The Long-Used Carrot Dangling- Call it Aid, Call it Bribes, Just Call it ‘Whatever’
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
If you’ve been listening to our podcast with real experts and truly independent analysts, then you know all about this media trick: omit the context-disconnect the dots. Basically they give you the news and facts in bits and pieces, disconnected, minus the context. This is one of the main components of propaganda, and one of the major factors counted on by the establishment in conducting hidden world affairs and psychological wars. I have always emphasized the conscious efforts in play to prevent critical and independent thinking. For things to remain as they are, or actually escalate to worse, the establishment counts on a non-critical thinking populace. Call it stupid-ification of the masses. Call it the sheeple effect .Call it whatever you want. I truly don’t care how you tag-label-name it; as long as you recognize and acknowledge what it is they are doing.
Last week, during my brief interview with RT, I mentioned the almost-comical aspect of this entire ‘Arab League’ business. A bunch of Washington-Approved atrocious dictators being placed in charge of checking, determining, judging, and reporting on a Washington-Disapproved dictator’s atrocious deeds. I referred to them as dictators because that’s what they are, and have been. Come on, Bahrain?! Jordan?! Saudi Arabia?! And I said Washington-Approved because they’ve been placed in power, maintained-supported-sustained by the United States of America. They’ve been provided with all the tools a dictator can dream of to practice dictatorship and commit atrocities. Think Bahrain’s Human Rights Record, and then, think US support for Bahrain. Think Saudi Arabia’s atrocities, and then, think US provided tools-means for this dictatorship and one of the largest arms deal in US history. And then, think about this atrocious dictator bunch holding hands and going over to a not-US-Backed dictator nation to issue a report on its abuses per their boss’ request. Thou shall not bite the hand that feeds you, ey?!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Now, with that frame of mind let’s take a look at the latest reports on Pakistan and our cold again, hot again, luke warm again, cold again, warm again relations, and of course what ultimately it comes down to: the aid-bribe-money factor.
Last month we had the killing of Pakistani military members by US-NATO forces; an incident that has “left U.S.-Pakistan relations in tatters.” The relationship went cold; obviously. In response to this attack, and to pacify the public outcry, Pakistan shut down US-NATO supply routes into Afghanistan and issued damning responses and warning to US-NATO. How much of this was just ‘barking’ to save face before the outraged Pakistanis? We don’t know. However, the relations seemed to go colder; icy- at least outwardly; on the front stage.
So let’s look at the intentionally fragmented news and developments on the US-Pakistan relations front, and let’s challenge the media-style reporting by putting the bits and pieces in one place.
Two days ago the media reported on the Pentagon’s confidence and optimism in ‘warming’ relations with Pakistan, and the signal for going back to old business- using Pakistan for our war machine operations:
The Pentagon has expressed confidence that US Pak ties can be improved, and hoped that Islamabad will re open NATO supply route on a border with Afghanistan. Pakistan had earlier sealed its two border crossings in Chaman and Torkham after the November 26 NATO airstrike that had killed 28 soldiers in Mohmand Agency.
…
As always, our predictable media reported this as isolated, singular, and sanitized news. While the behind the scenes mingling and discussions between US and Pakistani puppet regime are completely obscured from the public, especially from the still-outraged people in Pakistan, we have enough official reports and bits and pieces of media articles to fathom the ‘money, money, money’ aka ‘aid, aid, aid,’ in actuality ‘bribe, bribe, bribe’
The Dangling Carrots (Read ‘Bribe’)
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Washington didn’t have much of a problem with Pakistan’s muscle flexing-tough talk/barking, shutting down the NATO supply route, semi-confrontation with the CIA … Look, everyone involved knows this game. Our puppet regimes, our puppet dictators need a little bit of room to garner public support, or more accurately, prevent public backlash, in their home nations. They have to play to their people’s nationalistic and sovereignty expectations. They have to cater to religious pride. So once in a while they have to put on a ‘barking show’ and pretend to flex muscles they don’t even have. This may be for-show-only opposition to Israel’s abuses. This may be angrily pointing a finger at Washington and issuing hollow ultimatums. Or this may be a temporary closure of a US-NATO supply route to fake ‘toughness.’ Washington knows all that, and to a degree it plays along. It is one of those classic, cliché-like US foreign policy dances.
