Been left stranded those are the headlines now in an aljazeera its inside story by. Donald trump threatens to cut off Financial Aid to the Palestinian Authority and. Palestinian officials and islamabad how strong it pushed back against the u. S. President so whats behind. This is inside story. Hello and welcome to the program. Palestinian leaders say they wind not be blackmailed after u. S. President donald trump threatened to cut aid worth around three quarters of a billion dollars a year he made this statement on twitter blaming palestinians for refusing to engage in middle east peace talks relations with the u. S. Have plummeted since trump recognized jerusalem as israels capital last month the threatens money allocated to the Palestinian Authority most u. S. Funding goes to the development and building projects and not directly to the authority itself also at risk is funding to the United Nations relief and works agency or which assists Palestinian Refugees the u. S. Is its largest donor both measures if they go ahead would cut around seven hundred sixty five Million Dollars a year in aid to the palestinians well get to our guests in a moment but first this report from from romola in the occupied west bank for. A mother of three Palestinian Refugee children a routine trip to the doctor was already riddled with complications. But after hearing the u. S. May decide to cut more than three hundred Million Dollars of annual aid to the United Nations relief and works agency for Palestinian Refugees or as it is known she now worries a bad situation may worsen. Its getting more difficult its getting more complicated and things arent getting solved everything is becoming more expensive going to laws available to the poor is not nowadays on wednesday residents of the occupied west bank woke up to the news that u. S. President donald trump may halt aid payments worth hundreds of millions of dollars to palestinians if theyre no longer willing to talk peace sixty year old wooden a fool like so many other Palestinian Refugees here relies on this under a well supported clinic in a refugee camp a Health Center that depends on foreign aid. Its hard because of the difficult situation in all conditions and it allows us to go to this clinic while officials tell us theyve not been informed by the u. S. Administration of any changes in funding to the agency the cuts could have a devastating impact approximately five million Palestinian Refugees are eligible for Services Close to eight hundred thousand of them live here in the west bank and another one point three million are in gaza condemnation from palestinian officials who insist they are still very much committed to the Peace Process was swift many of them said palestine was not for sale weve lived for a long time without american aid and we couldnt so survive without american aid and if it truly means that there will be more hunger and less ability to survive look at what the gazans are staying because of the israeli siege of gaza. But but people you know im not willing to sell their homeland for money now faced with the prospect of a political solution growing dimmer and humanitarian aid getting scarce or the only thing it seems palestinians can count on is even more uncertainty how much improvement dizzee into ramallah the occupied west bank. Now its not just the palestinians donald trump is threatening his also taken a. Trump has volatile cut Financial Assistance to the pakistani government which he accuses of giving nothing about lies and deceit in return for billions of dollars in aid his while the Us Ambassador to the un told reporters on tuesday pakistan had played i double game for years they work with us at times and they also harbor the terrorists that attack our troops in afghanistan that game is not acceptable to this administration we expect far more cooperation from pakistan in the fight against terrorism lets bring in augusts in new york. Stephen wood has member of the triumphal president s Advisory Boards in washington d. C. We have david said the senior fellow at the center for strategic and International Studies is also a former deputy u. S. Assistant secretary for defense for afghanistan and pakistan thank you very much indeed for joining us let me start by asking mr bush is this what is donald trump trying to do here is he trying to shift the u. S. Foreign policy in general just hes being tough own country is he considers not doing enough to help the United States of america well to begin with no country on the face of this earth is entitled and i use the word in emphasize in title to american tax dollars the president this money comes out of the generosity of the American People the president of United States made it very very clear when he campaigned and when he took office that america is going to be first a lot of that money could now be used for our problems our infrastructure the things that we need to get done in this country now and now look pakistan for example criticized his National Security policy it seems to me that as long as the money is flowing things are fine but now that the money stopping the world is waking up a little so what theyre going to have to do is think twice before they criticize this country about how much money i wouldnt made it very clear how much money are we talking about here you give us the impression that were talking about something that could substantially change their livelihoods of millions of people youre talking about an overall fifty billion dollars the United States of america donates norway sweden give more money than the u. S. Itself well look were not responsible for the entire world the president is responsible to the American People so maybe the world the World Leaders are going to have to step up and contribute more where that this idea come from that the other countries are entitled to our tax dollars thats where the problem lies so look i dont think the president is going to do damage to young children. Others that you talked about your clip earlier he wants world feasts he wants to sit with leaders and have a lot of cooperation around the world but they have to do their part also with the