Sunjeev Bery

Tag: U.S.-Pakistan relations

  • “Pretend Secrecy” Shields the White House from a Drone Missile Debate

    The Huffington Post Posted: November 5, 2009 By Sanjeev Bery It is time to set aside the notion that U.S. drone missile attacks in Pakistan are some kind of secret. The pretense of secrecy has saved Obama Administration officials from having to publicly defend the military tactic. But when Pakistani college students, think tank scholars,…

  • The State Department is keeping track…

    The U.S. State Department is now tracking the number of emails received opposing U.S. drone missile attacks in Pakistan.  What will the final number be? 50?  500?  5000? After emailing the State Department to oppose drone missile attacks, I received the message below.  You may have as well.  This means that senior State Department officials…

  • US AID guards its turf in Pakistan

    Over at Informed Consent, Juan Cole writes: The [Kerry-Lugar Pakistan] aid bill is also controversial in Washington, where a US AID official has complained about the plan to funnel it through Pakistani contractors rather than through American ones. The Agency for International Development official maintained that Pakistani organizations cannot be monitored effectively by the US,…

  • Misreading “Anti-Americanism” in Pakistan

    The latest news on US-Pakistan relations shouldn’t surprise anyone. According to the Associated Press, former Pakistani dictator Pervez Musharraf used billions of dollars in US military aid for everything but the paymasters’ intended purpose: fighting Taliban militias. None of this news, however, is likely to generate much Pakistani sympathy for American taxpayers. What American officials…

  • The IMF and the Taliban

    Among the many factors at play in the growth of the Pakistani “neo-Taliban” is the story of poverty and a failed government response to basic human needs. With the global recession underway, things have only gotten only worse for those near the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder in Pakistan and elsewhere. As the World Bank…

  • With a friend like this, who needs democracy?

    A repost of my comment at Sepia Mutiny and Chapati Mystery: On the intersection of U.S. policy and Pakistani politics, I was particularly surprised to read this link off a Pakistani news twitter feed: Obama calls Zardari, discusses mutual cooperation Pakistan News.Net / Friday 27th March, 2009 (ANI) Islamabad, Mar. 27 : US President Barack…