Aid to Pakistan has been continuing for a long time, despite warning signs. Adrian Levy's book Deception: Pakistan, the United States, and the Secret Trade in Nuclear Weapons illustrates how US diplomacy's aims of nuclear proliferation and terrorism are not being met, and money is being wasted. So why has US policy not changed?
I would like to take this up. In our previous report in April, we talked about the lack of US strategy particularly in Pakistan, in the troubled areas, to close down the terrorist safe havens and to destroy the terrorist grip in that particular region.
We pointed out that most of the US support at that time had been military-based. There was a great graphic in that report that points out that 96 per cent of the US support in that region was military, as opposed to other developmental assistance. So we do have concerns with the need for the US to implement its goal in that region, which was to use all elements of national powers: Law and development system, public diplomacy, economic support. So much focus on the military does raise concerns, especially given the lack of what we see as sufficient accountability in the oversight of the funds.
We are talking billions of dollars here that does not seem to give the returns that we are hoping for in terms of closing the terrorist threat and destroying their safe havens in Pakistan.
Do you think it was an error of judgment to give importance to Osama bin Laden the individual instead of the ideology he represents?
The US government has made it known that their goal is to use all the elements of national power, including military, against Al Qaeda. But development assistance, economic support and other assistance should also be provided to prevent developing 'safe havens' in different regions of the world.
You have said in the report that $750 million will be given to USAID. Will it work?
The US government is moving towards it. I can't tell you if it will work or not. What I can tell you is the US is set to use more of its national power, which the US Congress has called for, which the independent 9/11 Commission called for, which our National Strategy for Combating Terrorism has called for. All of the previous documents going back 4, 5 years have called for using more elements of national power. Now there is an effort going forward to do so.
Image: Soldiers stand beside weapons they recovered from militants in the lawless area of Dara Adam Khel in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province near Peshawar. Photograph: Tariq Mahmood/AFP/Getty Images.
Also read: Nothing will fundamentally change in Pakistan
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