said the how do you see this. Going to beit about the threats by the u. S. Administration to cut aid to countries if theyre nuts and bolts well i think youre really talking about two very different issues here in talking about pakistan and the palestinians in the in the case of the palestinians that you began. Your clip with over the course of the last year of the Trump Administration theres been a lot of bumbling and fumbling on the administration they went ahead and move the u. S. Embassy to jerusalem without getting anything from israel causing a reaction from the palestinians and now apparently the president s trying to punish the palestinians for their reaction to that thats really a case where the u. S. Needs to have a clear overall strategy on the other hand with pakistan the u. S. Does have a clear overall strategy there was a very exhaustive National Security process that resulted in a speech to the nation by President Trump in august where he laid out a very clear policy towards pakistan and afghanistan and he said then that pakistan needed to do more if it wanted to continue its relationship the United States he sent the secretary of state and secretary of defense there over the last several months but so far pakistan hasnt done anything and its not just the United States that is concerned that pakistan is not responding former pakistani Prime Minister nawaz sharif the other day gave an interview where he said the real problem in the case of pakistan is pakistan itself he said pakistan needs to do a selfexamination but then and finally theres different kinds of eighty eight involved here the aid to pakistan is direct cash we transfer cash directly to the treasury of the country of pakistan that they can then use to support their military and other programs including sometimes their Nuclear Programs on the other hand the money that were giving that its helping the palestinians is humanitarian assistance so i really think were talking. But apples and oranges here i think in the case of pakistan the administration has made a really smart move and is going to actually have a better chance of achieving its goals than ever before and they can look at how this time in israel lets thats a much more complicated issue lets tackle each case on its own mr rogers about pakistan you know and everyone knows that theres absolutely no way the americans can move forward in afghanistan without having the bike is that his award how can you alienate them no and expect to get some benefits or help from the in the near future or keep a couple of things in mind we are not eliminating them theyre elating themselves through their actions number one number two in july of two thousand and sixteen or even a few years ago even the Obama Administration was addressing the problem of the taliban finding safe haven in pakistan so the president of United States donald trump inherited this problem he didnt create it so this has been an ongoing many many years pakistan knows that theyve had to step up and do more when it comes to terrorism so until theyre ready to come to the table and develop and share with us a strong strategy to rid of the taliban and their country what do you expect the United States to do and by the way youre the guest that just spoke a spot on that doesnt direct Cash Payments how do we know that all of that cash is going to where it should be going there may be some doubts and a lot of peoples minds about that so ill tell you what i believe that through the president s actions as your guest just said were going to see the american resolve and the pakistani resolve strengthened and together they will work down the road well right now pakistan has to step up and do more ok missis had the you said before assistant secretary for defense of defense for afghanistan and pakistan you know that the American Administration in the past in the sixtys sixtys in the seventys in two thousand and one of the nine eleven attacks have went back to pakistan to build strong alliance. With the aim of achieving some strategic goals in the region how would you suddenly use the threats of cutting aid to bring about change well first of all let me say steve is right its not suddenly this is been a problem both under the Obama Administration under the Bush Administration if youll recall after nine eleven pakistan was not ready to support the United States against alqaeda and there was a very tough telephone call from the deputy secretary of the night states to the then president of pakistan general musharraf where he basically told him youre with us or against us and at that time president musharraf said well be with you that was resulted in a temporary change in pakistani policy where they did do a lot on terrorism for the United States but theyve never change the fundamental practice of using proxies terrorist proxies such as the taliban in afghanistan and l. E t against india those proxy terrorist proxies that pakistan has continued to use throughout the last twenty plus years continue to erode pakistans place in the world the rest of the world doesnt trust pakistan now because of what theyre doing i mention former Prime Minister nawaz sharif statement the other day where he said the real thing that pakistan needs to do is look at itself self examine what changes pakistan needs to do that to stop using this terrorist tool against its neighbors and come into. A place where it can be respected by the rest of the world instead of doubted the United States for too long has been giving this money to pakistan without getting the results and i fully support what President Trump is doing ok mr rosas now you say that the measure is efficient and it will bring about a change of the behavior of the pakistanis but just as now ask you this question the Trump Administration has decided to send troops to the troops now deployed in afghanistan they would like to bring about change to the situation of god is that but you know that the only way to have the taliban negotiate a permanent political settlement of the situation enough of that is that well definitely have to go through the pakistanis is that any way the americans and the pakistanis