US cancels millions in aid to Pakistan military

THE Obama administration is suspending and, in some cases, cancelling hundreds of millions of dollars of aid to the Pakistani military, in a move to chasten Pakistan for expelling American military trainers and to press its army to fight militants more effectively.

Coupled with a statement from the top American military officer last week linking Pakistan’s military spy agency to the recent murder of a Pakistani journalist, the move illustrates the depth of the debate inside the Obama administration over how to change the behaviour of one of its key counter-terrorism partners.

About $US800 million in military aid and equipment, more than one-third of the annual American security assistance to Pakistan, could be affected, three senior US officials said.
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This aid includes about $300 million to reimburse Pakistan for the costs of deploying more than 100,000 soldiers along the Afghan border to combat terrorism, and hundreds of millions of dollars in training assistance and military hardware, according to half a dozen congressional, Pentagon and other administration officials granted anonymity to discuss the politically delicate matter.

Some of the curtailed aid is equipment the US wants to send but Pakistan now refuses to accept, such as rifles, body armour and night-vision goggles that were withdrawn or held up after Pakistan ordered more than 100 US Special Forces trainers to leave the country in recent weeks.

Some is equipment that cannot be set up, certified or used for training because Pakistan has denied visas to the personnel needed to operate the equipment, including some surveillance gear, a senior Pentagon official said.

”When it comes to our military aid,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a Senate committee last month, ”we are not prepared to continue providing that at the pace we’re providing it unless and until we see certain steps taken.”

Pakistan’s precise military budget is not known, and while the American aid cutoff would probably have a small impact on the military budget, it would directly affect the counter-insurgency campaign.

Some senior administration officials have concluded that Pakistan will never be the kind of partner the administration hoped for when President Barack Obama entered office, others emphasise that the US cannot risk a full break in relations or a cutoff of aid akin to what happened in the 1990s, when Pakistan was caught developing nuclear weapons.

But many recent aid curtailments are intended to force the Pakistani military to make a difficult choice between backing the country that finances much of its operations and equipment, or continuing to provide secret support for the Taliban and other militants fighting American soldiers in Afghanistan.