Kirk: Eliminate military aid to Pakistan

 By Justin Sink


 Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who sits on the Senate subcommittee responsible for international aid, argued that military assistance to Pakistan should be eliminated in light
of an attack Monday on a CIA office in Afghanistan that left one American dead.


Although the embassy had not yet provided details of the attack, reports Monday said that the Haqqani Network, a Pakistan-based militant group, might have been
responsible. The group attacked the American Embassy in Kabul last week, prompting Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to denounce the ties
between the network and the Pakistani intelligence agency.


The attack Monday morning also follows recent attacks on NATO headquarters in Afghanistan and the assassination of former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani,
who was leading a government effort to broker peace with the Taliban.


"I think now we've got to cut off military assistance to Pakistan," Kirk said Monday on MSNBC.


In a statement Friday, the White House demanded that Pakistan break all links with the Taliban-allied network. Kirk said aid should be tied to concrete steps by the
Pakistani government, including allowing American strikes within the country.


"I define that as a dramatic reduction in Haqqani attacks on Americans and Afghans, and then we should be cleared hot for Haqqani targets inside Pakistan," Kirk said.


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Kirk also suggested turning over responsibility for Afghanistan to India, Pakistan's longtime foe in the region.

"India has a strong interest in an Afghanistan that is not a terror base," Kirk said. "I wish that a peaceful Afghanistan could be created out of Pakistan, but it appears that
the Pakistani government has committed itself to terror."



 http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/183779-sen-kirk-says-us-should-eliminate-military-aid-to-pakistan
Senator Kirk calls for cut on military
assistance to Pakistan

By Huma Imtiaz

 September 26, 2011


 Senator Kirk says aid should be tied to concrete steps by the Pakistani government.


 WASHINGTON: Senator Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) has called on the US government to cut military assistance to Pakistan in the light of the allegations made by the US
administration and military about Pakistan having links with the Haqqani network.


In an interview on Morning Joe on MSNBC, Senator Kirk said that the Haqqani network posed a great danger to the US forces in Afghanistan.


Senator Kirk said that aid should be tied to concrete steps by the Pakistani government against the Haqqani network, and also that the US should be allowed to
strike against them.


He hailed the reduction in military assistance to Pakistan as done recently by the Senate Appropriations Committee for the fiscal year 2012.


Senator Kirk also called on President Obama to look towards India as a major player and to help them invest in Afghanistan. “I wish that a peaceful Afghanistan
could be created out of Pakistan, but it appears that the Pakistani government has committed itself to terror.”


Senator Kirk’s statement is just one of many that have emerged in the past week after the US government and military officials publicly expressed concern about
Pakistan and the ISI’s links with the Haqqani network.


The Haqqani network is accused of the attacks in Kabul and Wardak on the US Embassy and US soldiers respectively.

 http://tribune.com.pk/story/260916/us-senator-asks-for-end-of-military-assistance-to-pakistan/

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Mike Mullen's Statement