* Holbrooke: Pakistan not in danger of failure, takeover * U.S. plans $7.5 billion in development aid * Training, weapons sought for Frontier Corps By Paul Eckert, Asia Correspondent WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - Policies to counter Taliban broadcasting will be a key part of Obama administration aid efforts for beleaguered ally Pakistan, the U.S. envoy for the Afghan-Pakistan conflict said on Tuesday. Richard Holbrooke told a Senate hearing on U.S. aid plans for Pakistan the Muslim nation of 175 million people faced an "extremely difficult" situation. But it was not in danger of becoming a failed state or being taken over by the Islamic extremists Pakistan's army is battling in the Swat area. The envoy outlined for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee administration plans for implementing a new aid plan that calls for $7.5 billion in development aid for restive border regions over five years. Washington would use funds to build roads and schools, enhance law enforcement and extend small-scale loans to support health, education, livelihoods and agriculture, said Holbrooke. A new key thrust of U.S. aid, endorsed by President Barack Obama, would be efforts to counter and jam Taliban broadcasts that were helping the militants win the "information war," he told the hearing. "The Taliban have unrestricted, unchallenged access to the radio which is the main means of communication in an area where literacy is around 10 percent for men and less than five percent for women," he said. TRAINING FRONTIER CORPS "We can't succeed, however you define success, if we cede the airways to people who present themselves as false messengers of a prophet," said Holbrooke. "We need to combat it." Holbrooke's remarks followed complaints by Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday that Taliban in Afghanistan spread rumors faster than the U.S. military could investigate incidents involving civilian casualties. "The Taliban don't tell the truth and they don't care what the truth is," he said in comments about U.S. air strikes in Farah province that local officials say killed 130 people. "When you're making it up, you can respond a lot faster than when you're trying to figure out what actually happened, said Gates. Holbrooke said U.S. security aid for Pakistan would help expand and train the Frontier Corps which guard border areas in Pakistan, hotbeds of militancy only loosely controlled by the federal government, and upgrade their weapons. "We believe that they can be strengthened into a serious counterinsurgency force," he said. The envoy rejected criticism from committee Republican Senators, who threatened not to support the aid legislation without a more detailed strategy from the administration. "We cannot walk away from Pakistan now without damaging our own vital national security interests," said Holbrooke. (Editing by Alan Elsner)
A internally displaced girl, fleeing a military offensive in the Swat valley, holds a box of cookies while walking through a UNHCR camp (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) in Swabi ...
