For the final time, a first world government CANNOT and I repeat CANNOT dictate terms to media. The Watergate scandal would not have been exposed if the media obeyed the government.
For the final time, read my comment before replying. I didn't say the government can dictate, I said the media centers would do it themselves, because the government holds their pay checks. Your boss may not be able to fire you for telling him to **** off outside of work, but you wouldn't tell him to **** off, because he still holds your pay check. Watergate is a completely different mess, don't compare apples to oranges.
US has indicated a mere token presence in Afghanistan, like they have in Pakistan as we speak. And unless something drastic happens there will be no change in US policy. The next US elections will be contested on when the troops will be pulled out, not when they would be deployed. No country likes a long un-ending war with no tangible results.
That's where you're wrong, Afghanistan is barely on the US population's radar. I wouldn't call nearly 10,000 troops a token force, considering that they'll continue to conduct special forces operations and provide air support. This is especially true since the US recently announced that they would be slowing down the withdrawal.
That is strictly your perception.
No, this is FACT. Don't try and change facts to suit your argument. Show me where it says that the taliban's leaders, both Mullah Omar and Mullah Fazlullah (of the TTP) have declared their allegiance to IS. You can't do it, because it never happened. In fact, the taliban consider IS a threat to their organizations, because IS is challenging the taliban's popularity.
If that was the case there would not have been talks of withdrawal of US from Afghanistan. The Afghan chapter for US is more or less over. Afghanistan was never the launching pad for attacks, it was the place where taliban was dumb enough to hide a fugitive wanted by US. If the talibs had handed over OBL then the war would have never taken place.
What a load of crap. the US can and will continue to launch drone strikes in the country well passed the withdrawal, from neighboring states. With the rise of IS, and increased Iranian influence, there is a renewed vigil to contain those threats before they can make major inroads in Afghanistan, and turn it into another Iraq.
All the masterminds of 9/11 and leaders of AQ were in Afghanistan. With AQ having massive military bases in Afghanistan, it was very much a launching pad for attacks. Don't pretend these facts aren't real.
Spare me the personal attacks. It is obvious you believe too much in your perceptions. If pakistan or Pakistanis understood politics so well they would not find themselves in the mess they are in right now, the irony is this mess is strictly Pakistan-made.
Oh please, you either are uninformed of historical facts, or are purposefully ignoring them. I'm not the rest of Pakistan, nor are you the rest of India. What i said was not a personal attack, it was a mere observation based on your lack of knowledge. Ignoring key historical events, and getting facts completely wrong.
Just an FYI, this isn't a Pakistan made mess, it is an Afghan made mess. If you actually know about the history of the two nations, then you'd know this.
How much is Pakistan paid per year for its services and how badly will it affect Pakistan if the US refuses the fiscal aid? Pakistan has no choice.
Pakistan has plenty of choice. Ironically, Pakistan was the best off when it was under US sanctions. It went from being a 30 billion dollar economy to 220 billion dollar economy (a quarter of the growth being being under international sanctions), which put it under a middle income economy. You seem to have this idea that Pakistan needs US aid, but you forget, aid to Pakistan makes up less than 1% of Pakistan's GDP, in other words, it's negligible. The only reason it is accepted is because it helps Pakistan develop poorer areas, such as the tribal region, without having to spend a lot of it's own money.
The sanctions were lifted immediately after 9/11. Pakistan could have said no, it either lacked the balls or it was smart enough to know that US funds are not to be ignored.
While sanctions relief was welcomed, and helped grow Pakistan's economy, US funding was simply a business transaction. In return for letting the US use Pakistani infrastructure, such as naval ports and military bases, Pakistan would receive compensation. It was a business transaction, thus the money was not the US's, rather it was money owed to Pakistan. You don't just go to a hotel and expect to not pay for the room and services provided. Pakistan chose to help the US, because it was in it's best interests. It could have said no, but why would it?
