Sen. Paul Calls for End of Aid to Pakistan, Egypt, Libya
Pointing to recent attacks on American consulates and embassies — including the murder of U.S. Libyan Ambassador Christopher Stevens — Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on September 13 offered an amendment to the foreign aid bill that would deny funds to Pakistan, Egypt, and Libya.
Paul’s amendment is a revised version of a measure he put forward in July that would have held up aid to Pakistan pending the release of Dr. Shakil Afridi.
Dr. Afridi is believed to have played a vital role in the manhunt that led to the locating and killing of Osama bin Laden. He is being held in a Pakistani prison on a 33-year sentence. Afridi ran a vaccination program that was allegedly just a front for a CIA operation to obtain a DNA sample that would verify bin Laden’s presence in Pakistan. A senior CIA official told the New York Times that the effort ultimately was unsuccessful.
