Kaufman: Aid Boost To Pakistan 'Absolutely Essential'
Source: The News Journal
By Nicole Gaudiano
April 22, 2009
WASHINGTON Pakistan is "in serious danger" and passing legislation to boost aid to the country is "absolutely essential," Sen. Ted Kaufman said today after spending a week in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Kaufman said at a news conference that Pakistani soldiers "took their best shot" at fighting militants in the Swat Valley region before political leaders accepted a peace deal imposing Islamic law in the valley.
"It just makes me worry now that this is not just a will problem, this is a capability problem," said Kaufman, who traveled to the region with Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island.
Reed also expressed concern about Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation and a known haven for terrorists that has a history of unstable governments.
Reed said Pakistan potentially poses the greatest threat to the region, and called the abandonment of the Swat Valley "troubling."
"This concession represents a serious development and reflects both the growing strength of the Pakistani Taliban and the inability of the Pakistani army to conduct successful counterinsurgency operations," he said.
Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., the new Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, and Richard Lugar, R-Ind., are expected to introduce legislation soon to aid the country.
The legislation, first proposed by Vice President Joe Biden as a senator, would triple nonsecurity aid to $1.5 billion annually for five years with funds for building schools, roads and clinics. Security aid would depend on performance.
When political leaders in all three countries talked about their top problem, Kaufman said, "It sounded like we were back here: Jobs, jobs, jobs."
This was Kaufman's first visit to the three countries and his first overseas trip as a senator. It follows President Barack Obama's announcement of plans to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of August 2010 and send an additional 17,000 soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan.
"We are at a pivotal point in the region," Kaufman said. "We've got the withdrawal in Iraq, which seems to be going well. We've got increased military and civilian resources being deployed under President Obama's plan in Afghanistan, and we've got true growing instability in Pakistan."
The two lawmakers met with American military commanders and hundreds of soldiers, including Biden's son, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, who is deployed in Baghdad with his Army National Guard unit.