[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 67 (Monday, May 4, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5069-S5071]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KERRY (for himself and Mr. Lugar):
  S. 962. A bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2009 
through 2013 to promote an enhanced strategic partnership with Pakistan 
and its people, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleague, the 
ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Lugar, in 
introducing what we consider to be an important piece of legislation 
from our committee and an important initiative for the administration 
and for the Congress and the American people. We are joining today to 
introduce the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act. I believe the 
legislation has already been placed at the desk.
  This is legislation that will fundamentally change America's policy 
toward Pakistan, and I hope over time it will fundamentally change 
America's relationship with the people of Pakistan as well.
  I especially thank Senator Lugar for his partnership in crafting this 
legislation and for his ongoing leadership on this issue.
  It is hard to overstate the importance of Pakistan to our national 
security. In fact, every day the newspapers are full of events that are 
transpiring there and of the challenges we face. Pakistan is a nation 
which could either serve as a force for stability and progress in a 
volatile region or it could become an epicenter for radicalism and 
violence on a cataclysmic scale.
  This is a nation of striking contradictions and on divergent paths 
forward.
  On one hand, we all know Pakistan is a nation where Osama bin Laden 
and the leadership of al-Qaida have found sanctuary for the past 7 
years--a haven from which they and their confederates have plotted and 
carried out attacks on their host country, on neighboring countries, 
and on sites around the globe--a nation that has in recent weeks seen 
the Taliban advance to within 60 miles of its capital, and a nation 
with a full arsenal of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles capable 
of delivering them anywhere in a 1,000-kilometer range.
  On the other hand, Pakistan is also a nation whose 170 million people 
are overwhelmingly moderate, overwhelmingly committed to democracy and 
rule of law; a major non-NATO ally that has sacrificed the lives of 
1,500 of its soldiers and police in the fight against terrorism and 
insurgency; and a nation that has lost more of its citizens to the 
scourge of terrorism than all but a tiny handful of countries 
throughout the world.
  In short, Pakistan has the potential either to be crippled by the 
Taliban or to serve as a bulwark against everything the Taliban 
represents. That is why the Obama administration and many of us in 
Congress see the need for a bold new strategy for Pakistan. The status 
quo has not brought success, the stakes could not be higher, and we 
have little choice but to think differently--in fact, to think bigger--
about what these challenges are. The Enhanced Partnership With Pakistan 
Act is the centerpiece of this new approach, which is why President 
Obama has called on Congress to pass it.

  An earlier version of this bill was reported out of the Foreign 
Relations Committee in July with overwhelming bipartisan support. This 
version builds upon its predecessor in a number of important ways. 
First, this new legislation directs $100 million toward an urgent need: 
police reform and equipping. Second, it mandates strict accountability 
from the administration as to every dollar that is spent, using 
benchmarks and metrics to measure and adapt our performance. Third, in 
light of the acute security challenge on the ground today, this bill 
gives our Ambassador the flexibility needed to respond to events as 
they unfold.
  We believe this bill is urgently needed. For decades, the United 
States has sought the cooperation of Pakistani decisionmakers through 
military aid--almost exclusively military aid--while paying scant 
attention to the wishes and urgent needs of the population itself. This 
arrangement is, frankly, rapidly disintegrating. We believe we are 
paying too much for one thing and getting too little for a broad number 
of things we really need. When I say ``we,'' I really emphasize the 
Pakistani people's needs. The desires and aspirations of the Pakistani 
people have never been adequately focused on or attended to 
sufficiently in these policies. Most Pakistanis understand that they 
have been, frankly, left out of the policy in broad terms. As a result, 
an alarming percentage of the Pakistani population now sees America as 
a greater threat than al-Qaida. Until we change that perception, there 
is, frankly, very little chance of ending tolerance for terrorist 
groups or persuading any Pakistani Government to devote the political 
capital necessary to deny such groups and to deny them the sanctuary 
they have been able to receive, particularly in the western part of the 
country, as well as to deny them the covert material support which they 
have also been able to get from a number of different sources.
  The dangers of inaction are rising almost every day. So when people 
measure this legislation, that is really what they have to consider. 
What happens if you do nothing? Well, if you do nothing, it is clear 
that the march of terror that is taking hold in a number of different 
places clearly threatens nuclear weapons that might then potentially 
fall into hands that are completely unpredictable. In fact, to whatever 
degree they might be predictable, one can only see danger in that kind 
of eventuality. The dangers of inaction are real. Almost any scenario 
played out plays against the broader interests of the Pakistani people 
and of the democratic Government which struggles today to provide 
services and to govern them.
  In the month since President Obama called on Congress to pass the 
bill we are now introducing, the situation on the ground in Pakistan 
has deteriorated significantly. The Government struck what many of us 
believed and said at the time was an ill-advised deal that effectively 
surrendered the Swat Valley to the Taliban. The deal, predictably--as 
many of us said--emboldened the Taliban to deploy the same brutal 
tactics they had used in both Pakistan and Afghanistan and to use their 
base in Swat to then extend their reach ever closer to the country's 
heartland.
  I emphasize--I know Senator Lugar will join me in emphasizing this--
ultimately, it is not the United States or the policy of the United 
States that is going to decide what happens in Pakistan. Ultimately, it 
will be Pakistanis, not Americans, who must determine their nation's 
future. But we can change the nature of our relationship and we can 
empower those Pakistanis who are fighting to steer the world's second 
largest Muslim country onto a path of moderation and stability and 
regional cooperation. That is the foundation of the bill Senator Lugar 
and I are introducing.
  Frankly, I have seen firsthand how this approach works. Following the 
2005 Kashmir earthquake, the United States spent nearly $1 billion on 
relief efforts. Having visited places, as I did then, such as Mansehra 
and Muzaffarabad in the earthquake's aftermath, I can personally attest 
to the awesome power of the operation we launched. I will never forget 
flying up in a helicopter to the northwest part of Pakistan, not far 
from the big Himalayas, where one could see off in the distance, and 
landing in a small spot by the river and meeting kids in a

