US Pakistan Frontier Aid Program a Flop: Audit

Given that there has been a Pakistani offensive in the areas and thousands are displaced it is not too surprising that the contractor was not able to achieve all that much. Even so no doubt the funding has created some jobs for those hired by the contractor even though it may have done little to achieve the aims. Maybe this is less about helping Pakistan than providing pork for private contractors.


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US Aid Program for Pakistan Frontier a Flop, Audit Says

Posted By Sananda Sahoo

A 45-million-dollar program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that has been in place for nearly two years in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has failed to develop local government agencies to ensure delivery of basic services, according to an audit by USAID’s inspector general.

The three-year project is run by Maryland-based private contractor Development Alternatives, Inc (DAI). The program is one of several in western Pakistan that are funded by U.S. taxpayers to counter the growing influence of Taliban and al Qaeda in the region.

Pakistan is set to receive 7.5 billion dollars over the next five years from U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration as part of a long-term economic assistance plan.

The region has been the site of an intense conflict between the Pakistani military and Taliban fighters since 2008. The fight has displaced thousands of civilians and has killed hundreds.

Two years and 15 million dollars later, the report said, all that DAI was able to achieve was to provide some initial steps toward modernizing the institutions in the region along the Afghan-Pakistan border, and complete some media activities.

"Little has been achieved in building the capacity of FATA governmental institutions and NGOs," said the audit report, dated Jan. 28.

The USAID program aims to empower the FATA Secretariat, which is responsible for providing services such as health care, education and public works. The FATA Development Authority, a governmental institution that was created in 2006, is responsible for the region’s economic development.

Both the agencies report to the governor of the North-West Frontier Province, a particularly poor region of Pakistan.

In January 2008, USAID awarded a three-year, 43.4-million-dollar contract to Development Alternatives to increase the capacity of FATA governmental institutions and NGOs.

In May 2009, to cover the cost of security measures, the mission increased the contract amount by 2.2 million dollars to a total of 45.6 million dollars. The increase includes the costs of relocating contractor expatriate staff from Peshawar to Islamabad, following the assassination of the chief of another USAID program in November 2008.

As of Oct. 31, 2009, USAID had allocated around 19.7 million dollars and spent around 15.5 million dollars.

According to the report, most capacity building activities began after October 2008, 10 months into the 36-month period. The late start led to little progress in building the capacity of the FATA Secretariat and the FATA Development Authority.

The audit says that one of the reasons for the delay is the deteriorating security situation in Peshawar.

Still, it criticized the project’s plans involving installing computers and training of staff. It said 340 of the 400 computers remained boxed up and unused.

"The report is a very partial perspective on a broader issue," Steven O’Connor, DAI’s communications director, told IPS. "It can be dangerous for the people – both from DAI and Pakistanis – who are working on the project."

The report said that the program also failed to increase the capacity of NGOs to promote good governance. It, however, acknowledges that the few FATA-based NGOs that exist lack human and financial resources to promote aims of the program effectively.

The report noted that in most instances, local NGOs needed to strengthen their proposal preparation skills, financial management practices, and monitoring and evaluation capabilities before they could start to promote good governance.

After President Obama took office last year, the United States started rethinking its strategy toward Pakistan, including greater involvement of Pakistani organizations in implementing aid programs. As a result, in June 2009, USAID rejected a DAI funding request of 15.3 million dollars and approved 4.7 million dollars in additional funds.

The report did not address the financial problems of the project consistently, according to O’Connor. "This project was stopped in its tracks by funding freeze," he said.

It also did not take into account the security issues which have been a key factor in the project, he said. As the project was picking up speed, there was a spike in drone attacks and later, almost midway through the project, there was a blanket order to move the project out of Peshawar, O’Connor said.

"That eroded the trust of the people," he said.

There also is a discrepancy between some facts in the report and DAI’s version of it. The inspector general’s report recommends that USAID confirm the existence of 72 laptops that were given to DAI.

But O’Connor says that all those laptops were in use in the field when they were reported "missing."

"We have accounted for 68 laptops and I am sure the rest will be accounted for soon," O’Connor said.

The Maryland-based company says that the project is ongoing and is still funded.

Inter Press Service


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House requests constraints on Pakistan bill

Not only is the US govt. printing all sorts of money to finance a bailout of banks and automakers in the US it is also spending multiple billions on extending the reach of imperial designs in countries such as Pakistan.
There is a concerted attempt to portray the situation in Pakistan as one in which the Taliban might take over. As Escobar and others have pointed out this is quite ludicrous but nevertheless effective in generating support for the escalating expenditures and increased US involvement both with drones and special forces.
Any constraints on the bill will simply further inflame anti-US sentiment in Pakistan.




