US senators move to block Pak military assistance
WAR
The link is:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=6380
US senators move to block Pak military assistance
Democrats introduce legislation linking aid to democracy, progress in terror war; Boucher terms proposal counter-productive
WASHINGTON: Three top Democrats in the US Senate introduced legislation on Wednesday calling on the George W Bush administration to link future military aid to Pakistan to progress by Islamabad in combating terrorism within its borders.
“Military aid to Pakistan should be guided by demonstrable progress in achieving certain objectives related to counter-terrorism and democratic reforms,” read a text of the resolution submitted on Thursday by Senators Chris Dodd, John Kerry and Joseph Biden.
Biden and Dodd are vying for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, while Kerry was the Democrats’ nominee who lost to Republican President George W Bush in 2004. Their legislation observes that Pakistan has been “an important partner in removing the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and combating al-Qaeda and international terrorism”.
Still, the non-binding resolution seeks to ensure that Islamabad work vigorously towards “preventing al-Qaeda and associated terrorist organisations from operating in the territory of Pakistan”.
It also advocates “preventing the Taliban from using the territory of Pakistan as a sanctuary” to launch attacks within Afghanistan. “We must never forget the importance of going after the terrorists before they strike.”
The resolution was “intended to put Congress on record as making clear that military assistance to Pakistan will be assessed in the context of efforts in cracking down on the Taliban and the al-Qaeda”.
It implied that follow-up legislation would be introduced if Pakistan does not heed that warning. The legislation will be attached to the Senate version of an anti-terror bill that in the House contains the more strict aid language.
The proposal by leading members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee would not go as far as a measure approved by the House of Representatives. The House version, passed in January, would require Bush to certify that Pakistan is doing all it can to suppress the Taliban and the al-Qaeda before further financial aid is released.
Differences in the bills will have to be worked out in a committee with members of both chambers. Senate aides said they expect the proposal by senators Joseph Biden, the Foreign Relations chairman, and senior members John Kerry and Chris Dodd to replace the House version, in part because of the strong White House opposition.
The latest proposal was the second in the Senate this week dealing with Pakistan. On Monday, Democratic Senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad offered a bill that would require the US intelligence director, John Negroponte, and Secretary of Defence Robert Gates to report to Congress within six months: where intelligence analysts believe Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders are hiding; whether leaders in those countries are cooperating in finding and arresting them; and, what more is needed from Congress to capture them.
That measure faces strong opposition from Republican President George W Bush. “Conditioning future American assistance to Pakistan...would not be helpful to the important goal of fostering more cooperation against the common threat of terrorism,” Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher told the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Wednesday.
Boucher said that the arms package should not be held out as a reward to Pakistan. “Pakistan is fighting the Taliban for its own good, and the United States and other nations benefit as a result,” Boucher said. At stake is the long-delayed sale of 18 new jet fighters, an opportunity to buy 18 more and refurbishing 34 used aircraft already in Pakistan’s air force arsenal.
“The F-16 sale is proceeding, some of the work has been concluded...some of the necessary paperwork, and we’re moving forward with the sale,” he said, when chairman of the committee Gary Ackerman, Democrat-NY and a former co-chair of the Congressional caucus on India, asked him about the status of F-16 jets deal.
Boucher reiterated the Bush administration’s opposition to a provision in the House legislation. “We really don’t think it is productive; we think it is counterproductive to the important goal of fostering more cooperation with Pakistan against the common enemy—against the Taliban and al-Qaeda and militant extremism.”
At the hearing, Democratic Chairman Gary Ackerman told Boucher that many members of Congress were “puzzled why we are not doing more to put in some backbone” with Pakistan. “We would like to see a little more muscle behind the policy,” Ackerman said.
In the same vein, Rep David Scott, also a Democrat, told Boucher: “I do not believe we are making all the progress we should be making.” The terrorists had havens in Pakistan’s border areas, and “it doesn’t seem we are getting our money’s worth” from US assistance to Pakistan, he added.
