Lockheed F-16
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WASHINGTON: The Obama administration wanted Congress to give wartime authorities to US military commanders dealing with Pakistan, US officials told a congressional panel.
Under the new proposal, the US Central Command will have the same unfettered authority in its dealings with Pakistan as it enjoys in the combat zones of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Centcom will also have complete control over US military assistance for Pakistan and will not have to consult other US departments or agencies before disbursing those funds.
Traditionally such military aid flows through the State Department and is subject to Foreign Assistance Act restrictions.
US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates revealed the outlines of the new programme during a congressional hearing on Thursday, telling lawmakers they needed to approve US military aid to Pakistan with a sense of wartime urgency.
The Pentagon is seeking $400 million this year for the new Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund, with an additional $700 million for 2010. Overall, the administration is seeking as much as $3 billion over the next five years in funding for the Pakistani military.
Under the proposal, Centcom chief Gen David Petraeus will control the military funds earmarked for Pakistan. The funds will be used for counterinsurgency training and for providing equipment such as night-vision goggles, helicopters and intelligence capabilities.
The new programme will significantly expand and accelerate US military training and equipping of Pakistans security forces. It will allow US trainers to reach beyond the tribally recruited Frontier Corps and Pakistani Special Forces to include the regular Pakistan Armys 11th Corps, which is stationed along the Afghan border.
The Pentagon seeks this unique authority for the unique and urgent circumstances we face in Pakistan for dealing with a challenge that simultaneously requires wartime and peacetime capabilities, Secretary Gates told the Senate Appropriations Committee.
US lawmakers, however, voiced concerns about giving the Pentagon complete control over war funds meant for Pakistan.
We question the appropriateness of providing foreign assistance for Pakistan under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defence, said Senator Daniel K. Inouye, the committee chairman.
The responsibility for training Pakistani police and military forces resides with the Department of State, which ensures it complies with our overall foreign policy, Matthew Dennis, a spokesman for Rep Nita M. Lowey, told the Washington Post.
Rep Lowey opposes the new Pentagon fund. The exception is when the United States is at war, such as in Iraq and Afghanistan, but in Pakistan that is not the case, the spokesman said.
But administration and military officials argue that US commanders need wartime authorities (in Pakistan) because they are overly constrained by current funding programmes, the Post reported on Friday.
Were walking a pretty fine line here. This is not a war zone for the US military. But given the urgency of the situation, we need similar authorities in order to help Pakistan train and equip its troops for counterinsurgency operations ASAP, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told the Post.
In a letter to the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, Gen Petraeus said the fund would allow senior military representatives to act decisively. In areas of armed conflict, such as in Iraq and Afghanistan . . . we have achieved progress because these funds are immediately available and commanders have been able to rapidly adjust to changing conditions on the ground.
(The Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund) would serve the same purpose in Pakistan, where a growing insurgency threatens the countrys very existence and has a direct and deadly impact on US and coalition forces operating in Afghanistan, Gen Petraeus wrote.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-c...-Pakistan--bi11
So why they need WAR TIME AUTOHRITIES IN Pakistan? Just for "Help". I don't think so. what you guys think?
Under the new proposal, the US Central Command will have the same unfettered authority in its dealings with Pakistan as it enjoys in the combat zones of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Centcom will also have complete control over US military assistance for Pakistan and will not have to consult other US departments or agencies before disbursing those funds.
Traditionally such military aid flows through the State Department and is subject to Foreign Assistance Act restrictions.
US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates revealed the outlines of the new programme during a congressional hearing on Thursday, telling lawmakers they needed to approve US military aid to Pakistan with a sense of wartime urgency.
The Pentagon is seeking $400 million this year for the new Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund, with an additional $700 million for 2010. Overall, the administration is seeking as much as $3 billion over the next five years in funding for the Pakistani military.
Under the proposal, Centcom chief Gen David Petraeus will control the military funds earmarked for Pakistan. The funds will be used for counterinsurgency training and for providing equipment such as night-vision goggles, helicopters and intelligence capabilities.
The new programme will significantly expand and accelerate US military training and equipping of Pakistans security forces. It will allow US trainers to reach beyond the tribally recruited Frontier Corps and Pakistani Special Forces to include the regular Pakistan Armys 11th Corps, which is stationed along the Afghan border.
The Pentagon seeks this unique authority for the unique and urgent circumstances we face in Pakistan for dealing with a challenge that simultaneously requires wartime and peacetime capabilities, Secretary Gates told the Senate Appropriations Committee.
US lawmakers, however, voiced concerns about giving the Pentagon complete control over war funds meant for Pakistan.
We question the appropriateness of providing foreign assistance for Pakistan under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defence, said Senator Daniel K. Inouye, the committee chairman.
The responsibility for training Pakistani police and military forces resides with the Department of State, which ensures it complies with our overall foreign policy, Matthew Dennis, a spokesman for Rep Nita M. Lowey, told the Washington Post.
Rep Lowey opposes the new Pentagon fund. The exception is when the United States is at war, such as in Iraq and Afghanistan, but in Pakistan that is not the case, the spokesman said.
But administration and military officials argue that US commanders need wartime authorities (in Pakistan) because they are overly constrained by current funding programmes, the Post reported on Friday.
Were walking a pretty fine line here. This is not a war zone for the US military. But given the urgency of the situation, we need similar authorities in order to help Pakistan train and equip its troops for counterinsurgency operations ASAP, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told the Post.
In a letter to the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, Gen Petraeus said the fund would allow senior military representatives to act decisively. In areas of armed conflict, such as in Iraq and Afghanistan . . . we have achieved progress because these funds are immediately available and commanders have been able to rapidly adjust to changing conditions on the ground.
(The Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund) would serve the same purpose in Pakistan, where a growing insurgency threatens the countrys very existence and has a direct and deadly impact on US and coalition forces operating in Afghanistan, Gen Petraeus wrote.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-c...-Pakistan--bi11
So why they need WAR TIME AUTOHRITIES IN Pakistan? Just for "Help". I don't think so. what you guys think?