House requests constraints on Pakistan bill
By Ken Dilanian, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is opposing attempts by House Democrats to attach strings to billions of dollars in new aid to Pakistan, even as some lawmakers question why American taxpayers should turn over large sums to a government that has shown reluctance to take on Islamist extremists.
As part of the strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan he unveiled last month, President Obama requested that Congress approve billions in additional military and civilian assistance for the volatile U.S. ally.
REPORT: U.S. says Pakistan terror attacks up
The House's Pakistan aid bill would condition the military money on the president certifying that Pakistan's intelligence agencies are not supporting terrorist groups and have closed terrorist camps in tribal areas.
That bill, which would allow the president to waive the requirement in the interest of national security, is from Rep. Howard Berman, the California Democrat who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The administration views Berman's approach as "too inflexible," Undersecretary of Defense Michele Flournoy told the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday. It "would severely constrain the executive branch."
The Bush administration gave $12 billion in mostly military aid to Pakistan in the years after the 9/11 attacks, with few strings attached. Elements within the intelligence agencies did not stop supporting the Taliban and other Islamist extremists groups, according to a 2006 report from the British Defense Ministry.
Pakistan also has refused to allow U.S. officials to interview A.Q. Khan, the founder of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program who was once held under house arrest for selling nuclear weapons plans to North Korea. Some lawmakers, including Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., want to withhold aid unless Khan is made available.
President Asif Ali Zardari's government has been criticized for cutting a peace deal with religious extremist militants in the Swat Valley in north Pakistan. The army did take action in recent days against militants who seized villages about 60 miles from Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. On Wednesday, the army said it has retaken the main town in Buner, the Associated Press reported.
Berman's bill calls for $3 billion in military aid and $7.5 billion in civilian aid over the next five years.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told Congress last week that civilian aid is crucial to helping Pakistan fend off extremists. "There are humanitarian needs that we think serve our national security interests, which we have, in my view, never sufficiently built on," she said.
At the same hearing, Rep. Dave Obey, the Democratic chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said he had "absolutely no confidence in the ability of the existing Pakistani government to do one blessed thing."
Pakistanis, however, find the House bill's benchmarks "insulting," said Democratic Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Kerry's view is echoed by many Republicans, including Rep. John McHugh of New York. The ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee called the House bill "disrespectful of Pakistan's sovereignty."
Yet, Pakistan has failed to deliver on its promises, said David Kilcullen, a U.S. military adviser and author of a new book on counterinsurgency tactics. "I think American taxpayers and legislators are entitled to ask, you know, 'Why should we give more money, and keep throwing good money after bad to the same people, until we get a firm commitment to actually stop supporting the enemy, and start protecting the Pakistani population?'" he said.
Added Berman in a statement: "I get the impression that those criticizing my bill haven't actually read it. It doesn't include any 'rigid' or 'inflexible' conditions. We are simply asking the president to hold the Pakistanis accountable for their commitments to fight the terrorists."




Copyright 2008 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

U.S. offers Pakistan 7 billion in non-military aid.

This is from The News (Pakistan)The U.S. is obviously abandoning Musharraf. The new government is much more worried about U.S. violation of Pakistani sovereignty and has quite different ideas about how to deal with terrorists. Note that the provocative drone attacks are to cease and that negotiations with the border states is envisioned. The U.S. may not be happy with this but leverage may be limited. There seems to be no clear policy any more from the U.S. side.

US offers Pakistan $7 bn in non-military aid




WASHINGTON: The US has promised to curb air strikes by drones against suspected militants in Pakistan as part of a joint counter-terrorism strategy agreed with the new civilian government in Islamabad, the Guardian has learnt.

That strategy will be supported by an aid package potentially worth more than $7 billon (£3.55 billon), which is due to go before Congress for approval in the next few months. The package would triple the amount of American non-military aid to Pakistan, and is aimed at "redefining" the bilateral relationship, US officials say.

Pakistan will also be given a "democracy dividend" of up to $1 billon, a reward for holding peaceful elections and forming a coalition government. Of that, $200 million could be approved in the next few days.

The aid package, being put together by Democratic Senator Joseph Biden, will mark a decisive break in the US policy on Pakistan, which for much of the past nine years focused on President Pervez Musharraf and the Pakistani military as Washington's primary partners in the "war on terror". Officials in Washington said on Wednesday that the shift had already been made.

"Senator Biden wants to show the relationship is much broader than a military one, and that we are willing to sustain it over time," one of the senator's senior aides said on Wednesday. A US administration official said: "Each day Musharraf's influence becomes less and less. Civilians are in control. People aren't meeting with Musharraf any more ... we are very pleased with the new civilian government."

Pakistani officials say much of the new counter-terrorism aid will be spent on civilian law enforcement institutions, such as the interior ministry, the Intelligence Bureau and the Federal Investigation Agency, rather than being channelled almost exclusively through the Army and the military-run Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

The new government says it has also won American support for its policy of opening a dialogue with tribes along the Afghan border, led by the Awami National Party. The new understanding on air strikes by US Predator drones is seen in Islamabad as a critical benchmark for the new relationship.

In January senior US intelligence officials flew to Islamabad and struck an agreement with Musharraf to give the American military a freer hand in the use of Predators against targets in Pakistan's tribal areas, which have become havens for al-Qaeda and other foreign Jihadists as well as Taliban forces fighting Nato forces and the government in Afghanistan, according to The Guardian.

The subsequent increase in Predator strikes – estimates of the number range up to eight – caused outrage in Pakistan. Britain also broke with Washington over the reliance on air strikes often guided by uncertain intelligence.

Pakistani officials say they have been given assurances by Washington that there will be close consultation with the civilian government, not with Musharraf, before any future strikes. However, the use of Predators is held as a closely-guarded secret and US intelligence is reluctant to share information about targets, and there is some skepticism in Islamabad over whether the deal will stick.

"We'll have to take them at their word, won't we," said Information Minister, Sherry Rehman, in an interview in Islamabad. She added that Washington's previous emphasis on ties to Musharraf and the Pakistani military "hasn't provided the results that were supposed to happen on the ground".

The US has given Pakistan about $10 bn in military aid during the past seven years, but it has not diminished the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, while Pakistani extremism is also on the rise. Some officials in Washington believe most of the money has been used to build up Pakistan's conventional forces for use in a possible future conflict with India, rather than spent on counter-insurgency.

Furthermore, much of the money being used for counter-terrorism is being misspent, both Pakistan and US government officials say. As an example they say that Musharraf distributed the $25 million reward money for capturing or killing "high value" al-Qaeda targets in the form of an "inverted pyramid".

"A few thousand would go to the police constable on the ground, who actually spotted the guy, but the millions go to the generals up the chain," a Pakistani official said. No wonder, he added, the tip-offs stopped coming in and the number of high-profile arrests dropped.