My response to the USA TODAY op-ed by Pakistani MP Farahnaz Ishahani.
In today's op-ed, Presidential advisor and Member of Parliament Farahnaz Ispahani laid out a plea for a Marshall Plan for South Asia, and especially Pakistan. He writes that:
"The people of Pakistan, especially the poor who were most affected by last year's historic floods, have yet to feel the effects of a U.S. policy that under President Obama was to re-craft the U.S.-Pakistani relationship..."
I beg to differ. The United States gave Pakistan $150 million in aid specifically to help in the recovery from the floods. If the Pakistani people have not "seen" this US policy, it is because the Pakistani government insisted on doling that money out themselves, with the express purpose of hiding the fact that it came from the United States. Had the Government of Pakistan let it be known far and wide exactly how much the United States had given to help the Pakistani people, there would not now be such intense anti-Americanism in the flood-ravaged areas...or indeed in Pakistan as a whole.
As for "re-crafting" the US-Pakistani relationship, that works two ways. It is difficult to recraft the relationship when the ISI continues its covert support for Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Haqqani Network, and other terrorist organizations operating on its soil. Yes, Pakistan has made some significant arrests in the war on terror. And yes, Pakistan has lost more people, both military and civilian, to terrorism than any other nation. But part of the reason for that, Mr. Ispahani, is that you have allowed these groups to operate on your soil and then occasionally turned on them, in the most schizophrenic counter-terrorism policy I have ever seen . Instead of taking bold action against the militants in the FATA, for example, you have taken targeted actions against certain leaders, and occasionally given targeting information to the CIA for their drone program to enable stikes on training camps and groups of militants. Those groups then, understandably, turn on you...their former benefactor...and stage attacks against Pakistani military and civilian targets. This insane policy has led almost directly to the formation of the Pakistani Taliban, or the TTP.
You ask, as has your Ambassador to the US, Hussain Haqqani, for a "Marshall Plan" for South Asia. You note the discrepancy between the amount per capita of US aid to Pakistan today versus US aid to Italy in the late 1940's. What you don't note, though, is the difference in the two situations. Italy in the late '40's was tired of war and disillusioned with political radicalism. Pakistan in 2011 seems intent on maintaining tensions with India over a wide range of issues, and uses this as an excuse to radicalize its population against both India and its biggest ally...the United States. Italy in the late '40's did not allow insurgent groups to operate against US interests, much less Italian interests. Pakistan, in the name of containing India, allows such insurgent groups to operate with impunity, with only the occasional sacrifice of a leader to keep the American aid tap open.
I agree with you that a Marshall Plan is needed in South Asia, but such a plan could not work until Pakistan reigns in anti-Americanism, cracks down on radical madrassas and the imams who run them, and ceases its support for ANY terrorist organizations, whether covert or overt. That includes supporting such groups in other nations, too, including the Afghan Taliban (known in military circles as the Quetta Shura Taliban, or QST) in Afghanistan.
I firmly believe that Pakistan can overcome its problems and join the community of nations as a strong, stable partner to the United States. But it will take much soul searching and sacrifice on the part of the Pakistani political and military elite, along with much education and truth telling to the Pakistani people. Without such dedication, I believe your nation, Mr. Ispahani, will spiral out of control and perhaps fall into the black hole of fundamentalism.