Nelson (D-Ne) urges Afghanistan benchmarks

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10627986

Published Wednesday May 6, 2009
Nelson urges Afghanistan benchmarks

WASHINGTON - On a day dominated by discussions about Afghanistan and Pakistan, Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., reiterated his call for benchmarks to measure progress in Afghanistan.

Nelson sent a letter Wednesday to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye of Hawaii and the committee's top Republican, Mississippi's Thad Cochran, urging them to include benchmarks in an upcoming supplemental war spending bill.

He also asked them to require the Obama administration to deliver a benchmarks progress report to Congress.

The benchmarks would measure progress on defense, diplomacy and development. Nelson wrote that he hopes the administration will work with Congress to establish the specific goals to be achieved. Nelson successfully pushed to establish specific benchmarks for progress in Iraq. Nelson said it's premature to determine the consequences of unmet benchmarks and said he rejects "artificial timetables" for cutting off funding.

He said his benchmarks wouldn't set a timetable. "It'll just be a measure of . . . what kind of progress we're making or lack of progress in certain areas."

-Joseph Morton