Sheila Jackson Lee: “I understand my good friend's challenges and his frustration, but I recognize that the area of which he is speaking…”

“I understand my good friend's challenges and his frustration, but I recognize that the area of which he is speaking, which I have been to as well, is a frontier area. That is an area where terrorists can be harbored. But the Pakistani military has, over the years, been fighting against terrorism. Pakistanis in Pakistan have, themselves, suffered at the hands of terrorists. And if we take this amount of money, the engagement and partnership that we have, the response to the United States that is important, the collaboration with the forces in Afghanistan will be diminished. The Pakistani military has shed blood, has lost treasure in the fight against terrorism. There are, of course, important improvements that they can make, and I believe the funding has the kind of guidelines and structures to do so to protect the Pakistani people against terrorism as well. They want to live in peace. So I would just say that it is important that we keep the engagement and the dialogue as well as involvement of the Pakistani military in fighting terrorism, and these resources are necessary for it to do so.”