[[Page S5070]]

tent city because this was the first time those kids had ever come out 
of the mountains and, in fact, the first time any of those kids had 
ever gone to school. It was extraordinary to see the sight of American 
service men and women saving the lives of Pakistani citizens. Frankly, 
it was invaluable in changing the perceptions of America in Pakistan. 
At that period of time, while we provided that assistance and while we 
were visibly involved in saving lives, not in taking them, the fact is 
that the reputation of the United States in the country as it was 
measured by polls at the time markedly increased, very dramatically 
increased.
  In the wake of that natural disaster, we weren't the only ones to 
recognize the need for public diplomacy based in deeds rather than in 
words. The front group for the terrorist organization Lashkar-e Taiba 
set up a string of professional relief camps throughout the region 
trying to mimic what we were doing. But our effort was far more 
effective, and the permanent gift of the U.S. Army's last mobile Army 
surgical hospital, or MASH, had a profound impact on the perceptions of 
people in the region. For a brief period, America was going toe-to-toe 
with extremists in a true battle of hearts and minds, and we were 
winning.
  It is up to us to recreate this kind of success on a broader scale, 
without waiting for a natural or even a manmade disaster. The question 
is, How can we most effectively demonstrate the true friendship of the 
American people for the Pakistani people?
  We believe this bill is an important first step. It is a prime 
example of what we call ``smart power'' because it uses both economic 
and military aid to achieve an overall effect that is greater than the 
sum of its parts. On the economic side, this bill triples nonmilitary 
aid to $1.5 billion annually for 5 years and urges an additional 5 
years of funding. These funds will be used to build schools, roads, and 
clinics. In other words, they aim to do on a regular basis what we 
briefly achieved with our earthquake relief and what the Pakistani 
Government, because of the economic crisis as well as political crisis 
in the country, has been unable to do to date. But this money will do a 
great deal more than just good deeds. It will empower the fledgling 
civilian Government to show that it can deliver the citizens of 
Pakistan a better life. It will empower the moderates, who will have 
something concrete to put forward as evidence that friendship with 
America actually brings rewards, not just perils, and it will empower 
the vast majority of Pakistanis who reject the terrifying vision of al-
Qaida and Taliban but who have been angered and frustrated by the 
perception that their own leaders and America's leaders don't care 
about their daily struggle.
  To do this right, we must make a long-term commitment. Most 
Pakistanis think that America has used and abandoned their country in 
the past, most notably after the jihad against the Soviets in 
Afghanistan. They fear we will just desert them again the moment the 
threat from al-Qaida subsides. It is this history and this fear that 
cause Pakistan to hedge its bets.
  If we ever expect Pakistan to break decisively with the Taliban and 
other extremist groups, then we need to provide firm assurance that we 
are not just foul-weather friends. By authorizing funds through 2013, 
and hopefully longer, this bill offers the chance to clearly state 
America's longer term concerns and interests.
  On the security side, the bill places conditions on military aid that 
will ensure the money is used for the intended purposes, which was not 
the case over the last 8 years. In order for Pakistan to receive any 
military assistance, it will need to meet an annual certification that 
its army and spy services are genuine partners in this endeavor.

