Sen. Levin: Congress May End Afghan Security Funding

[Shah-i-Kot]

Sen. Levin: Congress May End Afghan Security Funding



Thursday, 19 Apr 2012 10:18 AM
By Newsmax Wires



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Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin is warning the Obama administration and the Afghan government that Congress may cut off security assistance to the war-torn nation after U.S. troops leave by 2014.

The regime of Afghan President Hamid Karzai is “reaching beyond what is realistic” in asking the United States to provide $1 billion a year for security, the Michigan Democrat told The Hill.

The Defense Department has said Afghanistan’s military will need as much as $5 billion a year to defend against the Taliban and other enemies after U.S. forces depart.

Congress isn’t so eager to shell out big bucks to Afghanistan, given our problems at home, especially when some of the aid seems to be used improperly, Levin said. He said he favors a “robust commitment” to the Afghan forces, but only “if it will make a difference.”

Karzai’s requests are excessive, Levin said: “He is asking for something no president, or presidential nominee for that matter, can guarantee. This is not a dictatorship.”

A Republican House staffer told The Hill Congress is concerned about the Afghan military’s ability to maintain stability after the United States leaves. But the solution “isn’t a guaranteed funding stream,” the staffer said.






Read more on Newsmax.com: Sen. Levin: Congress May End Afghan Security Funding

http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/afgh...4/19/id/436419

[Shah-i-Kot]

This is key to ending funding for this war.

Carl Levin is very influential. All those in the States should do their part to lobby these politicans, especially the ones who speak sense.

Dont let it be that years from now after this war/occupation has ended, that you stood by and did nothing within the legal framework. Either you are pro-war or you arent.

[khushal]

this is just rhetoric to get votes. they will fund the ANA wheather the voters like it or not. karzai is asking for 2 billion in writing while the US has made verbal commitments of 4 billion. They have already signed the strategic partnership so the money has already been promised. This levin guy is just blowing hot air after everything has already been done.

[Shah-i-Kot]

It actually has not gone to Congress or the Senate. Carl Levin does have a lot of clout within the Senate.

Also, the so-called pact that Kharzai signed contained no guaranteed funding at all, so basically, he signed the 'pact' on Sunday without getting any of his 'demands' met.

“There [will be] no funding . . .in the deal,” Kirby said after the briefing. He characterized the pending post-war deal as a high-level, strategic type agreement with the Afghans.
The lack of any funding guarantee flies in the face of demands made by Afghan president Hamid Karzai last week.

http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/223103-us-afghan-deal-wont-include-funding-guarantee-dod-says-

[Shah-i-Kot]

Sen. Levin: US ‘can't guarantee’ future funds for Afghan forces


By Carlo Munoz - 04/18/12 02:52 PM ET

Congress and the White House "can't guarantee anything" to the Afghan government by way of future funding for the country's fledgling security forces, a top Senate Democrat said Wednesday.
Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was in favor of a "robust commitment" by the United States to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).






But Kabul's demand that the White House commit in writing to continue financing security operations in a pending postwar pact with Afghanistan is "not the intent" of the upcoming deal, according to Levin."It is not appropriate to seek guarantees," he told The Hill on Wednesday. "We can't guarantee anything."
Levin's comments come a day after Afghan president Hamid Karzai demanded such guarantees be included in any postwar agreement with U.S. and coalition forces.
“They are providing us money, there is no doubt about that. But they say they will not mention the amount in the agreement," Karzai said in a Tuesday speech.
"We say: Give us less, but mention it in the agreement. Give us less, but write it down,” he added.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is meeting with NATO counterparts this week at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels to hammer out the details of the postwar deal.
Afghan defense minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said last week he was confident a deal could be reached before NATO's annual summit in Chicago, which is set for May.
But with this recent demand, Kabul is "reaching beyond what is realistic," according to Levin.
The White House cannot unilaterally guarantee billions in military aid to Afghanistan or any other country without congressional approval for the funding, he said.
Karzai "is asking for something no president, or presidential nominee for that matter, can guarantee," Levin said. "This is not a dictatorship."
DOD estimates the ANSF will need between $4 billion to $5 billion annually to maintain its operations against the Taliban and other insurgent forces in the country. Afghan leaders have put that figure closer to $1 billion to $2 billion per year.
For his part, the issue is not the funding guarantee itself or even the amounts being discussed, Levin explained.
The Michigan Democrat said he was willing to support the Pentagon estimate "if it will make a difference" in Afghan-led security operations.
That figure would be peanuts compared to the roughly $30 billion to $40 billion DOD spends to keep U.S. troops in country, he said.
The key will be to make sure that Karzai, Wardak and the rest of Afghanistan's leadership remains committed to the 350,000-man force it initially wants to field after American and NATO troops leave.
Levin grilled Gen. John Allen, head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, in March on reports that Kabul planned to trim the ANSF down to just over 200,000 in 2017 -- just three years after coalition troops leave.
If Karzai sticks to that plan, no amount of money will help the country's security forces beat back the insurgency.
"We [must] keep the size of the [Afghan] army at the size it will reach" when U.S. forces leave, Levin said.

http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/222329-levin-us-cant-qguarantee-anythingq-to-afghans-on-future-funding-

[khushal]

dont worry, the senate will give them the money. this is an election year so what they say and what they intend to do will not be in sync.

[Shah-i-Kot]

Carl Levin doesnt need to score election points. His position as Senator from Michigan has been held for a pretty long time due to his massive support there- its almost as if he is an incumbent.