U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton faced the U.S. Senate March 25 to request a USD4.5 billion supplemental budget to support development efforts in “front-line states” such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.
“Without this new funding in 2010, we will fall short in all three of the front-line states. I am well aware of the economic strain we all face here at home, and I believe, along with each of you, that every dollar must deliver clear results,” Clinton told the Senate Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs.
Saying current whole-of-government efforts have yielded results in these countries, Clinton asserted that additional funds will be used for civilian support and humanitarian efforts amid the Obama Administration’s fresh offensive in Afghanistan.
Part of the funds will also be used to scale up humanitarian projects in Pakistan, also a zone of U.S.-supported armed offensive. Some USD 2.1 billion of the request will meanwhile be used to assist Iraq in its transition into a civilian-led government, foremost among them are security-related capacity-building initiatives.