  In the struggle against al-Qaida and other terrorist groups, 
including Lashkar-e Taiba--as we all know, Lashkar-e Taiba was the 
perpetrator of the Mumbai massacre of last November. We also will need 
a certification of their partnership in the battle against the Taliban 
and its affiliates who threaten our troops in Afghanistan from their 
sanctuaries in the Pakistani tribal areas, as well as in the effort to 
solidify democratic governance and the rule of law in Pakistan. We 
believe these conditions are eminently reasonable, and they should be 
easy to meet for any nation receiving American aid.
  As important as the economic and military components of the bill are 
is the question of how they fit together. Making this unequivocal 
commitment to the Pakistani people enables us to calibrate our military 
assistance more effectively. In any given year, we may choose to 
increase it or decrease it or to simply leave its level unchanged, but 
we will have the flexibility which we haven't had in prior years. For 
too long, the Pakistani military frankly believed we were bluffing when 
we threatened to cut funding for a particular weapons system or an 
expensive piece of hardware because that was the only game, if you 
will. It was the only money on the table. This bill will change that. 
Up to now, frankly, they were right about the unwillingness of the 
United States to take alternative routes. But if our economic aid 
becomes the centerpiece of our aid policy and it is tripled to $1.5 
billion, then we can actually guarantee that we pay more attention to 
how the military assistance is being spent and what is occurring. We 
will finally be able to make the choice of expenditure on the basis of 
both of our natural security interests rather than simply the 
institutional interests of the security forces in Pakistan.
  Let me be clear on the issue of military aid. The bill does not take 
any position on the level of such assistance deliberately. It is 
possible to envision a significant increase in military aid, just as 
easily as one could envision a decrease. The Pakistani army needs more 
helicopters. It needs more night-vision capability, more training and 
counterinsurgency techniques. So instead of locking in a figure for 
future years, what this bill does is provide us the ability to target 
our military aid directly to the areas that best serve both of our 
national security interests, which are fighting terrorism, fighting the 
insurgency, and keeping the people of Pakistan safe from the most dire 
threats.
  Moreover, this bill allows us to fine-tune our approach in response 
to the level of will and competence displayed by Pakistan's military: 
When we see the genuine commitment, then we can help increase 
capabilities, and if we see at any time that commitment is lacking, we 
have the ability to adjust and redirect assistance rather than permit 
it to be wasted. We have spent some $10 billion in military aid and 
compensation over the past 8 years. Still, the militants got within 60 
miles of the capital recently and al-Qaida continues to enjoy a 
sanctuary. So it is long past time we figure out how to work more 
effectively with the Pakistanis and the Pakistan Government on a more 
effective approach. That is what we hope this achieves.
  This bill is not a short-term fix. It aims for the medium term and 
especially the long term. It won't drive the Taliban out of Swat Valley 
next week or next month. Its aim is, once the Taliban is driven from 
Swat and from Bajaur and from Dir, to help keep them out. To put it in 
terms of basic counterinsurgency doctrine made familiar by General 
Petraeus, the Pakistani military is already able to handle the 
``clear'' phase of the struggle. The United States will now be 
assisting this mission through other vehicles. But the bill Senator 
Lugar and I are introducing will provide vital help for the ``hold'' 
and the ``build'' parts of the mission. Nor is this bill intended to be 
a silver bullet. It provides powerful tools, but these tools are only 
as effective as the policymakers who wield them. I am confident 
President Obama and his team will use wisely whatever policy tools are 
at their disposal.
  We need to approach this endeavor with a large dose of humility. The 
truth is that our leverage is limited.
  This bill aims to increase that leverage significantly. But we need 
to be realistic about what we can accomplish. Americans can influence 
events in Pakistan, but we cannot and we should not decide them. 
Ultimately, the decisionmakers are the people and the leaders of 
Pakistan.
  Ask any resident of Lahore, Karachi, or Peshawar what these places 
used to be like and you will hear a long statement of the reveries of 
the time that now seems a world away. We need to help Pakistan once 
again become a nation of stability, security, and prosperity, enjoying 
peace at home and abroad--a nation, in short, that older

[[Page S5071]]

