Congressional Visit to Pakistan and India
Statement
Congressional Visit to Pakistan and India
SUNDAY, APRIL 8, 2007
9:30 A.M. - Islamabad
After a State Department briefing, our motorcade departs for the airport.
It is warm and sunny in Islamabad. We drive on a spacious boulevard plastered with English language billboards promoting the show, "Bombay Dreams," and urging people to bank at Citibank, watch CNBC and exercise at "Hard Guyz Gym." Our motorcade weaves at a discomforting speed between small scooters, bicyclists, trucks and an occasional horse-drawn-cart. The landscape is green, and dotted with the chimneys of brick factories. This city is a tussle between past and future.
Yesterday was a long, grueling day that didn't end till nearly midnight. We had a fascinating visit in Peshawar, an unruly border area described by one Pakistani military official as "the frontier in the global war on terror." From a 2,000-year-old fort, I gazed at nearby mountains separating Afghanistan and Pakistan. Here, the clash between extremism and modernity smack against each other. Osama bin Laden lived in Peshawar and the area is said to be teeming with insurgents and extremists. Pakistan has created a Frontier Corps consisting of tribal personnel to hunt terrorists and provide security in these challenging areas. Several years ago, the government realized that deploying a non-indigenous military against "foreign fighters" was not working. Whether the new strategy works remains to be seen.
The Frontier Corps is scheduled to receive $71 million in U.S. assistance, including night vision goggles, body armor and communications to help them find and fight terrorist elements. An additional $100 million is allocated for the important development aid that is essential to a counterinsurgency strategy.
We arrive at the airport, ready to fly to Lahore before crossing into India later today. As I wait for our military plane to depart, I read this article in the Pakistani newspaper, "The Nation":
"Taliban extremists torched or damaged nearly two dozen music and video shops selling un-Islamic' materials in a small town in eastern Afghanistan," an official said. "The fundamentalist rebels also left leaflets warning that merchants in Alisher in eastern Khost province will be 'badly punished' if they do not stop selling CDs and DVDs," police official Wazir Badshah said.
Four years after we thought we toppled the Taliban in Afghanistan, they remain active. Another casualty of the Administration's poor planning in Iraq, which has created a massive distraction and allowed the Taliban to surge. In my view, it's vital that we refocus and strengthen our efforts in the place that the war on terror began: Afghanistan.
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SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 2007
MORNING - After a 7-hour overnight flight from Prague, we enter Afghan airspace. An accordion-like ripple of white-iced mountains, unfolds below us. Then, the mountains turn brown as we reach warmer climate and tiny outposts are tucked into the creases. We cut vertically across the country, 37,000 feet, swooping south of Kabul on course to Islamabad. My colleagues and I line up in front of the lavatory, where we change into appropriate attire for our first meeting with President Musharraf. Members of Congress may have reputations for slow and even adoring preparation in the morning, however, this is a "Superman"-like quick change in a tiny bathroom stall during landing. We descend into Chaklala Airport in Islamabad. Patches of greens and browns approach from below, and I can see a mountain range rising far in the distance. Our security detail -- robust, sun-glassed, serious looking -- leaves the plane first. We are told to remain until they signal that it is safe.
We begin with a security briefing on the plane. The security presence will be extremely heavy -- a mix of Pakistani and diplomatic assets. We begin on a heavily fortified motorcade.
All intersections are closed as our motorcade cuts across the city. Reps. Schiff, Royce and I occupy a van with a driver and diplomatic security personnel. Over the radio, a calm voice gives instructions: "clear left, clear right, oncoming left..." Sirens ahead of us chase cars and bicyclists to the side of a traffic circle. A McDonald's Tower rises amidst men and women walking in turbans.
10 a.m. - Meeting with President Musharraf.
The President of Pakistan enters a ceremonial sitting room and immediately stresses his priorities: securing a Free Trade Agreement and the sale of F-16's. His priorities are set against a complex and turbulent mix of pressures: the resurgence of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in frontier areas; the controversial dismissal of the Chief Justice (resulting in major street demonstrations); a suicide bomber who is threatening a mosque in Islamabad; sharp international criticism for the slow pace of democracy, and more.
Some have suggested that Musharraf is moving too slowly in liberalizing Pakistan and cracking down on extremism. Others have said his strategy is the only method to build sustainable growth in moderation.
Musharraf argues vociferously that he has a) modernized Pakistan's education system and b) developed a strategy against Al-Qaeda that "is working, though not 100 percent success yet." He notes the three economic elements of his broad strategy in Pakistan are "liberalization, deregulation and privatization." He outlines how he is attempting to stop the interference in Afghanistan by a "small group of extremists" in Pakistan. But he insists his general efforts must reflect the religious sensibilities of Pakistan. (For a more specific report on the meeting, please participate in my Congressional Conference call on April 16, 2007 at 10:30 a.m. Call Swati Bindra in my office at 202-225-3335 to RSVP.)
