Kerry Luger Bill

Kerry Luger Bill has created a lot of furore in Pakistan. While government is portraying it as an achievement it has many detractors who say we are selling the nation…

At awaam we have decided that you can read the bill for yourself and decide…

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S.1707

Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009 (Considered and Passed by Senate)

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S 1707 CPS

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1707

To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2010 through 2014 to promote an enhanced strategic partnership with Pakistan and its people, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

September 24, 2009

Mr. KERRY (for himself and Mr. LUGAR ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed

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A BILL

To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2010 through 2014 to promote an enhanced strategic partnership with Pakistan and its people, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) Short Title- This Act may be cited as the `Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009′.

(b) Table of Contents- The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Definitions.

Sec. 3. Findings.

Sec. 4. Statement of principles.

TITLE I–DEMOCRATIC, ECONOMIC, AND DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FOR PAKISTAN

Sec. 101. Authorization of assistance.

Sec. 102. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 103. Auditing.

TITLE II–SECURITY ASSISTANCE FOR PAKISTAN

Sec. 201. Purposes of assistance.

Sec. 202. Authorization of assistance.

Sec. 203. Limitations on certain assistance.

Sec. 204. Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund.

Sec. 205. Requirements for civilian control of certain assistance.

TITLE III–STRATEGY, ACCOUNTABILITY, MONITORING, AND OTHER PROVISIONS

Sec. 301. Strategy Reports.

Sec. 302. Monitoring Reports.

EU reluctant to commit troops to Afghanistan without clear shift in strategy

Geraint Rees Published in Open democracy 29 – 09 – 2009

European Union defence ministers have expressed reluctance to committing more troops to Afghanistan except as part of a limited plan training the Afghan military and police.

The statements were made as EU defence ministers met yesterday in Göteborg, Sweden, for informal discussions on theEU’s security and defence policy. Several ministers were reluctant to send front line troops, instead wishing to focus resources and efforts on training Afghan security forces. ‘We have a lot, about 2,000 men in Afghanistan. I think it’s far more important in the long run that we have more Afghan military, and Afghan police,’ Dutch defence minister Eimert Van Middelkopp told reporters.

The ToD Verdict: The statements come in anticipation of a possible call by the US for the EU to commit more front line troops to support the Nato-led mission in Afghanistan. The US is considering a request by General Stanley McChrystal, commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, for up to 30,000 extra troops, without which the eight-year mission “will likely result in failure“. In a leaked report to the Pentagon, General McChrystal expressed doubts that any purely military solution to the Afghan war would succeed and called for a complete overhaul of tactics that would focus on safeguarding the Afghan population. Extra troops would be needed to secure civilians in population centres in an effort to loosen the grip of the growing Taliban-led insurgency, but the exposure of troops under such a strategy would almost inevitably result in higher casualties.

How Top Generals May Trap Obama in a Losing War By Tom Engelhardt

Front and center in the debate over the Afghan War these days are General Stanley “Stan” McChrystal, Afghan war commander, whose “classified, pre-decisional” and devastating report — almost eight years and at least $220 billion later, the war is a complete disaster — was conveniently, not to say suspiciously,leaked to Bob Woodward of the Washington Post by we-know-not-who at a particularly embarrassing moment for Barack Obama; Admiral Michael “Mike” Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has been increasingly vocal about a “deteriorating” war and the need for more American boots on the ground; and the president himself, who blitzed every TV show in sight last Sunday and Monday for his health reform program, but spent significant time expressing doubts about sending more American troops to Afghanistan. (“I’m not interested in just being in Afghanistan for the sake of being in Afghanistan… or sending a message that America is here for the duration.”)

Devastating Report Documents Israeli Crimes Against Civilians in Gaza: Where’s the Outrage?

By Roane Carey, The Nation

The Goldstone report has been denounced in Israeli and ignored by the U.S. press, unless you count the NY Daily News, which called it a “blood libel against Israel.”

The recently released UN Human Rights Council fact-finding mission on the December-January Gaza conflict, released on the eve of Barack Obama’s attempt to jump-start comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, was but the latest in a series of investigations, most of them by human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

Like its predecessors, the so-called Goldstone report, named after chief investigator Richard Goldstone, is devastating in its critique of Israeli actions: indiscriminate use of firepower; deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian structures, including hospitals, schools, mosques, water and sewage plants, and rescue vehicles; use of white phosphorus munitions in built-up areas; use of human shields; abusive treatment of detainees; imposition of a blockade on Gaza before and after the attack itself–the report concludes that Israel violated international humanitarian law, committed “grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention in respect of wilful killings and wilfully causing great suffering to protected persons,” and war crimes, possibly even crimes against humanity. The courageous Israeli journalist Gideon Levy summed it up well in Haaretz: it was “an unrestrained assault on a besieged, totally unprotected civilian population which showed almost no signs of resistance during this operation.”

Taliban backlash haunts Swat locals

Tuesday, 04 Aug, 2009 | 10:02 AM PST |

 Frightened civilians fear the Taliban will pounce again on Swat as residents try to rebuild shattered lives and shot nerves in the mountain valley once likened to Switzerland.

What’s gone wrong at the CIA, and should it be abolished?

By Rupert Cornwell   Tuesday, 14 July 2009 Published in ‘ Independent’.

Why are we asking this now?

