Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that he would pursue any means necessary — even blocking other Senate business — to move forward on a bill that would freeze aid to Pakistan if an informant who helped in the hunt for Osama bin Laden is not released.
Dr. Shakil Afridi was sentenced in May to 33 years behind bars. His appeal dates keep being delayed as Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), has raided the doctor’s personal finances. Afridi described his brutal torture to Fox News in a phone call: “I tried to argue that America was Pakistan’s biggest supporter – billions and billions of dollars in aid, social and military assistance — but all they said was, ‘These are our worst enemies. You helped our enemies.’”
“As you know, the United States Government currently gives Pakistan more than $2.1 billion annually in foreign aid, and the Obama Administration is now releasing an additional $1.2 billion,” Paul wrote Reid yesterday. “No foreign government as blatantly defiant of American priorities as Pakistan should benefit from billions upon billions of American taxpayer dollars. It is time for that practice to come to an end.”
Paul said it’s now clear that Pakistan has no intention of offering Afridi justice, and therefore it’s time to move on his legislation.
“Just this month the Director General of the ISI indicated it would be in the best interest of the United States to ‘forget the matter of Dr. Afridi,’” Paul wrote. “I will not forget Dr. Afridi, and it is time for the Senate to show it has not forgotten—or turned a blind eye to—Dr. Afridi.”
The freshman senator asked the majority leader in a July 12 letter to work with him to schedule a vote on freezing aid until Afridi is released, but no vote has been put on the calendar.
“As you know, the number of work days in the 112th Congress is dwindling, and Congress may break for the November election as soon as next week,” Paul wrote. “Because of the urgency of seeing that Dr. Afridi is freed, I am prepared to pursue any and all means to secure a vote on my bill immediately, including objecting to other Senate business and recessing the Senate for the election.”
This is about the only type of Muslim we should ever allow to emmigrate to our shores. Proven loyalty, no Islamic triumphalism… clear unqualified understanding of friend from foe. I will not forget Dr. Afridi’s service to our nation… And I’m very proud Mr. Paul won’t drop the matter.
I like it! A principled stand! The only confusion I have in my mind is why is he the only one making this stand? Where are the other men and women of principle in the Senate, who can’t see a blatant injustice against a brave man, and who can’t see a blatant publicly global slap by Pakistan to the United States.
There’s one big risk with this method. Making a public stand on this means that in order to give up Afridi the Pakistani government has to back down. In a lot of cases that has been known to make people dig in further. The better method would be to approach the Pakistanis quietly, show them a letter signed by half of Congress demanding this, and explaining, “I’d like to help you but I’ve got these people to deal with. Why don’t we work out something?”
Unfortunately, we cannot trust this administration to do its job, so members of Congress have to twist arms the only way they can.
The best method is for people NOT to give aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States by revealing ways we gather intelligence. (With a side effect of making it more likely that people will mistrust those who try to provide vaccinations and other vital health services in some of the poorest parts of the world.) This should be a bare minimum of what is acceptable.