Key US lawmakers back aid to Pakistan
Leaders of the US Congress voiced support for preserving aid to Pakistan.
WASHINGTON:
Leaders of the US Congress voiced support Thursday for preserving aid to Pakistan, calling for a clear-eyed view despite outrage that Osama bin Laden lived for years in the allied nation.
A number of lawmakers have accused Pakistan of playing a double-game and questioned billions of dollars in US aid after the world's most wanted man was killed in a safehouse a short drive from the country's top military academy. But House Speaker John Boehner, the third highest-ranking US leader and top Republican, said that the United States and Pakistan needed to maintain cooperation, striking a rare note of agreement with President Barack Obama.
"It's not a time to back away from Pakistan: It's time for more engagement with them, not less," Boehner told reporters. "Frankly, I believe our aid should continue to Pakistan."
The United States has given some $18 billion to Pakistan since the September 11, 2001 attacks, when the nuclear-armed nation officially ended support of Afghanistan's Taliban and agreed to work with the United States.
While most of the money has gone to the military, Congress in 2009 authorized $7.5 billion over five years to help bolster the weak civilian government by building schools, roads and democratic institutions.
Two of the bill's authors, Senator John Kerry and Senator Richard Lugar, voiced deep concern at the possibility that Pakistan protected bin Laden but said they would wait for a probe. "Nothing obviously would excuse the harboring of the number one criminal in the world, but we need to explore carefully exactly what the facts are," Kerry, a close ally of Obama and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Kerry said at a Senate hearing that the United States needed Pakistan's assistance to pursue extremists in the future and to supply the 100,000 US troops stationed in Afghanistan. "A legitimate analysis concludes that it is undeniable that our relationship with Pakistan has helped us pursue our security goals," Kerry said.
The senator said the United States also needed to be mindful of the political problems of President Asif Ali Zardari as he works with the United States.
Kerry also said he saw unprecedented anti-American sentiment when he last visited in the wake of the killing of two Pakistanis by Raymond Davis, a CIA operative who was released due to his diplomatic immunity.
Lugar, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that weaker relations would jeopardize US intelligence operations and reduce US leverage in encouraging better ties between Pakistan and historic rival India.
"Distancing ourselves from Pakistan would be unwise and extremely dangerous," Lugar said. Several lawmakers said they faced an unenviable choice - supporting a nation that may have helped protect bin Laden, or risking even greater chaos. Senator Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on a committee that handles foreign aid, said one option would be to cut aid specifically to institutions found to have supported the al Qaeda chief.
"The best way to ensure a failed state in Pakistan is to abandon Pakistan. They're hanging by a thread and I don't want to cut the last thread," Graham said. "It's a dilemma: You can't trust them, and you can't abandon them," he said.
But not all lawmakers are convinced over aid. Senator Ben Cardin, a Democrat, said the United States should step up oversight and suspend or cut off assistance if Pakistan does not meet clear conditions. "We have to make some tough decisions in our budget and, quite frankly, there is concern as to whether the value is being properly used as it relates to Pakistan," Cardin said.
Republican Senator Jim Risch vowed to put assistance to Pakistan on the table as Congress prepares to make major spending cuts to tame a soaring deficit. "The American people, they're not stupid," he said.
"They understand that every dollar they spend in Pakistan building a bridge... is strapping their children and grandchildren with a horrendous debt while we need bridges right here at home." Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, said US administration officials were listening to concerns from Congress and passing them on to the Pakistani authorities.
Toner said the administration shared concerns about support bin Laden may have received from inside Pakistan, while stressing the importance of continued US-Pakistani cooperation. "I think it's a central tenet in our relations with Pakistan that we believe it's frankly in our long-term national interest - as well as Pakistan's long-term national interest - that this kind of relationship continue," he said.
Leaders of the US Congress voiced support Thursday for preserving aid to Pakistan, calling for a clear-eyed view despite outrage that Osama bin Laden lived for years in the allied nation.
A number of lawmakers have accused Pakistan of playing a double-game and questioned billions of dollars in US aid after the world's most wanted man was killed in a safehouse a short drive from the country's top military academy. But House Speaker John Boehner, the third highest-ranking US leader and top Republican, said that the United States and Pakistan needed to maintain cooperation, striking a rare note of agreement with President Barack Obama.
"It's not a time to back away from Pakistan: It's time for more engagement with them, not less," Boehner told reporters. "Frankly, I believe our aid should continue to Pakistan."
The United States has given some $18 billion to Pakistan since the September 11, 2001 attacks, when the nuclear-armed nation officially ended support of Afghanistan's Taliban and agreed to work with the United States.
While most of the money has gone to the military, Congress in 2009 authorized $7.5 billion over five years to help bolster the weak civilian government by building schools, roads and democratic institutions.
Two of the bill's authors, Senator John Kerry and Senator Richard Lugar, voiced deep concern at the possibility that Pakistan protected bin Laden but said they would wait for a probe. "Nothing obviously would excuse the harboring of the number one criminal in the world, but we need to explore carefully exactly what the facts are," Kerry, a close ally of Obama and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Kerry said at a Senate hearing that the United States needed Pakistan's assistance to pursue extremists in the future and to supply the 100,000 US troops stationed in Afghanistan. "A legitimate analysis concludes that it is undeniable that our relationship with Pakistan has helped us pursue our security goals," Kerry said.
The senator said the United States also needed to be mindful of the political problems of President Asif Ali Zardari as he works with the United States.
Kerry also said he saw unprecedented anti-American sentiment when he last visited in the wake of the killing of two Pakistanis by Raymond Davis, a CIA operative who was released due to his diplomatic immunity.
Lugar, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that weaker relations would jeopardize US intelligence operations and reduce US leverage in encouraging better ties between Pakistan and historic rival India.
"Distancing ourselves from Pakistan would be unwise and extremely dangerous," Lugar said. Several lawmakers said they faced an unenviable choice - supporting a nation that may have helped protect bin Laden, or risking even greater chaos. Senator Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on a committee that handles foreign aid, said one option would be to cut aid specifically to institutions found to have supported the al Qaeda chief.
"The best way to ensure a failed state in Pakistan is to abandon Pakistan. They're hanging by a thread and I don't want to cut the last thread," Graham said. "It's a dilemma: You can't trust them, and you can't abandon them," he said.
But not all lawmakers are convinced over aid. Senator Ben Cardin, a Democrat, said the United States should step up oversight and suspend or cut off assistance if Pakistan does not meet clear conditions. "We have to make some tough decisions in our budget and, quite frankly, there is concern as to whether the value is being properly used as it relates to Pakistan," Cardin said.
Republican Senator Jim Risch vowed to put assistance to Pakistan on the table as Congress prepares to make major spending cuts to tame a soaring deficit. "The American people, they're not stupid," he said.
"They understand that every dollar they spend in Pakistan building a bridge... is strapping their children and grandchildren with a horrendous debt while we need bridges right here at home." Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, said US administration officials were listening to concerns from Congress and passing them on to the Pakistani authorities.
Toner said the administration shared concerns about support bin Laden may have received from inside Pakistan, while stressing the importance of continued US-Pakistani cooperation. "I think it's a central tenet in our relations with Pakistan that we believe it's frankly in our long-term national interest - as well as Pakistan's long-term national interest - that this kind of relationship continue," he said.