John MaverickMcCain
... the Senator-for-Life from Arizona, former presidential candidate and even more former
foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution...
and
Lindsey Graham... the endangered South Carolina RINO...
urged Monday.
"The United States has been incredibly patient with Pakistain. And we have been so despite certain undeniable and deeply disturbing facts," they said in a joint statement on sorely tested relations between Washington and Islamabad.
They cited alleged support from Mighty Pak Army and intelligence officials for the Haqqani network "and other terrorist groups" blamed for attacks on U.S. targets in Afghanistan "that are killing U.S. troops."
"The time has come for the United States to fully review its relations with Pakistain. We must assess the nature and levels of our support for Pakistain," said the senators.
"In particular, all options regarding U.S. security and economic assistance to Pakistain must be on the table, including substantial reductions and stricter standards for performance," they said.
McCain serves as the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, while Graham is a member of that panel and is the top Republican on the committee that allocates U.S. foreign aid.
"U.S. policy toward Pakistain must proceed from the realistic understanding that certain actions of Pakistain's military are contributing to the death and injury of our men and women in the military and jeopardizing our national security interests," said the senators.
Ties between Washington and Islamabad took a turn for the worse after a U.S. special operations raid killed al-Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden
... who has won the race to that place where we all eventually end up...
in the sleepy Pak garrison town of Abbottabad
... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden....
in May.
Relations slid to a new low last month when NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
air strikes killed 24 Pak soldiers on the Afghan border, prompting Pakistain to boycott the Bonn Conference on Afghanistan's future.
McCain and Graham offered their "deep condolences" over those killed in that "unfortunate and unintentional" strike and predicted that a NATO-U.S. military investigation would "clarify the circumstances of this terrible tragedy."
"The Pak government's response to these events, however, has been deeply troubling and has added to the continued deterioration of our relationship," they said.
They pointed to Pakistain preventing NATO supplies from reaching Afghanistan, ordering U.S. intelligence officers to leave the country, and boycotting the Bonn conference, and reports that Islamabad may have decided to suspend all bilateral counter-terrorism agreements as part of a review of overall military relations.
"Such steps by the Pak government would mark a new low for our relationship," they warned.
McCain and Graham called for the United States and its allies to "develop contingency plans" for supplying U.S. forces in Afghanistan.