Bush seeks funding for Frontier Corps

WASHINGTON, July 22 (UPI) -- The Bush administration is urging Congress to approve funding for a tribal parliamentary group in a region of Pakistan where violence is prevalent.

The group, known as the Frontier Corps, is based in a semi-autonomous region of Pakistan where al-Qaida and the Taliban are powerful forces, launching destabilizing attacks on Afghanistan and Pakistan, The Boston Globe reported.

The Bush administration's $300 million plan is to transform the Frontier Corps into a more modern organization, funding it with training, equipment and vehicles. The Frontier Corps has 80,000 members and has traditionally been a law enforcement team used for border patrol and anti-smuggling activities, the Globe said.

The request is facing trouble in Washington, with some officials saying they are not sure of the loyalty of the Frontier Corps.

At one hearing, Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., asked: "How do we in Congress justify to the American people writing checks for billions of dollars to a regime that may not be the partner against terrorism that the United States needs it to be?"