When it comes down to it Washington knows the ultimate game-determinant, and has been using it for decades. In the end our shrewdly-crafted bribery and dependency-creating foreign aid programs almost always win. They place these nations, whether Pakistan or Egypt or Jordan, on a continuous financial and military aid payroll. They make sure the rulers/monarchs/dictators grow highly dependent on these annual bribery packages. They know how these bribes, aka aid, end up in the deep pockets of these nations’ ruling elite, and they like it. And when the time comes, Washington knows how to pull this very strong string to maneuver its puppet dictators-regimes.
With Pakistan, take our latest ‘conditional’ financial aid development:
Pakistan aid linked to efforts against terrorism
Washington—The US Congress has passed a bill imposing more conditions on aid to Pakistan, especially linking it to Islamabad’s cooperation in war on terror and its efforts in curbing terrorists, including Haqqani network, a strong faction of Afghan Taliban.
The bill passed by the US House of Representatives attached condition of the US aid to Pakistan with a certification by the Secretary of State about Pakistan’s cooperation in the war against terrorism and Islamabad’s steps against terrorist groups. The bill hit around $53 billion US aid to various countries including Pakistan.
The House of Representatives passed a comprehensive funding bill with solid bipartisan support – 296 lawmakers voted for it and 121 voted against it. According to the reports, the legislation freezes aid to Pakistan until Secretary can certify that Islamabad is cooperating on counterterrorism. The aid amount was unspecified in the legislation as Congress gave the Obama administration flexibility to figure out the funds. —NNI
…
I am sure you can read between the lines. You know in how many ways this ‘cooperation in war on terror’ condition can be interpreted. And of course you all know how far $53 Billion a year in foreign bribery, aka US foreign aid, can go. No? Basically Washington says, ‘yo, enough with the barking-allowance. You see the billions dangling here? You want it, right? Okay, then back to being a good loyal dog Pakistan…’ And of course Zardari and the rest of the corrupt sold-out puppet elites are salivating in anticipation of the next round of bribery, aka US foreign aid. If that ain’t incentive, what is?
Sometimes Washington fortifies its official bribery package, aka US foreign aid, with extras, aka compensation:
US Offers Compensation to Pakistan
WASHINGTON: The United States has offered to send a team to Pakistan to brief the military on the findings of its investigation into the NATO raid, the State Department said on Thursday. “We accept responsibility for mistakes committed by the US side in the NATO air strike incident” that led to the death of 24 Pakistani soldiers, the department’s deputy spokesman Mark Toner told a briefing.
The US, he said, was prepared to offer compensation to the families of troops who lost their lives.
…
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
But wait, Washington hands out its bribery packages in many ways and forms; sometimes directly, and sometimes through its tentacles. Think IMF. Think World Bank. Think our banking branch of our Imperialism Incorporated. Are you thinking? Good. Here is an additional multibillion bribe package for Pakistan’s elite rulers via our World Bank branch approved a few days ago:
World Bank Sets $5.5 Billion in Aid for Pakistan
The World Bank on Thursday said it would provide Pakistan with $5.5 billion in development aid over the next two years.“The Bank has responded flexibly in the face of the tremendous challenges Pakistan has gone through over the past year or so,” said its Pakistan country director Rachid Benmessaoud.
“We will continue our strong support to Pakistan, while keeping a keen eye on implementation to ensure that these efforts translate into real results on the ground,” he said.
…
Soon, that is, very soon, we’ll see the thawing relations with Pakistan: the supply routes will be open and humming with war trucks, and leaders on both sides will be back to fondly praising each other on successful collaboration and partnership in a war on so-called terror.
The Pakistanis appear to be far more informed and aware than our majority over here in the United States. As long-time recipients of our imperialistic pursuits and abuses they know how the game works: their national sovereignty, their civilians’ lives, their dignity and rights offered on the platter by their ruling elites to their ultimate bosses in Washington for a few billions here and a few billions there, and of course not for the public good but for the maintenance and sustenance of the ruling elites’ with big expanding pockets.
Here in the United States things would start looking clearer and make far more sense if our media (both MSM and pseudo alternatives) would combine these facts and developments, and present them to the public in one place, rather than feeding them bits and pieces of reports and sound bites in isolation and with no context. But they don’t. And they won’t. They are the guardians of our imperialistic and hypocrisy-ridden foreign policy. They participate in preservation of the cosmetic masks before these policies, and one important task to accomplish this is the prevention of independent critical thinking. They see themselves as the preservers of the dumb and stupid-ified majority. And as long as the majority turn to them for their ‘news and facts’ they are doomed to remain dumb and stupid-ified.
This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by subscribing .
Clik here to view.
