AP Photo

By Brian Katulis

I returned from Pakistan late last night to see the news that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and other Pentagon officials made a pitch to Congress for an additional $400 million this year and $700 million for next year to help create a new Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund. Based on what I saw on my latest trip to Pakistan (for a mid-trip readout, see this article), the initial skeptical reactions among some members of Congress seems warranted, and Congress should ask tough questions about this request.

This new funding request was made as a response to the deteriorating security situation in the northwestern part of the country"”a situation that has prompted senior U.S. officials to make a frenzy of statements about Pakistan. General David...