The price of US aid

Published: September 26, 2009

The US Senate has passed the Kerry-Lugar aid bill, with the passage timed to coincide with the Friends of Democratic Pakistan summit in New York, and intended to beef up President Barack Obama's position with reference to the pledges made at the summit. The Bill, which passed the Senate on Thursday, the day of the Summit, will triple US aid to $1.5 billion a year for the next five years, for which it provides a commitment. While there is little doubt that the Gilani government will celebrate its passage, and President Asif Zardari will take much credit, the nation as a whole should ask what the USA is buying with this aid, for it does not give away money.