The rest of the day is spent crisscrossing Pakistan on old, Russian helicopters and tiny Cessna airplanes. Returning from a USAID school that was built in an area destroyed by an earthquake, I am invited to sit in the helicopter cockpit. I am not reassured when the General leading our mission tells me he's decided to fly the chopper and the pilot will be his "teacher," or by the Russian letters on the instrument panel. Still, the scenes are breathtaking. At one point, the General banks the helicopter to show me the earthquake epicenter. Eighty thousand people died, and he proudly points out the resiliency of the Pakistani people in rebuilding, and their thanks to the United States for assistance.
One U.S. official tells me this story:
After the earthquake, a US Mobil Army Surgical Hospital was established in a valley. In the adjoining mountains, Pakistanis devastated by the quake would wake up each morning and see the MASH lights burning in the valley -- the first light of day -- and a U.S. Flag flying. "For years they had been told by a local Imam not to trust America. But then they screamed at the Imam that America was the only country helping them in the Valley."
That is soft power. And it works.
We fly in and out of some very rugged areas. As I write this, we fly towards the border near Afghanistan to assess Al-Qaeda and Taliban activities. We will then fly back to Islamabad, check into a hotel, shower (for the first time in 2 days), and attend a dinner with the U.S. diplomatic staff.
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FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2007
MIDNIGHT - Our plane lands in Prague, the Czech Republic, and we are bused to our hotel. Air Force regulations require our crew to rest overnight, and we will use the time to meet with representatives of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a critical venue for independent journalism in places where press freedoms are undermined or prohibited (including Afghanistan and Iran). We will also receive a briefing on the administration's plans to place a component of the missile defense system in the Czech Republic and controversies over visa requirements. Then, it's onto the next legs of our journey: Pakistan and India.
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THURSDAY APRIL 5, 2007
7 a.m. - When I fly from Washington to New York each weekend, I am accustomed to hearing these announcements:
"Ladies and gentleman, thunderstorms are moving through so there will be a delay."
"Ladies and gentleman, we are number twenty-nine for takeoff so there will be a delay."
"Ladies and gentleman, LaGuardia has a ground-hold so there will be a delay."
Sitting at Andrews Air Force Base, after a one-day delay for mechanical problems, we receive this announcement: there will be a delay of an hour until diplomatic clearances are resolved.
Thankfully, the Air Force has stowed some matzoh on our plane for the Jewish Members of our delegation who observe Passover. It is a strange breakfast: sitting on the tarmac, not very far away from Air Force One, waiting to visit Pakistan to assess the resurgence of Islamic extremists on the border with Afghanistan, while munching on Passover matzohs.
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WEDNESDAY APRIL 4, 2007
4:45 a.m. - The day begins in NY with a malaria pill; then a goodbye to my wife (who tells me she will worry during this trip) and to my dog (who is demonstrably annoyed that I woke him so early in the morning). The first legs of my journey include a shuttle from LaGuardia to Washington, a trip to Andrews Air Force base, and a military flight to Prague.
Noon - Even the United States Air Force must sometimes endure the routine mechanical problems that plague too many commercial flights. 30 minutes after departing Andrews Air Force base, the pilot announces an engine problem. We turn back for what we are told will be "an hour delay." Six hours later, we are bused back to Capitol Hill. We will try again on Thursday morning.
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MONDAY APRIL 2, 2007
The New York Times leads with this story:
"As Al-Qaeda rebuilds in Pakistan's tribal areas, a new generation of leaders has emerged under Osama bin Laden to cement control over the network's operations, according to American intelligence and counterterrorism officials "
Soon, I will visit Pakistan with Members of the Appropriations Subcommittee on State/Foreign Operations to assess the report. I will also travel to India to discuss legislation I have introduced with Rep. Joe Wilson for a "U.S.-India Energy Cooperation Agreement" that would facilitate joint research and development on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
Both visits are connected. New technologies and globalization have allowed Al-Qaeda to regenerate even in the most remote areas. Today, any terrorist with a laptop, a satellite phone and a courier has an ability to communicate, to control and to command in the pursuit of evil. They have harnessed technology to advance evil and instability and to penetrate new markets for horrific ideas.
Now, we must harness new energy technologies to enhance our security by displacing Persian Gulf Oil and rejuvenating our economies. For example, rather than competing with India for jobs, the United States and India should lead the world in innovating, manufacturing and deploying advanced energy technologies. We can harness the sun in arid areas of India, the financial resources of Wall Street and the entrepreneurship of both countries in a new alliance that cuts imported oil, reduces global warming, and grows middle class prosperity. We should be outsourcing renewable energies to the rest of the world - creating a new generation of "Green Jobs" that will make us energy independent and economically secure.
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