U.S. Plans Increased Military Aid for Pakistan

[maddezmom]

By ADAM ENTOUS And JULIAN E. BARNES
WASHINGTON—The Obama administration is planning to ramp up military support to the Pakistani army as part of an effort to persuade Islamabad to do far more to combat Islamic militants.

Top U.S. policy makers, who will meet with their Pakistani counterparts in Washington this week, say they doubt Islamabad will agree in the near term to mount a major army campaign against al Qaeda-linked militants in their biggest sanctuary bordering Afghanistan, officials say. Instead, American officials are pushing Pakistan to agree to interim steps to increase pressure on the militant groups, such as by carrying out more targeted operations using U.S.-trained special operations units, according to officials close to the deliberations.

U.S. frustration with Pakistan has grown over what American officials see as Islamabad's unwillingness to mount a campaign against militants who have havens in North Waziristan and Baluchistan. North Waziristan is the main base for operations for the Haqqani network, an extremist group that frequently attacks U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan and has close ties to al Qaeda, which also takes refuge in the area. Leaders of the Afghan Taliban are based in Baluchistan.

Pakistani officials said Islamabad is willing to step up the current level of surgical strikes. But they said a full-scale clearing operation in North Waziristan isn't possible because large numbers of its troops and equipment are being used to respond to recent devastating flooding, the country's worst yet, and are being used to rout militants from other areas.

The new military aid, which is contingent on congressional approval, is expected to amount to more than $2 billion over five years, would pay for equipment Pakistan can use for counterinsurgency and counterterror operations. U.S. officials say they hope the new aid could effectively eliminate Pakistan's objections that it doesn't have the equipment needed to launch more operations in tribal areas.

more:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303550904575562492878951822.html