The administration sent Congress its first mandated report
on Pakistan strategy yesterday, part of the terms of the Kerry-Lugar
Pakistan aid bill. The document isn't public, but a copy was obtained by The Cable, and it shows in new detail
how the Obama team is thinking about Pakistan and how it intends to distribute
the $7.5 billion in the package.
The report is notable in that it doesn't just focus on problem
areas, as some observers had feared, and actually tackles nationwide and longer-term
problems beyond the extremists now operating in Pakistan's northwest region.
The message of the report is clear: The administration intends to show
demonstrable results soon to justify and vindicate the program, while sewing
the seeds for longer-term progress all the while.
The biggest chunk of the funds, $3.5 billion spread over
five years, will go to "high impact, high visibility infrastructure programs,"
according to the report, focusing on the energy and agricultural sectors -- "programs
that Pakistani citizens can see."
Another $2 billion will be directed to "focused humanitarian
and social services," which includes extending the reach of the Pakistani government
to areas where extremists now operate. Of that pot, $500 million will be
earmarked for immediate post-crisis and humanitarian assistance, with the rest
going to improving the quality and access to health and education.
The remaining $2 billion will go to building up the
Pakistani government both at the national and local levels. The money will be
split between funding actual government entities and improving the security and
legal infrastructure overall.
Again, the focus here is on enabling the Pakistan government
to control more areas within its borders. For example, the report states that
"building Pakistani policing capacity is particularly important in order to
sustain the recent security gains achieved by the Pakistani military in the
NWFP and FATA."
The administration's plan also talks about increased U.S.
government staffing and auditing capacity to try to ensure there is
accountability as to where the money actually goes. But it's generally light on
metrics for measuring success.
More details both on how the money will be spent and how we'll
know if it's being spent wisely will come in subsequent reports, which are due
every six months. One big question is whether USAID contractors or Pakistani
contractors will get the nod for these projects.
Special representative Richard
Holbrooke has been trying to shift the projects to Pakistani firms, but some
argue that they might not have the capacity to handle them, as opposed to the
Western firm who bring more experience and organization.
In announcing the delivery of the report, however, State
Department spokesman P.J. Crowley
said that the idea is to build Pakistani development institutions by
increasingly giving them stakes in these projects.
"Consistent with best practices over
time, we will be looking to channel more of this assistance directly through a
broad range of government of Pakistan institutions as well as local
nongovernmental institutions," Crowley said.
Congress appropriated the first
tranche of the money, about $1.5 billion, earlier this month.
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