Admiral Mike Mullen was on the Hill on Thursday, when he confirmed some of Congress' worst fears about Pakistan. He was asked if Pakistan was expanding its nuclear arsenal. His answer--one word: Yes. This comes as the United States undertakes an unprecedented effort to boost the Pakistani military, providing billions of dollars in aid. Aid that many worry is being given out carte blanche.
Ostensibly, the aid is being given to help the Pakistanis deal with a relentless and resurgent Taliban that threatens Pakistani security interests and our own interests in Afghanistan as thousands of American troops fight to stabilize and rebuild Afghanistan. So, the question is--what are the Pakistanis doing with the money, and how can the United States, Pakistan, Afghanistan and all of the other regional players work together to bring down the Taliban and finally create some semblance of stability.
Increasingly, policy makers are worried about Pakistan. For all of the talk (Pakistan claims to have killed 1,000 Taliban militants over the weekend), Pakistan still has not pulled some of its most battle hardened units off of the border with India to deal with its own internal crisis in the Swat Valley. There are concerns that Pakistan isn't doing everything that it can--or must do in order to win the war against the Taliban. Is the United States funding nuclear proliferation that could reignite a regional arms race with India and other power players in the region? Sometimes, the best intentions (to provide aid in fighting an evil insurgent group) can lead to terrible outcomes (nuclear proliferation). Maybe it's time to reevaluate U.S. aid to Pakistan, and our military aid policies in general.
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