The CIA is currently embroiled in two controversies that go to the heart of the problems surrounding the world’s largest intelligence agency. It is accused of keeping Congress in the dark about a secret post-9/11 project, on the orders of the former vice-president Dick Cheney and probably in violation of the law. Meanwhile the Justice Department is moving towards a criminal investigation of whether CIA operatives illegally tortured captured terrorist suspects. A rule of thumb about an intelligence service might be: the less you hear about it, the better it’s probably doing its job. Instead, the CIA seems to be eternally in the headlines.

Update Swabi Camp

With every passing day the situation of the IDPs living in the camps is getting worse. The weather is getting warmer day by day  making it more and more miserable and affecting the health of the people  badly. The most vulnerable group are children and women (specifically the women who are pregnant). They are suffering the most and need urgent attention.

The average number of people visiting the medical camps has increased significantly, according to the medical assistant, Salma, working in the population welfare department.  She has told us that nearly fifty patients visit their camp daily, out of which 10 are women who are pregnant. She told us that due to insufficient nutrition they are weak and developing complications According to Salma there is no doctor available in the Population welfare department’s camp to see the patients. When we asked her that how do they treat the serious patients she answered that they refer them to the other medical camps serving in the colony.  Unfortunately these camps are hardly any better. 

The other depressing issue is that women are giving birth to children in an unhygienic environment. Due to this the new born are highly susceptible to infections. Another volunteer, Riaz Mohammad, who has been working in the camps for past couple of  months, informed us  that two infant baby girls died a couple of days ago due to heat and inappropriate healthcare services.

 Riaz Mohammad also observed that while initially there were numerous  relief activities and volunteers and  there was a steady flow of aid , the situation is much harsher now. He told that the activities have now slowed down with the passage of time and are not sufficient enough to meet the needs of the camp populations. While on the other hand the IDPs are more in need of help compared to earlier. He told that one of the three medical camps set up a month ago has been closed in the time when people need it more .  Riaz Mohammad said that there are other camps managed by the private organizations which are performing better. But again the problem is that the service is not sufficient for alleviating the problems of IDP

 The need now is to not let the ‘ donor fatigue’ set in. And help in any way we can. Vision 21 is now working on a plan to provide nutritional supplements and such for pregnant women and children.  

To help us deliver this please call us on  +92 51 250 5030 or email on info@thevision21.org.

 

Changing the way we have been By Ayaz Amir

( Comment by Awaam :  So long as men worship the Caesars and Napoleons, Caesars and Napoleons will duly arise and make them miserable—-Aldous Huxley )

The stakes couldn’t be higher nor the opportunity hidden in this hour of seeming distress more promising. Provided we don’t prove exceptionally unlucky once more — or exceptionally stupid — the crisis in which we find ourselves is an opportunity to change the face of Pakistan, change our direction and our established modes of thinking and make up for all the lost years — years lost to mediocre leadership, both civil and military.

It is not us who have created this moment of opportunity. Indeed it lay not in our power to do so. It has come our way through a combination of factors: America’s presence in Afghanistan; the growing Taliban threat within Pakistan; and Barack Obama as US president.

It is Obama’s approach to Afghanistan which has enhanced Pakistan’s importance — whether Pakistan’s inept leadership understands this or not. Crucial to any American success in Afghanistan — anything that enables the US to make a half-dignified exit from there — is Pakistan’s role or, specifically, the role of its army.

Who will bell the cat ? And How ?

Here are three pieces published in daily ‘The News’. These represent a cross section of views. Although they discuss the problem of Swat Operation and IDPs from different perspective, the common theme is ‘What needs to be done and how it should be done?’. However no one clearly comes up with the answer to the question ‘Who’ needs to do this. And if the government is failing, as they all say or imply, how the hell are we going to change this?

Is any one listening? Who will bell the cat?

On the other side of despair. by Ali Asghar Khan, 

No escape from hell by Noreen Haider    and     

Winning the peace by Dr Maleeha Lodhi

On the other side of despair. by Ali Asghar Khan

“Where does one go from a world of insanity? Somewhere on the other side of despair.” –T S Elliot

Amidst the insanity, the brutality, hate and intolerance, there remains an overwhelming desire for peace and security. In the face of daunting issues and powerful actors, many may doubt their ability to contribute to change and question the relevance of making an effort. The importance of raising citizen concerns individually or collectively for creating checks and balances is greater now than ever before. We as citizens must demand that the manner in which we resolve our problems reflects our reality and our interests. For ordinary citizens to abdicate this role under the present circumstances is simply suicidal.

Hypocrisy, fast becoming a national pastime, should no longer be tolerated.

The American War on WANA

 In this insightful article, American journalist Peter Chamberlin presents a compelling narrative, explaining how CIA planners, in “Operation Enduring Turmoil,” have been busy using some of the Northern Alliance’s most ruthless men, along with a sizeable force of Uzbeks, to destabilize Pakistan’s Federally Administrated Tribal Areas and the North West Frontier Province.  Pakistan, Chamberlin writes, is the keystone in an American strategic move that stretches in an arc across the entire Middle East and southern central Asia.  If Pakistan is not totally under American control then the plan cannot work.  The existence of this plan accounts for the brazenness shown in American actions taken in Pakistan that are in direct contravention of the expressed will of the Pakistani people and their leaders, actions clearly intended to undermine Army and governmental authority.