can sit together without the use of the threats of cutting a deal assistance. To the to the situation look i believe this move on the part of the Trump Administration is going to bring pakistan to the table look you learn in life that unfortunately in many ways money talks if the stuff with the money stop the flow of money stopping its entrance into back pakistan is going to bring them to the table and yes i believe at one point theyre going to realize that they are now being negatively impacted severely without that Financial Aid theyll come to the table but then let me take this question to mr said they want if the move back flies and the pakistanis decided to ally with align themselves with the russians for example or with the chinese and saying you know what would come to us the americans have betrayed us many times in the past this look for a different alternative. Well on the issue of terrorism both the russians and the chinese interest are very closely aligned with the us the taliban have been aligned with movements in china that have carried out terrorist attacks and the taliban have been aligned with movements who have carried out terrorist attacks in russia so i dont think youre going to find russia or china supporting pakistan if it makes the choice to align itself more closely with the taliban or with terrorist i think youre going to see pressure from everyone involved on pakistan to change its policies and really go after all of the terrorist groups are on pakistani soil not just ones that threaten pakistan but the ones that threaten afghanistan and india as well well you know the reason why i bring in all these questions about about this whole move by the u. S. By the u. S. Address is used basically also the same time i have this impression that this is based on a very simplistic approach to a very complex political order mr waters you say that no nation should take it for granted that it has and entitle and to the money of the taxpayers in the seas of america but the same time youre giving me the impression this is a charity that we give to people. Under taken into consideration that some of the aid is basically to defend some of the tenets of the National Defense and security of the seas of american. Well yes i would say that to a degree however if theres been a sea change in this country. For eight years we took a back seat when it came to World Leadership no question about that now we have a president whos bold who is strong hes leading from the front and hes made something very clear and this is what World Leaders have to understand hes made it very clear that americas interests are coming first not only abroad but at home and if its going to cost a lot of money to rebuild our country our infrastructure and the things that the president has committed to the American People then that money is going to be used for Americans First yes a lot of money goes overseas and a lot of countries are helping us to loyal to us has a lot to do at National Defense but in this case why are we going to send money to a country that is not really stepping up to the plate to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem yes but then again to. Send me i would like to go back to the issue of the palestinian issue the Trump Administration is asking the palestinians to negotiate a settlement with the israelis we dont know anything about the details of that deal but you suddenly decide that jerusalem is the capital of these rallies why would you expect suddenly the entire community all the region to move forward when they would check the move on its own so why would you follow up with sanctions or threats of sanctions. Well i think steve and i are agreed on the issue of pakistan i think in palestine we may have different views i think the trumpet ministration made a major error by moving the embassy of the United States to jerusalem without getting anything back from israel in return thats really a basic part of leadership a basic part of making deals you dont give up something for nothing and now that the administration has made this decision it has alienated the pakistanis and really hasnt gotten any progress from israel so i see a future ahead in that area a lot of confusion particularly with the events going on in iran the new leadership in saudi arabia i think the potential for greater conflict in that area is much higher than the possibility of peace talks and i think the Trump Administration will be scrambling to catch up and fix the mistakes that is made is that your view is there will just. With all due respect to my colleague i believe it was a great move it was a good move i believe we are getting probably one of the most important things that any country can give us is the ability to share intelligence and information against attack terrorism worldwide i dont see the world wide riots and the bloodshed like were seeing in iran so i believe that as each country begins to think about this and we already saw it with some countries theyre going to step up and move their embassies to israel who has been americas real greatest ally in that region but youre not telling me in detail why you consider this to be a good move on a legitimate move you know what were talking about here were talking about a u. S. President abandons along u. S. Tradition and steps into a New Territory that could destabilize the whole region have you been watching the news over the last few weeks have you seen the reaction of the millions of people across the muslim welds you seem to be a little bit disconnected im sorry to say this but you seem to be a little bit disconnected from reality well well that this is a president who kept his promise and the promises of just about every president up to him that they would move or theyd recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel we have to think about not only the world but this country the United States of america we have a president who made a promise he kept the promise and that promise has been fulfilled and look i really i have a lot of hope that on the road i believe that all the pundits and all these people that i telling us the sky is falling none of