EXCLUSIVE: Money, choppers urged for Pakistan

EXCLUSIVE:

An Obama administration panel reviewing Afghanistan and Pakistan strategy will recommend “intense engagement” with Pakistan, including a massive, long-term increase in economic aid and more helicopters to fight Islamic militants, The Washington Times has learned.

A participant in the 60-day review of U.S. policy said President Obama likely will announce the strategy before he leaves for Europe at the end of the month, a trip that will include a NATO summit. The participant spoke on the condition he not be named to avoid pre-empting the president.

He said the strategy includes sending hundreds of additional civilians - diplomats and contractors - to aid in humanitarian and development efforts in Afghanistan. The U.S. also will ask its European allies to provide instructors for the Afghan police and will seek to expand the Afghan army from 70,000 troops at present to at least 200,000.

There has been no decision, for now, to increase U.S. troops beyond the 59,000 who will be there by August or to announce multiyear deployments, he said.

A key focus is shoring up Pakistan, which the participant called the root of much of the instability next door.

“You will see intense engagement of Pakistan to keep civilian rule intact, to keep the economy from tanking and to increase assistance for counterinsurgency, especially helicopters,” the review participant said.

Mike Hammer, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, would not comment on specific recommendations. “The foreign policy team continues to work intensively to conclude the review as requested by the president,” he said.

One element of the new U.S. strategy is a massive increase in nonmilitary aid to Pakistan. In 2008, nonmilitary aid totaled nearly $800 million.

The review participant said the Obama administration supports a bill introduced last year by Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., a Delaware Democrat who is now the vice president, and Sen. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The legislation calls for increasing annual U.S. nonmilitary aid to Pakistan to $1.5 billion and guaranteeing it for at least five and potentially 10 years.

“The 10-year time frame … is intended to address persistent Pakistani fear that the U.S. is interested only in a short-term tactical … relationship,” said a statement provided by the foreign relations committee.

Last year’s bill did not set a figure for military aid - reportedly more than $10 billion since 2001 - but conditions it on U.S. certification that “Pakistani security forces are making concerted efforts to prevent al Qaeda and associated terrorist groups from operating in the territory of Pakistan.”

Frederick Jones, a spokesman for the Foreign Relations Committee, said the chairman, Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, intends to reintroduce the legislation soon.

“The co-sponsors of the previous bill were Secretary of State Clinton and now President Obama,” Mr. Jones said. “So one can assume from their previous support that they will be supportive of the new legislation.”

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