Boucher described Pakistan as “a vital partner and ally in our fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.” The Bush administration thinks that it is important for the United States and Pakistan to position themselves as partners in this effort and “we think this provision would undercut that”, he added.
Boucher said the US encourages actions against violent extremists but also recognises that purely military solutions are unlikely to succeed. “We, therefore, strongly support President Musharraf’s efforts to adopt a more comprehensive approach to combating terrorism and eliminating violent extremism in the border regions.”
President Gen Pervez Musharraf was pursuing economic and social reform in the border areas and the administration is supporting the effort, he said but did not specify how much US assistance will go into it. “We will continue to work with the government of Pakistan to develop a long-term strategic partnership that is multifaceted and committed to the peace and security” of the region.
Boucher defended Pakistan on several occasions during the hearing and cited the country’s crucial counter-terrorism efforts while answering questions about the country’s actions against militants in areas along Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
“I think it is important to remember that when it comes to fighting al-Qaeda, no country has done more and no country has lost more men in the process than Pakistan,” he emphasised. “The country made enormous efforts and suffered enormous cost.”
He rejected reports that Vice-President Dick Cheney gave any blunt message to President Pervez Musharraf regarding the war on terror, during his Pakistan visit. The vice-president “made clear our support for President Musharraf, our support for the effort they are making against al-Qaeda and the Taliban”.
Refuting that the vice-president “laid the hammer down”, Boucher said: “I think a lot of those reports are somebody else’s characterisation. I don’t think the vice-president would characterise his efforts that way. It is a very clear message, though, that we all need to be doing everything possible.”
Boucher told the lawmakers: “We can’t allow ungoverned spaces to exist, and that Pakistan has to exercise effective control over all its territory, the way just the way we’re trying to help Afghanistan exercise effective control over all its territory on the other side of the border.”
Please see the following story to get an idea on what's on.
WAR
The link is:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=6380
US senators move to block Pak military assistance
Democrats introduce legislation linking aid to democracy, progress in terror war; Boucher terms proposal counter-productive
WASHINGTON: Three top Democrats in the US Senate introduced legislation on Wednesday calling on the George W Bush administration to link future military aid to Pakistan to progress by Islamabad in combating terrorism within its borders.
“Military aid to Pakistan should be guided by demonstrable progress in achieving certain objectives related to counter-terrorism and democratic reforms,” read a text of the resolution submitted on Thursday by Senators Chris Dodd, John Kerry and Joseph Biden.
Biden and Dodd are vying for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, while Kerry was the Democrats’ nominee who lost to Republican President George W Bush in 2004. Their legislation observes that Pakistan has been “an important partner in removing the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and combating al-Qaeda and international terrorism”.
Still, the non-binding resolution seeks to ensure that Islamabad work vigorously towards “preventing al-Qaeda and associated terrorist organisations from operating in the territory of Pakistan”.
It also advocates “preventing the Taliban from using the territory of Pakistan as a sanctuary” to launch attacks within Afghanistan. “We must never forget the importance of going after the terrorists before they strike.”
The resolution was “intended to put Congress on record as making clear that military assistance to Pakistan will be assessed in the context of efforts in cracking down on the Taliban and the al-Qaeda”.
It implied that follow-up legislation would be introduced if Pakistan does not heed that warning. The legislation will be attached to the Senate version of an anti-terror bill that in the House contains the more strict aid language.
The proposal by leading members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee would not go as far as a measure approved by the House of Representatives. The House version, passed in January, would require Bush to certify that Pakistan is doing all it can to suppress the Taliban and the al-Qaeda before further financial aid is released.
Differences in the bills will have to be worked out in a committee with members of both chambers. Senate aides said they expect the proposal by senators Joseph Biden, the Foreign Relations chairman, and senior members John Kerry and Chris Dodd to replace the House version, in part because of the strong White House opposition.
