Senate Foreign Relations Comm. Hearing on Pakistan last week (GAO, Negroponte)

[Muttocracy]

For anyone interested in Pakistan, or filing things away in case Pakistan comes up as an election issue down the road, this was an interesting hearing. I was half-listening to the archive while sorting through some old paper files in my office. I don't know enough about the subject to follow everything but a few thoughts.

Biden wasn't there (not sure why), many other members missing. It was Kerry's subcommittee so he presided, and did a great job. Lots of good questions asked - that is a SMART committee. Kerry or Feingold could do a great job heading the SFRC when Biden gets pulled over to VP or Sec. of State and Dodd is majority leader. ;)

Hearing Norm Coleman on the SFRC often makes me think, this guy does have a brain. What happened to the 1970s war protester he once was?

As for the content - Not much of a plan for how to move forward in Pakistan. GAO came out with a review of the $$ spent in Pakistan - really unclear where it's been going, though increased congressional oversight seems to have made an impact on accounting for it. Vast majority in military rather than development (thus new legislation coming out of the committee and other foreign assistance bills), and of course dwarfed by Iraq spending.

Testimony from Negroponte (does Rice ever show her face in the Senate anymore?) I looked him up to remind myself if he was involved in Central America way back when and that's why I know his name - yes. Wiki also had interesting tidbit that his younger brother runs the laptops-in-developing-nations program at MIT Media Lab! At least Negroponte, unlike Rice, Crocker, Bush, etc., can speak in bearable complete sentences. Though it's probably the smart people in the Bush admin. who are the most scary. Negroponte will actually agree with Dems sometimes, which is a bit startling.

Followed by GAO people who did the report. :thumbsup: for them.

http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2008/hrg080520pp.html

Link at top of that page is video archive (hearing started late - actual hearing starts about 25 minutes into the file if I remember correctly).

[blm]

1. SFRC is the smartest committee in DC - best move Obama made in 2005 was to get on it and LEARN

from the best Dem minds in DC.

[Muttocracy]

2. good point. nt

[gateley]

3. I've heard Joe talk about putting the screws on the

money going into Pakistan. I got the impression it'd all been funneled into Musharraf's military, and we were going to take steps to ensure the designated amount was allocated -- and delivered -- to the people.

There's something going on there now - is it the government is negotiating with the Taliban or something?

Anyway, thanks for these links -- I'll give a listen!

[gateley]

4. Watching the SFRC's hearings and watching other Committee meetings -

you're right. No comparison.