WASHINGTON — The U.S. plans to increase aid to Pakistan in response to complaints from Pakistani officials that Washington doesn’t understand their security priorities or offer enough help, according to The Washington Post.
Under the plan, decided in the White House’s Afghanistan war review last month, the U.S. will offer more military, intelligence and economic support. The Obama administration also plans to intensify efforts to forge a regional peace despite frustration that Pakistani officials aren’t doing enough to fight terrorist groups in the country’s tribal areas, according to the report.
The decision is set to be delivered by Vice President Joe Biden during a visit to Pakistan next week, the Post said, citing unidentified administration officials. Biden is expected to meet with military chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani and other top government leaders.
Pakistan’s foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, said Saturday that Biden “is a friend of Pakistan … and has been supportive of Pakistan’s point of view.”
The vice president is expected to challenge the Pakistanis to articulate a long-term strategy for the region and specify what assistance they need to move successfully against Taliban safe havens in areas border Afghanistan.
A White House official said Saturday that the move is part of an overall effort by the administration to elevate its level of diplomatic engagement with Pakistan, a nation that’s vital in combating terrorism.
The aide said the efforts are a refinement to U.S. policy towards Pakistan, not a major change.
Some U.S. military commanders and intelligence officers who have lost patience with Pakistan had proposed allowing U.S. ground forces to launch targeted raids against insurgent strongholds, but Obama and his top national security aides rejected those suggestions, the Post said. They concluded that the United States cannot afford to threaten or further alienate a nuclear-armed country whose cooperation is essential to the administration on several fronts.
The conclusions were referred to as unspecified policy “adjustments” in a five-page summary of the December war review that has been made public, according to the Post. Several administration officials told the newspaper the classified review focused on areas where strong efforts were needed, as opposed to new programs.
The classified review pledged to “look hard” at issues of economic stability, the Post said. It also directed administration and Pentagon officials to “make sure that our sizeable military assistance programs are properly tailored to what the Pakistanis need and are targeted on units that will generate the most benefit” for U.S. goals.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
