Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Scholar Gilles Dorronsoro says Monday that the United States needs to show Pakistan that the U.S. has control in Afghanistan. He suggested the U.S. exercise that control by leaving Afghanistan self-sufficient, and within the next few years. (0:33)
Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
The average Pakistani citizen has little to almost no understanding of the al-Qaida network or the Afghan Taliban organization, according to Georgetown University School of Foreign Service Professor Christine Fair.
“Many Pakistanis don’t know what al-Qaida is…Sure enough we went around a room and asked if people knew al-Qaida: Few knew,” said Fair of a survey she conducted in Pakistan earlier this year.
According to Fair, one woman that openly responded to the survey correlated the Taliban and al-Qaida with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) stated Monday that sending additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan will be fruitless without an updated strategy.
“The bottom line is that deploying additional troops won’t result in sustainable gains if the Afghan security, civilian and governance capacity isn’t there,” Kerry said during a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Kerry, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, suggested that both the Generals on the ground in Afghanistan and U.S. leaders develop a plan that establishes an attainable mission in the region.
“If we redefine our strategy and objectives to focus on what is achievable as well as critical, and empower the Afghans to take control of their own future, we will give us the best chance to succeed,” said Kerry.
The Massachusetts Democrat condemned General Stanley McChrystal’s call for approximately 40,000 more troops, saying it goes too far and that a solely military approach will not fix the region.
Kerry also spoke on Pakistan’s significance in the region, stating that there needs to be a supportive and open relationship between both the U.S. and Pakistani governments.
“Regardless of what happens in Afghanistan, and especially if we want to reduce the need for boots on the ground, it is vitally important that we intensify our support and improve our cooperation with Pakistan,” said Kerry.
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) responded Tuesday to the chilly reception from Pakistan toward the Kerry-Lugar aid bill, saying that the committee intends to include a document alongside the $7.5 billion aid bill aimed at assuaging Pakistani concerns.
“[The document] affirms the primary intention of the Enhanced Partnership With Pakistan Act, it demonstrates the American people’s long-term commitment to the people of Pakistan,” said Kerry during a press briefing with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. (0:47)
By Justin Duckham-Talk Radio News Service
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) responded Tuesday to the chilly reception from Pakistan toward the Kerry-Lugar aid bill, saying that the committee intends to include a document alongside the $7.5 billion aid bill aimed at assuaging Pakistani concerns.
“[The document] affirms the primary intention of the Enhanced Partnership With Pakistan Act, it demonstrates the American people’s long-term commitment to the people of Pakistan,” said Kerry during a press briefing with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
The Chairman added that the document stresses that the U.S. respects the sovereignty of Pakistan’s government and military.
The bill, which will provide the full $7.5 billion over a five year span, has faced sharp criticism from Pakistan’s parliament, military and civilian population for exerting too much U.S. influence in the country.
In a hearing on Afghanistan’s Impact on Pakistan Thursday, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) says that Pakistan is a “central focus of our policy considerations.” Kerry also says that the 2/3 of Pakistani citizens regard the U.S. as an enemy, according to a survey by the PEW research center. (1:00)
By Meagan Wiseley – University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News Service
In a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Thursday, expert witnesses agreed that the U.S. should neither abandon Afghanistan or substantially increase U.S. military forces in Afghanistan in regard to a stable Pakistan.
Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S. said, “a precipitous withdrawal would repeat the strategic mistake of the 1990s when the U.S. abandoned Afghanistan to the chaos that nurtured al-Qaida. Nor should the West risk being trapped in a Vietnam style quagmire, a war without end and with no guarantee of success.”
Steve Coll, President of the New America Foundation proposed a strategy that falls between withdrawal and militarization.
“It would make clear that the Taliban will never be permitted to take power by force in Kabul or major cities. It would seek and enforce stability in Afghan population centers, emphasize politics over combat, urban stability over rural patrolling, Afghan solutions over Western ones and it would incorporate Pakistan more directly into creative and persistent diplomatic efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and the region”, said Coll.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Ranking Member Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) introduced the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act, which Congress passed earlier this year, that will triple non-military assistance to Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year for the next five years.
Committee Chairman Kerry noted that “[U.S.] actions in Afghanistan will influence events in Pakistan and we must take that into account. But the ultimate choices about the country’s future will be made by the Pakistanis themselves.”
Former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Wendy Chamberlin, says the US should direct aid given to Pakistan towards the needs of the Pakistani people. (0:27)
By Annie Berman-Talk Radio News Service
A panel of experts at the Cato Institute said that a key step in strengthening the relationship between Pakistan and the U.S. is to convince the Pakistani people to favor the United States.
“We face a huge obstacle of not really understanding each other and definitely not trusting each other,” said Wendy Chamberlin, the former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan and President of the Middle East Institute. “We need to help that Pakistanis put human safety and security first, this means a significant investment in local police, community police, because that is where people are protected and through local police you have the better [intelligence] for the kind of insurgencies we are facing.”
According to Chamberlin, peaceful relations between the US and Pakistan could be impeded by a number of other risks including shaky military relations, the role of religion, deadly drone attacks, and a history of miscommunication.
Mukhtar Kahn, an analyst at the Jamestown Foundation, described the Pakistani population as a strong, civil society.
“There is a strong middle class. Pakistan has a population of 170 million people, and around 60 million people are the middle class. Most of them are against the Taliban,” said Khan.
“One of the most important things is that Pakistan has a very vibrant media these days. Pakistan has more than 50 independent TV channels…[people] are debating everyday…People are participating in those debates,” Khan added.
In order to improve relations between the U.S. and Pakistan, Kahn suggested increasing public diplomacy, cultural exchange programs, and strategic communication among the Pakistani people regarding the threat of the Taliban.
Former US Ambassador to Pakistan, Wendy Chamberlin, said that US aid to the people of Pakistan should be based on the needs of the people, not merely based on a limiting budget passed by Congress. (0:27)
