's rightful distrust of a Pakistan that still supports the Taliban and is likely sheltering bin Laden, they may find that the actions called for by the Senator would indeed settle things quickly - with several new Indian and Afghanistani provinces being the result.

Answer 3

The US is allied with Pakistan at this time because the current government there is at least somewhat cooperative in resisting terrorism.
Pakistan is deeply divided. Some are pro-al-qaeda, some are pro-democracy, and there are a number of different political ideas that are incompatible with each other. Musharraf is not particularly pro-freedom, however. This is why I would call him and "ally" rather than a "friend." It happens that our interests coincide sufficiently that we can work together somewhat.
If a more democratic government were to take power, it would be better. If Islamist extremists were to take power, it would undoubtedly destroy the alliance between the US and Pakistan.

Answer 4

politics...besides didn't we just have a Senator (whose running for President) say he'd take military action inside Pakistan if they didn't help us against the terrorists? So India should know our primary goal in that region. chances are this is pure grandstanding to "please" some of the voters in the area.

its like this...we know Osama is hiding somewhere very near their border if he's still alive. We need an "ally" besides the new Afghanistan government to base our troops and missions. Chances are our guys in that area have kept India and Pakistan from going to war over the disputed area. I think it will all balance out in the end. India isn't going to just start being friends with Iran because we're allied with Pakistan.

Answer 5

We should continue to support Musaraff unless he starts calling for a jihad against the United States.

This was a statement by an individual lawmaker. I do not believe Musharaff supports those views.