U.S. to Pakistan: We're really, really upset with you this time so we'll have to give you more money

WASHINGTON AT DEFCON1

"The new pressure from the Obama administration is a departure from its more usual courteous encouragement to tackle Islamic militants. The ease with which [Times Square bomber] Faisal Shahzad was able to move between the US and Pakistan, often carrying tens of thousands of dollars, has increased fears in the White House that another attempt at a terror attack could succeed."-- Times Online, May 9

Whereupon the U.S. departments of defense and state try out the Good Cop Bad Cop Routine on General Kayani

May 7 (Reuters) - The United States has warned of "severe consequences" if a successful extremist attack in America were traced back to Pakistan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday in an interview with CBS "60
Minutes" [to air Sunday] ...

"We've made it very clear that if -- heaven-forbid -- an attack like this that we can trace back to Pakistan were to have been successful, there would be very severe consequences," she said, without elaborating. ... "We've gotten more cooperation. It's been a real sea change in the commitment we have seen from the Pakistani government. We want more, we expect more," Clinton said ...

May 7 (Reuters) The United States is prepared to provide more assistance to Pakistan, if it wants it, in the wake of last week's attempted car bombing in New York, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Friday. ... But Gates, far from publicly calling on Pakistan to do more, renewed praise for Islamabad's efforts against insurgents and acknowledged Pakistan's armed forces were already stretched.

[Approximately 650,000 personnel are on active duty in the Pakistan military which is the world's 6th largest armed force as of 2010. Combined with the 302,000 strong Paramilitary forces and 528,000 in reserve, the Military of Pakistan has a total size of over 1,000,000 personnel.]

Rule #1 for a happy relationship with Pakistan's military: Never ever try to monitor where your development aid money goes in Pakistan

May 8 (New York Times) ... The Obama administration was planning to use the failed terrorist attack [in Times Square] to impress on the Pakistanis the urgency of getting American development aid in place in the tribal areas where militancy thrives, and into Karachi, the biggest city, where radical religious schools, known as madrasas, are popular.

“Last week’s incident makes it more urgent and more true” of the need to bring stability and security to these areas where the militants have multiplied, an American official said.

About $150 million was appropriated by Congress for assistance to the tribal areas in the coming period for reconstruction and other projects. But a host of problems, including American insistence on being able to monitor the money being spent, has made it a slow process. ....

As a last resort threaten General Kayani with a policy debate

May 9 (Washington Post) Washington -- After more than a year of doling out carrots to Pakistan, the Obama administration has reminded its strategic partner on the Afghanistan border that the U.S. mood could quickly sour if FBI investigators confirm ties between the Times Square bombing suspect and Pakistani insurgent groups.

The warnings so far have been nonspecific and publicly couched in confidence that the Pakistanis will do whatever is required. But the administration has indicated that anything less than full cooperation on the May 1 bombing attempt could make the continued flow of billions of U.S. economic and security dollars "problematic," officials from both countries said. ...

An ever-closer relationship with Pakistan is at the core of Obama's war strategy in Afghanistan and against al-Qaeda. The nature and outcome of the threatened consequences for noncooperation are subjects the administration has barely begun to contemplate.

"There's going to be enough here to trigger a policy debate," predicted one senior official with access to U.S. intelligence on Pakistan and involvement in White House discussions about the bombing attempt. ...

What U.S. intelligence on Pakistan?

Cut to the sound of chirping crickets.