U.S. aid to Pakistan
D emocrat warns that $1.5 billion could backfire if it's seen as bribe. Supporters see few options to persuade Islamabad to fight militants. A senior Democratic senator raised questions Wednesday about theObama administration's plans to prod the Pakistan government to take more aggressive action against extremists by increasing foreign aid to Islamabad. Sen. Carl Levin (D Mich.) chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said he thought the Pakistan strategy would be effective only if Pakistanis have decided to forcefully confront religious extremists. "We've got ambivalent evidence as to whether or not they're committed to that goal " he said The plan — first proposed by Vice President Joe Biden when he headed the Foreign Relations Committee and now being pushed by Sen. John Kerry (D Mass.) the new committee chairman — would offer $1.5 billion in non military assistance to Pakistan over five years. The plan has been endorsed by...