Part of the buying of Pakistan albeit I am not sure it will work. #msg-5029725
-Am
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The US has given the Pakistani government more than $200 million in economic assistance for budgetary support, an Economic Affairs Division official told Daily Times on Monday.
He said that out of the $3 billion assistance package announced for five years, the US had promised $600 million to Pakistan every year starting from 2004-05. US authorities gave more than $200 million to Pakistan for budgetary support a few days ago, while the remaining $400 million would also be given within this financial year, said Ahmed Jawad, the division’s spokesman.
According to assistance package’s breakdown, the US will provide $200 million for budgetary support every year, $300 million for military aid and $100 million for projects to be launched by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Sources told Daily Times that the Pakistani government and US authorities had negotiated the release of the $200 million from the US on a fast-track basis aimed at supporting Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves.
In a world that runs on oil, the nation that controls the flow of oil has great strategic power. U.S. policy-makers want leverage over the economies of competitors -- Western Europe, Japan and China -- that are more dependent on Middle Eastern oil. #msg-4798276
The U.S.--and specifically the Clinton White House--was determined to oppose any "north/south" pipelines. The White House adopted a plan, cooked up by long-time ruling class strategist Zbigniew Brzezinski, to create an "east-west" pipe which would bypass both Russia and Iran.
The U.S. intends to strip Russia of control over this oil. And the U.S. wants the Caspian oilfields to be completely independent of the Persian Gulf--to diminish the importance of Persian Gulf states in the world economy.
The U.S. is not interested in Caspian oil to supply its own internal industry. The U.S. is grabbing for control of the Caspian oil fields because other countries need this oil--and because the U.S. wants to control them. Other imperialist rivals--including Germany and Japan--are "energy poor" and need access to oilfields outside their borders. Most Third World countries are heavily dependent on imported oil. #msg-3775550
Analysis: Rice Woos India With Nuke Offer
by Krishnadev Calamur, United Press International Washington (UPI) Mar 20, 2005
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appears to have offered India an attractive incentive in the form of civilian nuclear technology in a bid to derail a planned gas pipeline from Iran to India.
"We will certainly want to discuss the energy needs of India," Rice said in an interview with NDTV before meeting senior Indian officials.
"I understand that this is a growing, in fact burgeoning economy, and like the United States, we are all concerned about how we will meet our energy supply over the next decades and do that in a way that is clean for the environment."
The United States had been reluctant to sell civilian nuclear technology to India because of proliferation concerns, but Rice said under the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership, or NSSP, dialogue between the two countries, the United States was prepared to discuss all issues, including the sale of civilian reactors.
"We can certainly discuss anything in this new relationship, and I think we will want to discuss this issue," she said. "There have been ... proliferation concerns, but this is something that I think we can certainly discuss."
The move is likely to be appreciated in New Delhi, which is keen to move close to Washington. Relations between the two countries were tense for much of the Cold War when Washington allied itself with Pakistan and India to the Soviet Union.
President Clinton's visit to the country in his second term opened up ties and President Bush has strengthened that relationship to include defense and technology cooperation.
Washington has wanted to emphasize that its relationship with India is distinct from its ties with Pakistan, a traditional ally and a key partner in the "war on terror."
Rice's offer on nuclear cooperation with energy-hungry India is likely to gain significance given the U.S. opposition to New Delhi's deal for a gas pipeline from Iran. The $4.5 billion deal is expected to be signed in June.
The 1,700-mile pipeline would originate at Assaluyeh, Iran, and terminate at the Indian border, somewhere in the western state of Rajasthan, with a tap-off point at Multan in Pakistan. The project is expected to be completed by 2010-2011.
The gas pipeline is a testament to rapidly improving India-Pakistan ties, which have been strained by decades of mistrust and the occasional war. It also is a proof of close Indo-Iranian relations.
The United States has not had ties with Iran since 1979 and has most recently accused it of trying to illegally use its civilian nuclear program to make weapons. Tehran denies that charge.
Washington has now backed a European effort to persuade Iran to give up its uranium enrichment program, a process Tehran is allowed under its international commitments.
Bush said Wednesday if Iran did not accept an offer of incentives, including civilian airline parts and a possible World Trade Organization, it will be taken to the U.N. Security Council for further action.
In New Delhi, Rice and her Indian counterpart, Natwar Singh, did not shy away from expressing their respective countries' view of the pipeline deal.
"We have communicated our concerns about the gas pipeline cooperation between India and Iran," Rice said after meeting Singh. "Those concerns are well known to the Indian government."
Singh said Indian had "no problems" with Iran, but Indian officials acknowledge the deal will become difficult should Iran come under further U.S. and international sanctions. Even as Singh spoke, however, Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar was in Islamabad, Pakistan, to discuss the deal with Iranian and Pakistani officials.
The agreement with Iran is part of a major energy push by India, a country whose economy is growing by approximately 6 percent to 7 percent a year.
The energy-starved nation relies on imports for more than 70 percent of its energy requirements and is expected to need some 14 billion cubic feet of gas per day by 2025, up from 3.2 billion cubic feet now.
The pipeline deal with Iran should assuage some of that concern, but Rice's comments on civilian nuclear technology are likely to give Indian policymakers pause.
Overall, the Indians must view Rice's visit as a positive one for New Delhi. There was no mention of an expected announcement of a sale of F-16s to India and its rival Pakistan. Pakistan has wanted the planes for many years and has even paid for 70 of them, but U.S. law and Indian objections have resulted in an impasse. Indian military officials said they were "curious" about the deal.
The Economic Times, India's largest financial newspaper, reported, however, that Rice may have offered New Delhi co-production of defense equipment, including F-16s, a move that is likely to irk Islamabad.
New Delhi was Rice's first stop on a six-nation tour that also takes her to Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Japan and South Korea.
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