VP-elect Biden holds talks with Pakistani leaders

[onehandle]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON – Vice President-elect Joe Biden on Friday met with Pakistani leaders during an Asian trip meant to show the new administration's interest in the troubled region.

Biden and South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham met with President Asif Ali Zadari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, aides said. The bipartisan pair also discussed counterterrorism, counterinsurgency and the economy with interior adviser Rehman Malik and Army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani.

In a statement, Gilani said he pressed upon Biden the importance of greater U.S. aid to improve Pakistan's military capacity. Biden has spearheaded legislation to increase humanitarian spending in Pakistan but that also links military aid to Islamabad's performance in the fight against militants.

Gilani also said the two countries should share more intelligence so Pakistan could go after militant targets on its own, removing the need for U.S. missile strikes on its territory. Pakistan routinely condemns such strikes by the U.S.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090109/ap_on_go_co/biden_8

[cosmicone]

1. Pakistan needs LESS military aid - not MORE

Any military aid is used against India instead of in any counterterrorism operations. Taliban is a creation of Pakistan, funded, directed, staffed and trained from Pakistan.

If the US wants Taliban to go away, force Pakistan to disarm and abandon its ISI.