(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - April 1, 2009: Pakistan must prove it is willing to take on extremists within its own borders before the US delivers financial aid or weapons to the government there, a key senator said on Tuesday.
Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he does not believe the United States can buy stability in Pakistan. 
Levin condemned NATO nations for failing to provide the funding and troops needed to wage the Afghanistan war.
Levin said he would support economic and military aid only after he sees that the Pakistani government understands that it is in its own interest to battle its internal insurgent threats. So far, he said he is not convinced.
‘If I thought we could buy stability, I would buy it,’ the Democrat told reporters. ‘I have no reluctance in purchasing stability if it’s effective. But I don’t think its effective unless the recipient of the support sees where the threat is to them. I think otherwise it can backfire.’
Levin’s stance signals some difficulties for the Obama administration’s plans to provide at least $1.5 billion in aid to Pakistan.
President Barack Obama endorsed the aid last week as he unveiled his new strategy for the war in Afghanistan, but he also cautioned that the US will not write a blank check to the Pakistani government.
Levin said that Pakistan has not displayed the political will to go after extremists, and instead is more inclined to try and buy peace ‘with people I don’t think you can buy peace with.’
At the same time, Levin condemned NATO nations for failing to provide the funding and troops needed to wage the Afghanistan war, saying the allies’ performance has been ‘nothing short of pitiful.’
On top of the 17,000 troops he had already approved, Obama decided last week to send another 4,000 troops that will focus on training Afghan army and police forces to take over their own security.
‘We’ve got a long way to go,’ Maj. Gen. Richard P. Formica, head of training, said Tuesday of his efforts to reform Afghan police. In addition to the US contribution of 4,000 trainers, Afghan officials are working to weed out corrupt practices in the police sector, including in the way equipment is controlled and accounted for and how pay is handled, Formica told a Pentagon news conference.
Levin condemned NATO nations for failing to provide the funding and troops needed to wage the Afghanistan war.
Levin said he would support economic and military aid only after he sees that the Pakistani government understands that it is in its own interest to battle its internal insurgent threats. So far, he said he is not convinced.
‘If I thought we could buy stability, I would buy it,’ the Democrat told reporters. ‘I have no reluctance in purchasing stability if it’s effective. But I don’t think its effective unless the recipient of the support sees where the threat is to them. I think otherwise it can backfire.’
Levin’s stance signals some difficulties for the Obama administration’s plans to provide at least $1.5 billion in aid to Pakistan.
President Barack Obama endorsed the aid last week as he unveiled his new strategy for the war in Afghanistan, but he also cautioned that the US will not write a blank check to the Pakistani government.
Levin said that Pakistan has not displayed the political will to go after extremists, and instead is more inclined to try and buy peace ‘with people I don’t think you can buy peace with.’
At the same time, Levin condemned NATO nations for failing to provide the funding and troops needed to wage the Afghanistan war, saying the allies’ performance has been ‘nothing short of pitiful.’
On top of the 17,000 troops he had already approved, Obama decided last week to send another 4,000 troops that will focus on training Afghan army and police forces to take over their own security.
‘We’ve got a long way to go,’ Maj. Gen. Richard P. Formica, head of training, said Tuesday of his efforts to reform Afghan police. In addition to the US contribution of 4,000 trainers, Afghan officials are working to weed out corrupt practices in the police sector, including in the way equipment is controlled and accounted for and how pay is handled, Formica told a Pentagon news conference.
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