Washington, August 30: After months of efforts, the Obama administration has finally developed a set of about 50 measurements, which would gauge its progress in the Afghan-Pak war zone.
Currently under ‘test run’ by the White House, the metrics to assess war success would be presented before the Congress on September 24, ‘The Washington Post’ reported today.
“Administration officials are conducting what one called a ‘test run’ of the metrics, comparing current numbers in a range of categories — including newly trained Afghan Army recruits, Pakistani counter-insurgency missions and on-time delivery of promised US resources — with baselines set earlier in the year,” the daily said.
These set of metrics have been developed in response to the deadline set by the Congressmen in spring this year, when the Obama administration had approached Capitol Hill seeking additional aid for Pakistan and Afghanistan.
US lawmakers want “clear benchmarks” for any aid to Pakistan and do not want to give any additional blank cheque to Islamabad as was under the Bush administration. The Washington Post said the White House briefed key Congressional committees on the metrics being developed by it.
“The document currently being fine-tuned, called the Strategic Implementation Plan, will include separate ‘indicators’ of progress under nine broad ‘objectives’ to be measured quarterly,” the daily said citing an administration official involved in the process.
Some of the about 50 indicators will apply to US performance, but most will measure Afghan and Pakistani efforts, it said.
A strong proponent of such metrics, Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, according to the daily, said in an interview, “We are definitely moving to a set of metrics that can give us benchmarks as to how we are proceeding” and whether President Barack Obama’s strategy “is pursuing our national security interests.”
Menendez has sponsored a legislation in the US Congress setting conditions on aid to Pakistan.
–Agencies