Pakistan: We need a Marshall Plan

NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW:

Pakistani Ambassador Husain Haqqani Tuesday called for a $30 billion dollar Marshall Plan for Pakistan and Afghanistan over the next five years to fight al Qaeda, blunt anti-American sentiment and secure Pakistan from extremists bent on destabilizing its civilian government.

Mr. Haqqani, who plans to attend an international donors meeting for Pakistan in Tokyo next week, told editors and reporters of The Washington Times that the cost to the West was neglible compared to that of rescuing failing banks and corporations.

“Despite the economic issues that the world is facing, the cost of a Marshall Plan for Afghanistan and Pakistan is going to be minuscule [compared] to the bailouts being given to American car companies and AIG [American International Group],” Mr. Haqqani said. “And the impact in terms of American security and in terms of the longer term stability of the world in a very precarious region will be far greater. Pakistan has the will to fight terrorists, it needs the means and the United States should provide those.”

Mr. Haqqani said Pakistan needs $5 billion a year for the next five years from the United States and its allies to build local law enforcement of about 100,000 men, strengthen counter-insurgency against the Taliban and al Qaeda and persuade average Pakistanis that the U.S.-led war on extremism is Pakistan's war and essential for the country's survival.

The Obama Administration has pledged $7.5 billion in civilian aid over five years. President Obama, however, made clear that in return, Pakistan needs to demonstrate its committment to fighting al Qaeda and Taliban extremists who have used Pakistan's tribal borderlands as a haven from which to launch attacks on U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan.

Mr. Haqqani spoke as Richard Holbrooke, U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, held talks in Pakistan on a new strategy to defeat Islamic extremists and bolster Pakistan's civilian government.

The ambassador conceded that the government of President Asif Ali Zardari faces challenges in dealing with domestic opposition and countering anti-U.S. sentiment within Pakistan's intelligence services.

He denied published reports that the Interservices Intelligence body (ISI) was helping the Taliban, which the ISI helpd create 20 years ago.

“There are contacts for source building,” Mr. Haqqani said. “The era of active support for jihadis is over.”

He noted that secular parties defeated Islamic ones in Pakistan's last elections and said that the country was turning against extremists as suicide bombs go off in major cities.

“The question is is it [civilian control over the military and intelligence agencies] moving in the right direction?” the ambassador asked. He suggested that it was.

Despite Mr. Haqqani's assurances that the Zardari government is gaining in strength, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman, California Democrat, last week introduced a bill that would withhold U.S. military aid to Pakistan unless the president certifies that it is not supporting terrorist attacks on India.

The Pakistan Enduring Assistance Cooperation Enhancement Act, or PEACE Act, would triple U.S. economic aid to $1.5 billion a year, similar to legislation in the Senate.

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