$2.7 billion in military aid, annually, plus $1.5 billion in non-military aid via Kerry-Lugar equals $4.2 billion in annual U.S. support for the Pakistani Government. The removal of $800 million in military aid is an exercise in leverage. The problem is, the Pak military will now be in position to challenge the Zardari government's mismanagement of the economy in general and geopolitics in particular. The removal of $800 million in military aid speaks of a complete failure of the 2009 AfPak Counterinsurgency policy of pinching the Taliban between the ISAF and Paki military forces. The combination of this reversal as well as a drawdown in troops on the Afghani side of the equation spells only VICTORY for the Taliban.

We must ask ourselves what we see as a positive outcome in the Libya affair. It has become patently clear that Gaddafi and other dictators have held an entire generation behind an iron curtain. The average age of a Libyan is under 35, which means that most Libyans don't remember an age without Gaddafi. Moreover, the educational system has yielded a mix of engineers and Islamists. Jihadis have traveled the Greater Middle East in search of adventure, cashing in on multiple criminal networks and underground runner units for al Qaeda and Hezbollah. But, at the same time, the overwhelming majority of the country did not join a jihadi cause or an Islamist party. Libya is a well-off country in African terms, due to its oil wealth. The tribal system is more likely to produce salafi pirate strains than capital market entrepreneurs.

But we must see through these realities and recognize that Gaddafi's regime had been working with hardliner extremists in every African strife ridden area to promote Islamism and Arabist groups. One of these groups (The Chard Republican Army) in addition to a plethora of mercenaries, are fighting alongside Gaddafi forces. While we quibble over how extensive the flickers of jihadism are in the rebel forces, we can be certain that the Gaddafi regime's association with Islamist elements is far more than a "flicker".

In full, with Hillary Clinton and William Hague refusing to officially recognize and arm the rebel opposition forces, the likelihood of an extended stalemate is high. A stalemate has natural ramifications on the humanitarian front. A protracted stalemate, while yielding cracks in the armor of Gaddafi's inner circle, is an expensive proposition for rebels intent on making deals with their new found legitimacy.

At present, the American and western media has not focused on what the educational facilities and programs of the Libyan people amounted to for those graduating from the gauntlet. And while the west pats itself on the back for remaining cautious in its support for the opposition, it automatically loses out on the influence necessary to salvage Libya's end game on behalf of Liberty.

It is at this time, when the constitution of the country is in its formative phases as the young rebellion declares its independence from everything old and mean. The American and British leadership have a golden opportunity at this crucial juncture, of completely financing rebel victory in exchange for the establishment of a secular constitution based on the limits of man made law, rather than subject to the dictates of Allah's Koran.

Now is the time for American leaders to step up and request the Free Libya Movement to meet Liberty half way.