Pakistanis remember from their childhoods.
  It is this nation that most Pakistanis desperately wish to reclaim. 
The bill that Senator Lugar and I now introduce will help America 
ensure that Pakistanis have the resources necessary to choose a 
peaceful, stable future. It offers them a helping hand in getting 
there. I urge our colleagues to join us in supporting this bill.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Indiana is 
recognized.
  Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I am pleased and honored to join our 
chairman, John Kerry, in introducing the Enhanced Partnership with 
Pakistan Act of 2009. Then-Senator Joe Biden and I originally 
introduced this legislation in July 2008. I have been especially 
pleased to continue the bipartisan effort on this bill with Senator 
Kerry.
  Senators Biden and Kerry and I have worked closely over the past year 
with the State Department, USAID, the Defense Department, and the 
National Security Council to craft this legislation.
  On March 27 of this year, President Obama announced a comprehensive 
strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. In his speech he called on 
Congress ``to pass a bipartisan bill cosponsored by John Kerry and 
Richard Lugar that authorizes $1.5 billion in direct support to the 
Pakistani people every year over the next 5 years--resources that will 
build schools, roads, and hospitals, and strengthen Pakistan's 
democracy.''
  Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ADM Mike Mullen and CENTCOM 
Commander David Petraeus repeatedly advocated expanding foreign 
assistance to Pakistan as an essential element of our national 
security. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary 
Clinton both have testified that strengthening democracy and countering 
terrorism in Pakistan go hand in hand. Secretary Clinton said at a 
Senate Appropriations Committee meeting last week:

       As President Obama has consistently maintained, success in 
     Afghanistan depends on success in Pakistan. We have seen how 
     difficult it is for the government there to make progress, 
     and the Taliban continues to make inroads. Counterinsurgency 
     training is critical. But of equal importance are diplomacy 
     and development to provide economic stability and diminish 
     the conditions that feed extremism. This is the intent of the 
     comprehensive strategy laid out by Senator Kerry and Senator 
     Lugar, which President Obama has endorsed.

  I take the time to detail administration backing for this bill and 
its concepts because any U.S. policy related to Pakistan will require 
the cooperation and active support of both the executive and 
legislative branches of our Government. It also will require that 
policy toward Pakistan be closely integrated with United States efforts 
throughout the region.
  I do not regard the Kerry-Lugar bill as a congressionally driven 
initiative in which we are bargaining for support of the 
administration; rather, Senator Kerry and I are trying to play a 
constructive role in facilitating a consensus position between branches 
that will undergird a rational approach to the region with the best 
chance of success. With this in mind, it is vital that the 
administration's message on Pakistan be clear and consistent. The 
administration also must continue to actively consult with Congress on 
elements of strategy, not just lobby us for funds.
  The United States has an intense strategic interest in Pakistan and 
the surrounding region. The U.S. National Intelligence Estimate last 
year painted a bleak picture of the converging crises in Pakistan. A 
growing al-Qaida sanctuary, an expanding Taliban insurgency, political 
brinksmanship, and a failing economy are intensifying the turmoil and 
violence in that country. These circumstances are a threat to Pakistan, 
the region, and the United States of America.
  We should make clear to the people of Pakistan that our interests are 
focused on democracy, pluralism, stability, and the fight against 
terrorism. These are values supported by a large majority of Pakistani 
people. If Pakistan is to break its debilitating cycle of instability, 
it will need to achieve progress on fighting corruption, delivering 
government services, and promoting broad-based economic growth. The 
international community and the United States should support reforms 
that contribute to the strengthening of Pakistani civilian 
institutions.
  This legislation marks an important step toward those goals. While 
our bill envisions sustained economic and political cooperation with 
Pakistan, it is not a blank check. It expects that the military 
institutions in Pakistan will turn their attention to the extremist 
dangers within Pakistan's borders. The bill subjects our security 
assistance to a certification that the Pakistani Government is using 
the money for its intended purpose--namely, to combat the Taliban and 
al-Qaida. The bill also calls for tangible progress in governance, 
including an independent judiciary, greater accountability by the 
central government, respect for human rights, and civilian control of 
the levers of power, including the military and the intelligence 
agencies.
  In providing substantial resources to enhance a strategic partnership 
with Pakistan, our bill contains provisions to help ensure that this 
money is spent effectively and efficiently. The bill stipulates that 
the administration must provide Congress with a comprehensive 
assistance strategy before additional assistance is made available. 
This strategy is expected to detail clear objectives, enumerate 
projects the administration intends to implement, and identify criteria 
that the administration will use to measure the effectiveness of our 
assistance.
  Once money begins to flow, the administration must report every 6 
months on how the money is spent and what impact it is having. In 
addition, the bill provides that before the administration spends more 
than half of the $1.5 billion authorized in any fiscal year, it must 
certify that the assistance provided to that date is making substantial 
progress toward the principal objectives contained in the 
administration's strategy report. We also have asked the Government 
Accountability Office to review annually the administration's progress 
on stated goals. To ensure that sufficient resources will be available 
to oversee our program in Pakistan, we authorize $20 million each year 
for audits and program reviews by the inspectors general of the State 
Department, USAID, and other relevant agencies.
  I look forward to working with the administration of President Obama 
and with congressional colleagues on a policy toward Pakistan that 
builds our relationship with that nation and protects vital interests 
of the United States.
  Again, I thank Senator Kerry for his partnership and leadership on 
this bill.
                                 ______