Question on aid to Pakistan and the Biden bill

[TayTay]

The New York Times has a story in today's paper that essentially, to me anyway, confirms what Senators Biden and Kerry were saying in the 110th Congress when they called for greater but more targeted aid to Pakistan. This aid, as I recall, was supposed to go to shoring up Pakistan's infrastructure and help provide a boost to education and other social projects. The http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/washington/07policy.html">Times article is about a new report commissioned by the outgoing Bush Admin that talks about the failures of past aid and how to do this going forward:

But those past studies looked primarily at the dynamics in Afghanistan. The current one, headed by the White House war czar, Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, took a far broader view. The drafts prepared for the incoming Obama administration suggest that the United States has never focused sufficiently on nation-building, jobs creation, construction of schools and roads, and, most important, pushing the Pakistani government to focus on counterterrorism and counterinsurgency.

It also urges Mr. Obama to take a far more regional approach to the problem, something he has indicated in speeches he is inclined to do.

“The Pashtun tribes treat these countries as one territory, and we have to begin to do something similar,” one official familiar with the report said, declining to speak on the record because the contents of the report are confidential.

The report includes options, not “recommendations,” so that Mr. Obama would not be put in the position of endorsing or rejecting Mr. Bush’s suggested policies. It was completed just before the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, last month, and the reaction to those events is likely to complicate some of the central options even before they are handed off to Mr. Obama.

Just curious, what do you Bidenites think of this? I thing VP. Biden could be a major voice on this, working in concert with the Natl Security team and the Congress, including the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Any thoughts on this?

[PatSeg]

1. Interesting

The Bush administration said something that could actually make sense. I do remember Biden's assessment of Pakistan and his recommendations about what type of aid should be provided. He appears to be quite the expert on Pakistan and I'm sure he will have a strong influence on U.S. policy with Pakistan.

The next couple years will be fascinating!

[Muttocracy]

2. in short, yes

gotta run before some stores close, but I think they covered it in this hearing:

http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2008/hrg080625a.html (think the audio link from the title works but didn't check it right now)

Biden's statement:
http://foreign.senate.gov/testimony/2008/BidenStatement080625a.pdf
including
* Triple non-security aid, to $1.5 billion annually. And make this a long-term commitment, over ten years. This aid would be unconditional: it‘s our pledge to the Pakistani people. Instead of funding military hardware, it would build schools, clinics, and roads and help develop the Federally Administered Tribal Area, where extremism is taking deeper root.
* Tie security aid to performance. We‘re spending over $1 billion annually, and it‘s not clear we‘re getting our money‘s worth. We should be willing to spend more if we get better returns—and less if we don‘t.
* Help Pakistan enjoy a "democracy dividend." Back in November, I called for $1 billion in the first year of Pakistan‘s return to democratic rule. The Supplemental now before the Senate contains a down-payment on this Democracy Dividend-- $150 million. This money will help moderate, secular political leaders show the Pakistani people that they can deliver the goods.
* Engage the Pakistani people, not just their rulers. We need a broad-based engagement, not just government to government, that gets into the issues that matter to Pakistan, not just to us.

Menendez works on foreign aid issues so he may have contributed to that too?

[jillan]

3. Obama has already voiced his support for Biden's bill for Pakistan.

So I'm sure he will be on the same page.
I don't know about Kerry, but Biden has a huge interest and knowledge base about Pakistani affairs.
He had (has?) lots of contacts over there. I am hoping that he passes those phone numbers and email address to Kerry, if he hasn't already.


Did you see the movie Charlie Wilson's War?
That last scene made my skin crawl. It said it all.
We neglected to help the Afghans rebuild their society and that left an opening for the Taliban to do it for them. It retrospect it's unbelievable that we allowed that to happen.
Thankfully our new and improved President, VP and new chair of the SFRC get it.
I expect great things coming out of this administration.