this is going to happen people with cool heads are going to step up and say all right whats done is done now lets sit down and talk theres too much i guess just too much speculation on the part of people who are not really involved in these complex issues so if everyone settles down and thinks about working together i believe thats where this president is headed remember hes a great negotiator he knows what hes doing. And what hes doing i think is going to benefit not only United States but the world yes but sadly the issue here is this there is i mean theres the they all one hundred talking about the using the threat of with withholding cash and a to forty nations by the same time we get this impression that if youre not on board if youre not on our way then theres absolutely no way we can help you and you know that in politics this is absolutely a very simplistic approach where all of these the interests of the different nations speaking of the palestinians how can you convince the palestinians i bet himself to morrow that in exchange for cast abandon the idea of East Jerusalem as part of the of the capital of the palestinian who is going to accept this narrative or russian or first of all i want to very fundamentally agree with my colleague steve that every interest every country is put every country puts its own interests first and that is what the United States has done and will do. The problem is that sometimes our tactics have not been have not been aligned with our overall goals and unfortunately and this is where i disagree with steve i dont think the move the embassy to jerusalem was right i think the timing was wrong the kind of intelligence other cooperation we had already with israel we were going to continue to get when you do something new you should get something new and thats where i think President Trump made the error in moving the embassy to jerusalem when he did it should have been in the context of getting something bigger from the israelis now that hes done that hes scrambling to find a way to get the peace talks that were moving forward agree with steve that there was the prospect of those those peace talks have now been held up and i think given the overall situation in the middle east its going to be a long time before we see any Real Progress on that and thats too bad. Just want if the pakistanis and the palestinians decide you know what. We soria we cannot we cannot move forward you have your own interests we also have to respect the fact that we have to pursue our National Goals thats understandable and i dont think thats going to happen i believe that all of these moves that this administration is taking is going to bring everyone to the table look at the palestinians want peace the israelis want peace everyone on earth wants peace we all know this one fundamental common denominator in order to get there we have to sit down and talk and i believe President Trump is is is is taking very bold moves and Strategic Moves to finally get people to truly talk because now without aid going there. They know they need our aid look they know they need it despite what they say that they can live without it were going to sit down were going to have discussions and i really have a lot of hope units are opportunity when i say our opportunity of the world to move forward you know im somewhat was just sorry to interrupt you here you know whats my problem with the whole idea of the need to our money youre spending one percent of the of your budget norway sweden spends more theyre more generous than the americans and many countries are more generous than the americans may comes to foreign aid so why would you suddenly believe that thirty billion dollars of the total foreign aid that you spend well white is going to bring nations to say yes its not their money thats what im trying to tell you theyre not entitle to the not people because the reason why a lot of the questioner is youve given me the impression that suddenly because you are cutting aid people would say sorry we made a mistake give us the money therefore well and so you can sense it doesnt seem to well case that well the reality of life is in business and in politics you know what money talks we know that and we know that sometimes when thats that flow of money is stopping people are going to begin to talk ok for strategic move its i think its a good bold where you got your. Going to see peace taylor and this is going to be my so last question for mr said the said the foreign aid has been a key component for the u. S. Foreign policy for for for for the last six decades are we seeing here a shift in the us way of using that tool to enforce its goals in the region or for the welt i think weve been seeing a shift in the way the us uses foreign aid actually for about thirty years now as you pointed out the percentage of g. D. P. That the u. S. Gives in various kinds of foreign assistance is much less than other countries and that decreases actually goes back about thirty years its a product of the kind of forces that i think steve is describing in the u. S. Itself but again im going back to the two specific situations i want to stress how different they are in the palestinian case were talking about money thats going to third parties to the world humanitarian if you manicuring assistance in the case of pakistan we were giving cash directly to the Pakistani Military i guess if thats withholding that cash is much more likely to have an immediate effect as opposed to holding back money that goes to you and other agencies that build in thank you for that wont be seen for five ten years so i really think you should look at the situation so definitely definitely in separate lenses rather than to get a no no definitely definitely from about i would like also to thank you very very much indeed david seventy and stephen was just for the time you took to answer my questions thank you really appreciate that and thank you too for watching you can see the program again and its by visiting a web site dot com for further discussion go to our Facebook Page thats facebook dot com for was last a. 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