WASHINGTON Dec 20 (TNS): US President Donald Trump in a ‘surly reminder’ to Pakistan said that the Muslim country is obliged to help America because of ‘massive payments’ it receives from the Washington every year.
While unveiling his new national security strategy on Tuesday, the US President said: “We have made clear to Pakistan that while we desire continued partnership, we must see decisive action against terrorist groups operating on their territory. And we make massive payments every year to Pakistan. They have to help.”
He was addressing the nation from the Ronald Reagan building in Washington.
Trump said the United States wanted Pakistan to take decisive action to help fight extremism, and that Washington had “no choice” but to deal with the challenge posed by North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, a UK-based wire service reported.
Trump said the security strategy would also end mandatory defense spending limits, frequently called “sequester,” but did not mention if he had consulted with members of Congress about a possible bill to end the caps established in 2013 budget legislation.
“We recognize that weakness is the surest path to conflict and unrivaled power is the most certain means of defense. For this reason, our security strategy breaks from damaging defense sequester,” Trump said. “We’re going to get rid of that.”
The new strategy, however, focuses more on the domestic front and identifies two “greatest transnational threats” to homeland security: Jihadist terrorists and international criminal organisations.
The new US security plan also reinforces President Trump’s pledge to build a wall on the US border with Mexico to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the United States.
The paper says that the jihadist use “barbaric cruelty to commit murder, repression, and slavery, and virtual networks to exploit vulnerable populations and inspire and direct plots”.
The strategy identifies four vital national interests, or “four pillars” as:
Protect the homeland, the American people, and American way of life; Promote American prosperity; Preserve peace through strength; Advance American influence.
Top on the list of external threats are “revisionist powers”, such as China and Russia that “use technology, propaganda, and coercion to shape a world antithetical to our interests and values”.
The new strategy says that America must continue to enhance its influence overseas to protect the American people and promote their prosperity.