The latest proposal was the second in the Senate this week dealing with Pakistan. On Monday, Democratic Senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad offered a bill that would require the US intelligence director, John Negroponte, and Secretary of Defence Robert Gates to report to Congress within six months: where intelligence analysts believe Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders are hiding; whether leaders in those countries are cooperating in finding and arresting them; and, what more is needed from Congress to capture them.
That measure faces strong opposition from Republican President George W Bush. “Conditioning future American assistance to Pakistan...would not be helpful to the important goal of fostering more cooperation against the common threat of terrorism,” Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher told the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Wednesday.
Boucher said that the arms package should not be held out as a reward to Pakistan. “Pakistan is fighting the Taliban for its own good, and the United States and other nations benefit as a result,” Boucher said. At stake is the long-delayed sale of 18 new jet fighters, an opportunity to buy 18 more and refurbishing 34 used aircraft already in Pakistan’s air force arsenal.
“The F-16 sale is proceeding, some of the work has been concluded...some of the necessary paperwork, and we’re moving forward with the sale,” he said, when chairman of the committee Gary Ackerman, Democrat-NY and a former co-chair of the Congressional caucus on India, asked him about the status of F-16 jets deal.
Boucher reiterated the Bush administration’s opposition to a provision in the House legislation. “We really don’t think it is productive; we think it is counterproductive to the important goal of fostering more cooperation with Pakistan against the common enemy—against the Taliban and al-Qaeda and militant extremism.”
At the hearing, Democratic Chairman Gary Ackerman told Boucher that many members of Congress were “puzzled why we are not doing more to put in some backbone” with Pakistan. “We would like to see a little more muscle behind the policy,” Ackerman said.
In the same vein, Rep David Scott, also a Democrat, told Boucher: “I do not believe we are making all the progress we should be making.” The terrorists had havens in Pakistan’s border areas, and “it doesn’t seem we are getting our money’s worth” from US assistance to Pakistan, he added.
Boucher described Pakistan as “a vital partner and ally in our fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.” The Bush administration thinks that it is important for the United States and Pakistan to position themselves as partners in this effort and “we think this provision would undercut that”, he added.
Boucher said the US encourages actions against violent extremists but also recognises that purely military solutions are unlikely to succeed. “We, therefore, strongly support President Musharraf’s efforts to adopt a more comprehensive approach to combating terrorism and eliminating violent extremism in the border regions.”
President Gen Pervez Musharraf was pursuing economic and social reform in the border areas and the administration is supporting the effort, he said but did not specify how much US assistance will go into it. “We will continue to work with the government of Pakistan to develop a long-term strategic partnership that is multifaceted and committed to the peace and security” of the region.
Boucher defended Pakistan on several occasions during the hearing and cited the country’s crucial counter-terrorism efforts while answering questions about the country’s actions against militants in areas along Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
“I think it is important to remember that when it comes to fighting al-Qaeda, no country has done more and no country has lost more men in the process than Pakistan,” he emphasised. “The country made enormous efforts and suffered enormous cost.”
He rejected reports that Vice-President Dick Cheney gave any blunt message to President Pervez Musharraf regarding the war on terror, during his Pakistan visit. The vice-president “made clear our support for President Musharraf, our support for the effort they are making against al-Qaeda and the Taliban”.
Refuting that the vice-president “laid the hammer down”, Boucher said: “I think a lot of those reports are somebody else’s characterisation. I don’t think the vice-president would characterise his efforts that way. It is a very clear message, though, that we all need to be doing everything possible.”
Boucher told the lawmakers: “We can’t allow ungoverned spaces to exist, and that Pakistan has to exercise effective control over all its territory, the way just the way we’re trying to help Afghanistan exercise effective control over all its territory on the other side of the border.”
I knew it will happen sooner or later America is no friend of Pakistan never was and co-operation after 9/11 was itself in interests of Pakistan but now scenario has changed a bit.