Feingold: Pakistan is the central front in the fight against al Qaeda

[undeterred]

This is his response to my recent email...

As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, I monitor the situation in Pakistan closely. As you may know, in May 2008, I had the opportunity to visit Pakistan. While there, I traveled to Peshawar, which lies near the border with Afghanistan in the tumultuous Northwest Frontier Province, and to Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. I chose to visit Pakistan because it is out of that country that we face our most serious national security threat. As the intelligence community has confirmed again and again, Pakistan is the central front in the fight against al Qaeda. Confronting this threat, which includes addressing the al Qaeda safe haven in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, must be our top national security priority. That means tracking down Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda operatives, and working with the Pakistan government to neutralize forces before they plot or carry out attacks against Americans. It also means making clear to our Pakistani friends that cutting deals with al Qaeda or the Taliban is simply unacceptable.

Following my trip to Pakistan, I supported S. 3263, the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2008. S. 3263 seeks to invest in the Pakistani people through projects aimed at promoting democratic governance and economic freedom, while limiting some military assistance until the Secretary of State certifies Pakistan as making a concerted effort to prevent al Qaeda and the Taliban from operating in its territory. I also testified before the Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on the strategic relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan. You can read my entire testimony on my website:

http://feingold.senate.gov/~feingold/statements/08/06/20080612p.htm

"Supporting the Pakistani people as they seek to strengthen development initiatives and democratic institutions is not just an outgrowth of our values -- it is in our national security interests. This is not to say that this process will be free from challenges – there are already serious hurdles that must be dealt with, including negotiations in the FATA and Northwest Frontier Province, both of which are cause for serious concern and skepticism. America’s allies must know that there can be no negotiations with terrorists who have sworn to harm our country. Those who would plot against American troops in Afghanistan, or Americans here at home, must be pursued relentlessly."

I will continue to closely monitor events in Pakistan and the region.