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Congressional SectionWrite your Congressional Representative and SenatorsTo write your House Representative:
It's best to send your letter by FAX and also by email. FAX ensures that your letter definitely receives attention. To write your Senators:
It's best to send your letter by FAX and also by email. FAX ensures that your letter definitely receives attention. Visiting CongresspersonsFollow these suggestions for an effective meeting with a Congressperson or his/her staff:
Additional InformationCommon titles and job functions for Congressional Staff Alternative web sites to locate and write to your representatives: Model LettersTHREE TEMPLATE LETTERS: The Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act 2009 Letter #1 Reports on FBI's interrogation of interred US citizen, David Coleman Headley, not only confirm that he played a key role in the terrorist attack on Mumbai in November 2008 by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), but they also make disturbing revelations about LeT's links with serving and ex-military and intelligence officials in Pakistan, and LeT's continuing efforts to plot even more outrageous attacks, including in Europe and elsewhere. By all accounts, Pakistan has neither demonstrated a serious commitment to bring those responsible for the Mumbai attack, which also claimed the lives of US citizens, to justice, nor has it made any credible effort to dismantle LeT and its vast network throughout Punjab and other areas of Pakistan. Any new attack against India by LeT could exacerbate regional tensions, derail Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's courageous peace initiative with Pakistan and undermine US objectives in the region. As the Mumbai attack unfolded, in intercepted telephone conversations, the handlers in Pakistan asked the gunmen in Mumbai to tell the world that the Mumbai attack was just a trailer and the main film was yet to come. Experts recognize that LeT is not merely a regional security challenge, but a growing global threat. The hearing on LeT by the House Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia in March 2010 underscored the challenge that LeT now presents to the US and its allies and friends. LeT has not only expressed its desire to target the United States (as its reported attempt on the US embassy in Dhaka showed) , but its vast infrastructure serves as an ideal platform for recruitment, motivation, training and logistics support for other groups and independent individuals seeking to attack the United States and other western countries. Their presence in cities and towns usually serves as the first point of contact for foreign terrorists looking for training camps in Pakistan. It has also provided infrastructure and other support to those targeting US forces in Afghanistan. The Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act 2009 linked security assistance to Pakistan to a demonstrated sustained commitment to and significant efforts towards, among other objectives, to
The Administration's reporting requirements under the Act include providing an evaluation of the efforts that Pakistan has made towards closure of terrorist camps, including those of LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad. As the Administration prepares to provide more than USD 1.6 billion in security assistance to Pakistan, and likely cash reimbursement under Coalition Support Fund in excess of USD 1.0 billion for fiscal year 2011, it is imperative that the Congress seek a full account of the progress that Pakistan has made in neutralizing LeT and other terrorist organizations, and ask the Administration to enhance its efforts to secure more effective steps from Pakistan in breaking official links with and dismantling terrorist organizations, including LeT, operating out of Pakistan. Letter #2 The United States has vital national security interests in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The elimination of terrorist sanctuaries and infrastructure in Pakistan and its emergence as a stable, peaceful and prosperous country is important not only for success in Afghanistan, but also for regional security and addressing the global challenge of terrorism. The Times Square bombing attempt and the role of a Chicago-based American operative of Lashkar-e-Toiba in the Mumbai attack in November 2008 underscore the regional and the global dimension of the threat emanating from Pakistan. Pakistan is considered an ally in the war against Al Qaida and its affiliates. However, despite US security related assistance and reimbursements by the United States of over USD 12 billion, and economic assistance of USD 6.0 billion since 2002, the country's security establishment has played, in the words of a recent The Washington Post editorial, a "double game". Although it has made significant gains against the Pakistan Taliban in the tribal areas of Pakistan, numerous reports and independent experts point to ISI's continuing links with Afghan Taliban and terrorist groups that are undermining the Afghan state as well as international efforts in Afghanistan. Pakistan's security establishment has not abandoned the use of terrorist groups like LeT as instruments of its strategy against India. The entire territory of Pakistan, not just the tribal areas, remains a breeding ground of violent extremism and terrorism, which also pose a threat to Pakistan itself. To turn the tide of extremism in Pakistan, the US strategy must focus on:
The Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act 2009 correctly focuses on these goals in Pakistan and places strong emphasis on economic rather than conventional security assistance. It rightly seeks to direct most of the security assistance to Pakistan to improving its counter-insurgency capabilities and links the flow of assistance to Pakistan's performance on counter-terrorism efforts. To support development of Pakistan's counter-insurgency capability, the Administration has created the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund (PCCF) and increased allocations under it from USD 400 million in 2009 to USD 1.2 billion in 2011, as part of a total request of over 1.7 billion in security assistance for 2011, which is in addition to the disbursements under Coalition Support Fund of around USD 1.0 billion annually. Unfortunately, Pakistan's military continues to focus more on acquisition of advanced conventional weapons from the United States to counter India, allegedly as a price for cooperating with the United States. The Congress must reject all efforts to use American tax dollars to equip Pakistan with advanced conventional weapons. Supply of advanced conventional