Top senators unveil Pakistan aid overhaul

THE STANS

Senator John Kerry.

Gates reluctant to further increase US troops in Afghanistan
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, in remarks made public Saturday, that it would be politically difficult for the United States to further increase its military presence in Afghanistan. "It would be a hard sell, there's no question about it," Gates told CNN television. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), led by NATO, is made up of just over 58,000 soldiers from nearly 40 nations, with nearly half from the US military. An 8,000-strong brigade will soon head to Afghanistan as part of more than 21,000 reinforcements approved by President Barack Obama to bolster the US mission there. The additional troops will join 40,000 US soldiers stationed in the country, most of which serve with ISAF. "I think we will have between the American military commitment and our coalition partners -- the ISAF partners -- we will have about 100,000 troops in Afghanistan," Gates said. "That's only about 10,000 shy of what the Russian's had, and I think we need to think about that."

House Democrats unveil 94.2-bln-dollar emergency war bill
Democrats in the US House of Representatives said Monday they will seek 94.2 billion dollars in emergency spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and to fight a possible flu pandemic. Democratic House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey said the panel would meet Thursday to take up the measure, which is 9.3 billion dollars above what US President Barack Obama requested. Lawmakers dealt a sharp blow to Obama's push to close the suspected terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by stripping out the roughly 80 million dollars he sought for that purpose. "I personally favor what the administration is talking about doing but so far as we can tell, there is yet no concrete program for that," said Obey. "I'm not much interested in wasting my energy defending a theoretical program." The House measure includes 78.4 billion dollars for the Defense Department -- 4.7 billion dollars more than Obama's request at a time when US forces are ramping up in Afghanistan and moving towards a full withdrawal from Iraq. It would provide 3.2 billion dollars for military construction, primarily for hospitals, a 900-million-dollar increase over the administration's request. Obey's plan also sets aside two billion dollars to boost the country's ability to respond to a potential worsening of the swine flu outbreak. Obama had requested 1.5 billion. Obey said the bill would provide 400 million dollars in counterinsurgency funds to Pakistan, as Obama requested. But he expressed doubt about Obama's plan for Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan. "With respect to Afghanistan and Pakistan ... I'm extremely dubious about the ability of the administration to achieve its ends," said Obey. "I don't believe that the Pakistan government and the Afghan government are sufficiently focused and organized and unified to deal with the problem" of militants, who thrive in the two countries' lawless border region. But Obey insisted that he wanted the Obama administration "to have the greatest possible ability to succeed, so we are providing virtually everything the president is asking for in order to give him the best possible chance to succeed." He said that the release of the funds would be conditioned on the president reporting to Congress within a year on progress made in the war in Afghanistan.

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) May 4, 2009
Two top US senators unveiled plans Monday to expand and overhaul civilian US aid to Pakistan, calling it an urgent step to help defeat Islamists who threaten the nuclear-armed ally's stability.

Democrat John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Republican Richard Lugar, the panel's ranking member, introduced legislation calling for tripling US civilian aid to Pakistan to 1.5 billion dollars per year over the next five years.

The move came as US President Barack Obama was to host presidents Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan for talks Wednesday aimed at defeating Islamist extremists who threaten both governments.

Asked whether there was still time to help Zardari, Kerry replied: "While governments might change at some point in time -- who knows? -- I don't believe the country itself is about to fall apart."

Kerry said about 100 million dollars would go to police reforms, training, and equipment, and left the door open to some funds going to Pakistan's military, if needed.

Lugar, the panel's ranking Republican, underscored that the measure "is not a blank check," pointing to requirements that Pakistan security forces "turn their attention to the extremist dangers within Pakistan's borders."

The three-way summit on Wednesday comes amid growing concerns in Washington that Taliban fighters pushing ever-deeper into Pakistan could get their hands on the country's nuclear arsenal.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama would raise concerns on that front during the talks, but sidestepped questions about a New York Times report that US officials are growing more anxious about the issue.

But the top US military chief, Admiral Michael Mullen, said the arsenal was secure and ruled out that atomic weapons could fall into the hands of Taliban militants.

"I don't think that's going to happen ... but it is a strategic concern that we all share," said Mullen, who declared: "I remain comfortable that the nuclear weapons in Pakistan are secure."

Kerry and Lugar were to host Karzai and Zardari as well as US special envoy Richard Holbrooke at a 70-guest lunch in the US Capitol on Thursday to flesh out the legislative proposal, aides said.

Lugar said Obama, Karzai and Zardari ought to discuss the nuclear issue "very candidly" this week and said Pakistan may need more security help "to make certain that there is that safety, for them, for us and for the world."

The new legislation aims to reassure Pakistan's population of 170 million people that the United States stands with them and does not link aid from Washington to whatever governments sits in Islamabad.

It conditions US military help on certification that Pakistan security forces are doing their utmost against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban from using Pakistan's territory as a base while "not materially interfering" in the country's political or judicial processes.

It also calls for "benchmarks for measuring the effectiveness of US assistance" at a time when many in the US Congress are openly skeptical of the effectiveness and desirability of boosting US aid to Islamabad.

It would also require US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in cooperation with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, to craft annual reports on Pakistani security forces.

Clinton would also be directed to work up a comprehensive strategy with Gates and Blair for coping with violence along Pakistan and Afghanistan's shared border.

The non-military assistance would aim to bolster Pakistan's democratic institutions and to foster lasting economic growth, notably through sweeping education reforms.

"It will be Pakistanis, not Americans, who must determine their nation's future. But we can change the nature of our relationship and empower those Pakistanis who are fighting to steer the world's second-largest Muslim country onto a path of moderation, stability, and regional cooperation," said Kerry.

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THE STANS

Iraq/Afghan War News: Al-Qaida rising

Washington DC (UPI) May 01, 2009
The so-called emir of al-Qaida in Iraq advanced stark threats against Iran and the United States, using Islamic propaganda and Israel as recruiting tools. Police officials in the western Iraqi province of Anbar said their forces were capable of securing the area as three U.S. troops died there in recent clashes. Iraqi naval forces took responsibility for the protection of oil terminals off the coast of Basra from their American counterparts in Bahrain. A decision by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to reject calls for a moderate troop surge to Afghanistan was met with a degree of concern on several fronts. Afghan elections officials say there may be as many as 60 candidates, including two women, who could challenge incumbent President Hamid Karzai in August. Military officials in Afghanistan said that, while the country faces no shortage of police forces, they are met with several challenges from the insurgency.

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