Rice: U.S. Disappointed by Musharraf, Will Review Aid to Pakistan
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Secretary of State Rice said yesterday America will review aid to Pakistan and denied that the Bush administration has “put all its chips” on General Musharraf. Police and soldiers emboldened by state of emergency powers swept up hundreds of activists and opposition members yesterday, dragged away protesters shouting “Shame on you!”, and turned government buildings into barbed-wire compounds.
General Musharraf’s government said parliamentary elections could be delayed up to a year as it tries to stamp out a growing Islamic terrorist threat — effectively linking two of the greatest concerns of Pakistan’s biggest international donors: America and Britain.
A leading Democratic senator on foreign affairs said American hands are “pretty well tied right now” because the administration “has a Musharraf policy, not a Pakistani policy.”
While Ms. Rice’s announcement puts in question some of the billions in American assistance to a close terrorism-fighting ally, a Republican lawmaker urged President Bush, silent so far, to speak out “in more specific terms” and suggested that Pakistan’s shift from democratic, civilian rule could jeopardize American military support.
On a Middle East trip now overshadowed by the unfolding crisis in nuclear-armed Pakistan, Ms. Rice indicated that America would not suspend aid wholesale.
America has provided about $11 billion to Pakistan since 2001, when General Musharraf allied his presidency with Washington after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
“Some of the aid that goes to Pakistan is directly related to the counterterrorism mission,” Ms. Rice told reporters traveling with her. “We just have to review the situation. But I would be very surprised if anyone wants the president to ignore or set aside our concerns about terrorism.” Mr. Bush, who has received steady updates on developments in Pakistan, is likely to make his first public comments today. He had not spoken directly with General Musharraf as of yesterday afternoon, the national security adviser, Gordon Johndroe, said.
“The Pakistanis and President Musharraf know well our position, and the president’s position,” he said. “And they are hearing it from all different levels of the U.S. government.”
Returning to the White House from Camp David, Md., Mr. Bush did not respond to shouted questions about General Musharraf. “We’re obviously not going to do anything that will undermine the war on terror. That’s not in our best interests,” Mr. Johndroe said.
Ms. Rice said she had not spoken directly with General Musharraf since his announcement Saturday to suspend the constitution, oust the country’s top judge and deploy troops to fight what he called rising Islamic extremism. She has decried those “extraconstitutional” moves.
“I’m disappointed in his decision, sure,” Ms. Rice said. “I think his decision sets Pakistan back in the considerable progress it made toward democratic change.”
The Center for Strategic and International Studies reported in August that less than 10% of the American aid total since 2001 has gone to economic and social projects.
Ms. Rice cited such assistance, particularly for education, when she told reporters that America has looked beyond General Musharraf and made a choice to support what had seemed to be an increasingly democratic nation at a critical time.
“The United States did not put all its chips on Musharraf,” Ms. Rice said.
Yet that is precisely what America under Mr. Bush has done, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Biden of Delaware, said.
“This administration has a Musharraf policy, not a Pakistani policy. It’s tied to Musharraf. … Its hands are pretty well tied right now. And it’s put itself in a very difficult position, and in turn us in a difficult position,” Mr. Biden, a 2008 presidential candidate, said.
Senator Specter, a Republican of Pennsylvania, said Mr. Bush should speak out forcefully. “We have bolstered Musharraf with billions of dollars in recent years, and military support, and we ought to be specific that it’s not going to continue,” the senator said.
“I wouldn’t support Pakistan with U.S. aid here. He’s doing everything which is against democracy. Seizing the Supreme Court is just outlandish. What he’s done is declared himself the dictator,” Mr. Specter said. “And he hasn’t been helping us enough on terrorism, so that I think we ought to get very tough with him and try to drive him into line.”
Yet after General Musharraf imposed a state of emergency, a Pentagon spokesman traveling with Defense Secretary Gates to Asia said the declaration “does not impact our military support of Pakistan” or its efforts in fighting terrorism.
Like America, Britain is weighing whether to reconsider the substantial aid it has pledged to the South Asian nation.