weapons, including new F 16s, to Pakistan over the past decade has not ended Pakistan's ambivalence regarding supporting the US campaign against Al Qaida and its affiliates, or efforts to stabilize Afghanistan. Increasing conventional security assistance would only seem to reward Pakistani military for its current strategy. Second, such supplies would invariably alter the fragile civil-military balance against the fledgling civilian democratic system in Pakistan and undermine the objectives of the EPPA 2009. Third, it would do little to help win the hearts and minds of the people of Pakistan. Fourth, it would not enhance Pakistan's counter-insurgency capability. Fifth, these weapons would only be used against India, an important democratic country with which the United States is seeking to build a global strategic partnership, and the supplies could encourage Pakistan's strategy of using asymmetric conflict against India. Using American tax dollars to fund Pakistan's conventional military acquisition would not advance US objectives in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but could be counter-productive to US goals in these two countries and the region. The US should use its tax dollars in these difficult times wisely. It should direct them to Pakistan's economic and democratic development and to containing extremism in Pakistan. The Congress must ensure that. As the US Administration seeks to enhance counter-insurgency security and economic assistance to Pakistan, it must also: Ensure that the assistance supplements, and not supplants, Pakistan's own resources for development; The US assistance does not lead to diversion of Pakistan's resources to its military or nuclear programs; The rapidly growing PCCF allocation is used for the stated purpose and for appropriate counter-insurgency equipment; There is rigorous accounting and evaluation of the utilization of assistance as well as disbursements under Coalition Support Fund; and Pakistan is fulfilling its commitments on dismantling all terrorist organizations in its territory, including Al Qaida, the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani network, the Hikmetiyar group and Lashkar-e-Toiba. Letter #3 At the India-US Strategic Dialogue in June 2010 in Washington DC, President Obama described US-India partnership as a “defining partnership” of the 21st century. Secretary Clinton predicted, “US-India partnership will help shape the rest of this century”. And, India’s External Affairs Minister said, “there are few relationships in the world that have so much potential as India-US relations”. After the transformation of US-India relations under President Bush, its accelerating momentum under President Obama demonstrates the strong bipartisan support in the United State for strong ties with India. India shares our values. It is the world’s largest democracy and one of its most pluralistic societies. It is the world’s second fastest growing major economy. India’s growth – expected to be 8.5% this year and increase to 9-10% in the coming years – translates into immense opportunities for US exports and investments. India offers opportunities for research and development to find affordable solutions for global challenges. Indian investors in the United States are increasingly creating jobs for our economy. India’s defense purchases from the United States have aggregated to USD 4.0 billion in recent years and have supported an estimated 60,000 jobs. As a responsible power in the challenging environment of the Asia-Pacific region, India, with which the United States shares many common interests, will be an increasingly key determinant of regional and global security and stability. India shares our goal of a balanced, open and inclusive security and economic architecture for Asia. It is increasingly managing the security of the Indian Ocean in our common interest. India’s economic assistance is helping many countries in Asia and Africa. In Afghanistan, India shares our goal and is helping create vital community assets, build the infrastructure and improve the human resources. In international surveys, Afghans have ranked Indian assistance programs as the best. We must support an expanded role for India in Afghanistan. The Congress took a bold step in cementing the strategic partnership with India by approving the India-US Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement in October 2008. The Congress must now support efforts to liberalise the regulation for export of Defence and “dual use” technology to India. The United States and India share the goal of a stable, moderate, democratic and prosperous Pakistan, but our two democracies face similar terrorist threats emanating from Pakistan. For one, different terrorist groups are coming together as a syndicate. Groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba, which enjoy the patronage of Pakistan’s ISI, have acquired global ambitions and global reach. According to several reports, the ISI continues to maintain links with Afghan Taliban and other groups that are killing American soldiers and undermining US efforts in Afghanistan. Both countries are worried about the risks of nuclear terrorism in the region. Success in eliminating terrorist groups and safe havens in Pakistan is important not only for regional stability and combating terrorism, but also to enable our two countries to focus more effectively on the full range of immediate and long-term regional and global security challenges. The United States has given over USD 12.0 billion in security assistance and reimbursements and USD 6.0 billion in economic assistance to Pakistan since 2002. Before appropriating such assistance annually,Congress and the Administration must:
Success with Pakistan will depend not by satisfying Pakistan military’s unremitting desire for acquiring advanced conventional weapons to target India, but by pursuing a strategy that:
These arethe goals and the spirit of the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act 2009, which laid the foundation of long-term US-Pakistan relations. Using US tax dollars to fund upgrading of Pakistan advanced conventional military capabilities at a very crucial moment in the region would militate against the spirit of the EPPA 2009. It would send a wrong signal to Pakistan’s security establishment, both with regard to its external and internal ambitions, and will be counter-productive for US goals in Afghanistan, in the region and in the global campaign against terrorism. The United States and India, secure from the threat of terrorism, could concentrate more on working for a safer, more prosperous and a more sustainable world. |
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